Retailer Scam

[Boxlicker101]

I got this email and thought I should pass it on:

Subject: check your receipts


Never thought of this one....

CHECK YOUR RECEIPTS BEFORE LEAVING THE CASHIER'S STATION!!!!!

THIS COULD HAPPEN ANYWHERE. CHECK YOUR RECEIPT BEFORE LEAVING THE STAND.
I'VE SEEN PEOPLE DO JUST THAT. NOW I'LL START! PASS THIS ON TO YOUR FRIENDS, KIDS, LOVED ONES.

It happened at Wal-Mart (Supercenter Store #1279,
10411 N Freeway 45, Houston , TX 77037 a month ago.

I bought a bunch of stuff, over $150, and I glanced at my receipt as the
cashier was handing me the bags. I saw a cash-back of $40. I told her I didn't request a cash back and to delete it.
She said I'd have to take the $40 because she couldn't delete it. I told her to call a supervisor.

Supervisor came and said I'd have to take it. I said NO! Taking the $40 would be a cash advance against my Discover and I wasn't paying interest on a cash advance!!!!! If they couldn't delete it then they would have to delete the whole order. So the supervisor had the cashier delete the whole order and re-scan everything! The second time I looked at the electronic pad before I signed and a cash-back of $20 popped up. At that point I told the cashier and she deleted it. The total came out right. The cashier agreed that the electronic pad must be defective.

Obviously the cashier knew the electronic pad was defective because she NEVER offered me the $40 at the beginning. Can you imagine how many people went through before me and at the end of her shift how much money she pocketed?

Just to alert everyone. My co worker went to Milford , DE Wal-Mart last week. She had her items rung up by the cashier. Th e cashier hurried her along and didn't give her a receipt. She asked the cashier for a receipt and the cashier was annoyed and gave it to her.
My co worker didn't look at her receipt until later that night. The receipt showed that she asked for $20 cash back. SHE DID NOT ASK FOR CASH BACK!

My co-worker called Wal-Mart who investigated but could not see the cashier pocket the money. She then called her niece who works for the bank and her niece told her this. This is a new scam going on. The cashier will key in that you asked for cash back and then hand it to her friend who is the next person in line.

Please, please, please check your receipts right away when using credit or debit cards!
This is NOT limited to Wal-Mart, although they are the largest retailer so they have the most incidents.
I am adding to this. My husband and I were in Wal-Mart North Salisbury and paying with credit card when my husband went to sign the credit card signer he just happen to notice there was a $20 cash back added. He told the cashier that he did not ask nor want cash back and she said this machine has been messing up and she canceled it. We really didn't think anything of it until we read this email.

I wonder how many ""seniors"" have been, or will be, ""stung"" by this one????

To make matters worse ...THIS SCAM CAN BE DONE ANYWHERE, AT ANY RETAIL OR WHOLESALE LOCATION!!!

BEFORE LEAVING THE CASHIER'S STATION!!!!!

THIS COULD HAPPEN ANYWHERE. CHECK YOUR RECEIPT BEFORE LEAVING THE STAND.
I'VE SEEN PEOPLE DO JUST THAT. NOW I'LL START!

PASS THIS ON TO YOUR FRIENDS, KIDS, LOVED ONES.

 

[squarejohn]

I never heard of "cash back." What is it and how does it work?

 

[djserani]

Snopes debunked this. Which I'm glad for, I shop there way too much...

 

[bronzeage]

Snopes is calling this one false.
http://www.snopes.com/fraud/atm/cashback.asp

The cashier does not have any way to request cash back from her side of the counter. The cash back request can only be done at the customer's keypad.

 

[cloudy]

Snopes is calling this one false.
http://www.snopes.com/fraud/atm/cashback.asp

The cashier does not have any way to request cash back from her side of the counter. The cash back request can only be done at the customer's keypad.

Of course it's false, but Box will believe anything he receives in a chain email. So will many others here.

Not the brightest crayons in the box.

 

[oggbashan]

In the supermarkets I visit, if I ask for cash back, I have to initial the store copy of the receipt to acknowledge receipt of the cash.

I am aware of very occasional "errors" in scanning such as items being recorded twice or not at all, but I watch for them. When "errors" occur, they seem to be equally split between under and over-recording of the purchases. In both cases I ask for and get a correction without any difficulty.

Og

 

[Handley_Page]

In the supermarkets I visit, if I ask for cash back, I have to initial the store copy of the receipt to acknowledge receipt of the cash.

Og

Same with me.
I have to sign for the cash at the till.

SquareJohn:
If you pay from something at the till by credit/debit card, you may ask for or be offered "cash back" (which saves the customer trawling round to the next 'hole in the wall' for cash). This sum is added to your bill.
What should happen is that you get the requisite sum in cash in your hand.
It's not every store that offers this service.

 

[Boxlicker101]

I never heard of "cash back." What is it and how does it work?

When I use a debit card at a supermarket or most other places, I am asked if I want cash back. If I say I do, I am asked the amount, which I key into the machine. The cashier then hands me the receipt and the cash that I have requested. I don't recall whether or not cash back has ever been offered when I was using a credit card.

In the stores I go to, I am in control of requesting cash back, and the amount. However, in other states, things might work differently. I also notice that Snopes asked cashiers, basically asking them something like: "Are you able to rip off customers who come to the store and use credit cards or debit cards?" They said they were not, which is what you would expect them to say, whether they can or not.

I think everybody knows to inspect their receipts anyhow. Sometimes something will be on sale and the sales price will not be caught by the scanner or the clerk might key in the wrong code on bulk items. This has happened to me, and I have caught it, and I know there have been times when I did not catch it in time to avoid being ripped off.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Of course it's false, but Box will believe anything he receives in a chain email. So will many others here.

Not the brightest crayons in the box.

When I read this, I was dubious, for reasons I give in my previous post. Even so, I thought it was worth passing on.

 

[Stella_Omega]

When I read this, I was dubious, for reasons I give in my previous post. Even so, I thought it was worth passing on.

Why would it be worth passing on if you were already dubious?

 

[oggbashan]

Why would it be worth passing on if you were already dubious?

It is worth reminding people that retailers can make mistakes, and that not all shop employees are scrupulously honest.

As a former retailer myself, I was aware that if I made a mistake in my favour, I would be challenged.

If I made a mistake in the customer's favour, a few would pocket their profit without a qualm.

Og

 

[Boxlicker101]

Why would it be worth passing on if you were already dubious?

I was dubious, not convinced one way or another, so I passed on the warning of possible ripoffs. I am sure I have never been charged the way somebody in the OP was, but it might well be possible for somebody to jigger the ATM reader so that cash advances could be added to the purchase without the buyer's knowledge, and without the buyer's actually getting any money.

On a related subject, do you believe voting machines can be jiggered to cast a vote for a different person than was intended or to not count the votes of some people?

 

[Stella_Omega]

I was dubious, not convinced one way or another, so I passed on the warning of possible ripoffs. I am sure I have never been charged the way somebody in the OP was, but it might well be possible for somebody to jigger the ATM reader so that cash advances could be added to the purchase without the buyer's knowledge, and without the buyer's actually getting any money.

I beg of you to put some thought into the relative weight of statements. Your post looks like this;
Maybe not but... OMIGOD FLOOD FIRES FAMINE!!!!!!

And that makes it very difficult to believe you are sincere in your diclaimers.

On a related subject, do you believe voting machines can be jiggered to cast a vote for a different person than was intended or to not count the votes of some people? eek:

Based on anecdotal evidence from Ohio back in 2008, there is a possibility. The exit polls and the ballot results didn't add up.

There really is NOT the same kind of oversight in political workings as there are in retail. You can fuck hugely with a huge group of people if you do it all at once. Especially if the results of your fuckage cause the group to lose their power of agency.

You fuck in little ways with one person at a time over a long period of time and you're far more likely to regret the attempt. And stealing money via cash register receipts is far, for worse, in many people's minds, than stealing an election.

 

[bronzeage]

It is worth reminding people that retailers can make mistakes, and that not all shop employees are scrupulously honest.

As a former retailer myself, I was aware that if I made a mistake in my favour, I would be challenged.

If I made a mistake in the customer's favour, a few would pocket their profit without a qualm.

Og

Last year, my bookkeeper was trying to balance one of the commercial accounts. It was several hundred dollars over, and there were no outstanding checks. She finally was looking at photocopies of the cancelled checks and found one which had been coded by the bank teller for $400 dollars less than the face amount. She found two other checks with similar errors. All checks were written to the same person. He has a bad habit of taking several checks at a time to the bank and cashing them. He is always in a hurry and does not count the cash. On the day of the $400 error, he had taken $1600 from the teller. Later, he thought he had dropped or misplaced some money, because he was short $400.

The strange thing about it all is, while the bank never admitted to an error, they debited our account $400 and gave him a $400 credit. The teller involved in this, still works at this bank. We now take our work to another branch. When things are in order, that account will be closed and no more of our money will be trusted to them.

 

[Huckleman2000]

Of course it's false, but Box will believe anything he receives in a chain email. So will many others here.

Not the brightest crayons in the box.

What is it with old people and chain emails??? Was I that ridiculous when I first started using email?

 

[cloudy]

What is it with old people and chain emails??? Was I that ridiculous when I first started using email?

Somehow I doubt it. You're not old and stupid.

 

[Stella_Omega]

It took my 82YO father all of a week to learn how to use http://snopes.com so it isn't just age.