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$1.5 Million Bar-code Scheme Bilks Wal-Mart Stores
nomrniceguy writes "Two couples have been charged in a
price-switching scheme that allegedly defrauded Wal-Mart stores in 19 states of $1.5 million over the last decade.
Authorities said the scheme involved using a home computer to produce UPC bar codes for cheaper products and slipping them over the real codes on high-priced items. The suspects then allegedly sold the merchandise, or returned it for refunds or store gift cards that also were sold."
The receipt first of all has the wrong item, and secondly says it was only purchased for $10. Even if they are dumb enough to mistake the plasma television for a toaster, wouldn't they only get their $10 back?
Yes, in theory. However, one of the reasons my mom loves walmart (and i cant really argue this point) is that they will take *anything* back. No receipt? Fine! Got it somewhere else? No problem! You broke it?! and coughed on it and it's a food product?!! Sure, we'll take it back! They are very accomadating with returns.
Most of the self check-out things weigh things after u scan them to make sure its the right item, so this wouldnt work on self check-out machines
Oh, one more thing I forgot to mention. This wasn't available 10 years ago of course, but now you can just write the number under a UPC code down, then go to Google and type it in, and viola, auto-generated UPC graphic, ready for printing. Try it out.
Do not read this sig.
It's also likely that the employees just didn't care enough to make a fuss about it.
It actually has nothing to do with caring. I worked at a grocery store for quite a long time earlier this year, and store policy, it seems for most retail stores is not to do anything to interfere with a customer who is shoplifting, ripping you off, ect. Furthermore, the customer is always right rule still holds. The only time a lowly checker is supposed to even consider doing anything is if the manager instructs them to do so. And since they are told to wait until after it's over to notify the manager, and they probably didn't goto the same cashier twice, it's not hard to not get caught doing it (although, they did it too much, and eventually did get caught).
1) install debian
2) install a thermal label printer (the dymo 310 is nice)
3) install pbm2wxl if using dym310 (use google to locate)
4) type "apt-get install barcode"
5) run echo thebarcodenumber | barcode | lpr -Pdym310
6) when the local law enforcement agencies come knocking on your door claiming that the GNU barcode program is illegal and subversive software, RUN LIKE HELL!
Romeo & Juliet, Act 2, Scene 4 -
Nurse
Is your man secret? Did you ne'er hear say,
Two may keep counsel, putting one away?
The new pricing (bar code) can be viewed as a counter-offer. If the cashier accepts, the counter-offer is accepted and a contract is entered, making it a legal sale.
Clever argument, but the chances of a court going along with it are about the same as the proverbial snowball's chance in hell.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Except there is no legal representative of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. at the time of sale. The cashier is a customer service representative that is aiding you at the time of sale with the computer transaction. The offer of sale is made at the shelf and by completing the transaction at the point-of-sale you are accepting the offer of sale and completing the terms of the contract. At no time can you negotiate the sale unless you approach a Customer Service Manager, in which case you lose any sort of advantage since they are actually semi-knowledgable.
No penguins were harmed in the making of this post.
I just can't see them having the weights of every single purchasable item in the database.
If they're doing Item Data Sync (and I know for a fact Wally World is, along with some other retailers -- since they're doing it with my employer) not only do they know the price, the UPC code, the weight, the color, but they know the inner pack (how many in a "multi-pack" if any,) how many per case, and the cube of the item so that they know how much volume the item will take up in the truck and how much real estate it will consume on the pallet. We have Logistics Strategy Analysts who think it's a Good Day (tm) when they can get a truck that gets closer to the nirvana of 4000 cube (which is the theoretical capacity of a 53' trailer.) The cube data that is provided by Item Data Sync allows them to max out shipments without "weighing out" (being overweight) or "cube out" (being too big to fit on a single trailer.)
It's a trivial matter to send this weight data to a checkout scale.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens.
When I worked at REI (Camping, climbing, etc, gear), we were always told to handle the merchandise ourselves. A customer once came to my register with a large internal frame backpack, and instead of handing it to me, he just pointed the pricetag at me. I grabbed the sac out of his hands and said, "Hmmm. This seems a little heavy." At which point I opened it and found a $110 rope. They guy was totally pale and muttered, "Huh. I wander how that got it there." I asked if he wanted to buy it and he said, "no," so I rang him up for the backpack and restocked the rope.
More on topic, this was something that was part of the training. they taught us how to find fake pricetags, hidden items (carabiners in shoes, tents in backpacks, etc.), and a whole bunch of other tricky stuff. It goes to show that if you don't pay for good training up front, you'll pay for it later.
I'd rather have someone respond than be modded up.