At least here in Finland you can't just change the price of a product by changing the barcode. The cash register uses the original EAN/UPC barcodes of the product to identify it and checks its database for the current price. A new barcode would show up as an unidentified product.
I don't think you understand what's being done. Let's say I go to Wal-Mart and buy a package of pencils for $.99. I take it home and reproduce the EAN/UPC barcode on my PC. I take the sticker I just made and apply it to the back of a $20 DVD.
Every checker knows the barcode on a DVD is on the back. You set the DVD on the counter face-up, they swipe it across the scanner and bag it. No one ever actually looked at the barcode and the checker grabbed the next item and scanned it fast enough that probably no one noticed that the register displayed the wrong item. And because you used a barcode of an item bought at the store, it is recognized in the database and the $.99 price is used.
No...credit cards = bad in scams like this. Retailers could potentially (and I've heard rumors that some already do) track purchases by credit card number. No personal information, not enough card information for identity theft, just a number and a looooong list of items purchased with it. When they notice a lot of missing iPods, they could conceivably check for corellation with purchase records on credit cards to try to match the pattern.
A lot of retailers now have self-check lines that accept cash. Scan and bag your own items, pay cash, walk out.
I wouldn't call that sexist. It seems common knowledge to me that men are in general far more interested--and thus more knowledgable--in consumer electronics. The same can be said of computers: when it comes to hardware, the hobbyist and professional fields are both strongly dominated by men. His approach is supported by statistics. If I were going to pull the same scam, I'd pick the oldest female cashier. Ageism, too? No. Young women might be college students, and college students generally know what an iPod and how much it costs. A middle-aged person is a lot less likely. A woman is a lot less likely than a man. Do the math.
Let's all print barcodes and stick them on random products at Wal-Mart and leave them on the shelves.
Use multiple barcodes and prices so they can't just be on the lookout for one item or price in the system. For example, random DVDs and CDs could ring up at $.29. New releases for $.88.
Get enough people to do this in enough places, and they'll never know for sure who is actually attempting theft and who is an innocent victim of a prank.
Want to go all Robin Hood with it? Price diapers, baby formula, and various foodstuffs anywhere from $.25 to $1.50.
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It would seem we think alike :p
At least here in Finland you can't just change the price of a product by changing the barcode. The cash register uses the original EAN/UPC barcodes of the product to identify it and checks its database for the current price. A new barcode would show up as an unidentified product.
I don't think you understand what's being done. Let's say I go to Wal-Mart and buy a package of pencils for $.99. I take it home and reproduce the EAN/UPC barcode on my PC. I take the sticker I just made and apply it to the back of a $20 DVD.
Every checker knows the barcode on a DVD is on the back. You set the DVD on the counter face-up, they swipe it across the scanner and bag it. No one ever actually looked at the barcode and the checker grabbed the next item and scanned it fast enough that probably no one noticed that the register displayed the wrong item. And because you used a barcode of an item bought at the store, it is recognized in the database and the $.99 price is used.
No...credit cards = bad in scams like this. Retailers could potentially (and I've heard rumors that some already do) track purchases by credit card number. No personal information, not enough card information for identity theft, just a number and a looooong list of items purchased with it. When they notice a lot of missing iPods, they could conceivably check for corellation with purchase records on credit cards to try to match the pattern.
A lot of retailers now have self-check lines that accept cash. Scan and bag your own items, pay cash, walk out.I wouldn't call that sexist. It seems common knowledge to me that men are in general far more interested--and thus more knowledgable--in consumer electronics. The same can be said of computers: when it comes to hardware, the hobbyist and professional fields are both strongly dominated by men. His approach is supported by statistics.
If I were going to pull the same scam, I'd pick the oldest female cashier. Ageism, too? No. Young women might be college students, and college students generally know what an iPod and how much it costs. A middle-aged person is a lot less likely. A woman is a lot less likely than a man. Do the math.
Let's all print barcodes and stick them on random products at Wal-Mart and leave them on the shelves. Use multiple barcodes and prices so they can't just be on the lookout for one item or price in the system. For example, random DVDs and CDs could ring up at $.29. New releases for $.88. Get enough people to do this in enough places, and they'll never know for sure who is actually attempting theft and who is an innocent victim of a prank. Want to go all Robin Hood with it? Price diapers, baby formula, and various foodstuffs anywhere from $.25 to $1.50.