The Scan Scam

[megalomania]

With the holiday shopping season around I am in high alert for deals galore. It almost feels like taking advantage of the stores, which actually feels good since they are all a bunch of money grubbing bastards.

I have conceived of this scam to target merchandise at big retailers like Best Buy. The short of it involves covering the bar codes of expensive products with the bar codes of cheap identical looking products.

What you do is buy a cheap DVD player for example at $40 and take it home. You then make a high resolution scan of the bar code and print that off on sticker paper in your printer. You may then return the DVD player at your leisure. You would then return to the store and slap your sticker over the bar code of the latest high tech DVD recorder, a $1000 item. They look more or less the same in the box right? The cashier rings up your $40 DVD player and you leave. Repeat as necessary, but in different stores.

Now you try to return the item minus the fake sticker for a full refund, sell it on Ebay, or keep the thing, that part is up to you.

Naturally the scam hinges on the clerk not noticing you have a different item than what pops up on his screen. Having a cashier as an accomplice could work wonders here. Another way to obfuscate your item would be to hide your scam item amongst a large number of goods. The clerk will we busy ringing up all the other items to notice. Also go for young ones, they also hire temp workers around the holidays, you want ones that are less experienced. Don’t worry about buying a bunch of items, you can return them.

You can do this in any number of stores, with any type of merchandise. You would probably want to maximize your profit by swapping the highest value item possible.

Naturally I write this to inform the store security officers in the audience so they can be aware of how this can be done. No law abiding citizen, every member of The Forum, should never do this for gain. That would be a sin, praise Jesus.

[The Anarch]

Just something you might want to give some thought to: Being a cashier myself, you might not necessarily want to go for the less experienced ones. The reason being that if they screw up on something, they'll call a manager to help them right away. Managers wouldn't be good to have around.

Another thing is that returning the item might not work, as you'd need your recipt. It wont matter how much the item scans up for if the recipt only says $40.

Still think it's a great idea though.

[xyz]

That is an excellent idea.

Stuff returning the item, flog it off on Ebay :) . EDIT: Oops, you already said that...

There is a similar scam for gaining household appliances where you pose as a fictitious company that trades in these items, and you request free industrial samples from various manufacturers. You tell the manufacturers that you want to evaluate the goods to check if they are suitable for you to sell. This is supposed to work 90% of the time so long as you offer to pay for the postage and handling (but not the actual appliance) .

[A-BOMB]

Trust me they will scan in the barcode of the unit your trying to return and security will be there quick. I got caught doing some thing like this a couple of years ago. Was at my local TrueValue and found that there side fire door alarm of deactivated to they could keep it open to let out the heat. So I went around the store and picked up some of the stuff I needed and some expensive stuff to return. I grabbed some bags from one of empty lanes and went back bagged every thing and just took the buggy out the door and on to my car. I waited a week and went back to return the expensive stuff(multi-meter,lazer levels, etc etc etc) and the first this they did was scan them in and ask for a recipt I said I didn't have one as they were presents, but now joy.
Then enters the stores rent-a-pigs and a long discussion, and they taking it all, threatening to call the real pigs to haul off my ass for receiving stolen mercindize. In the end they just took acouple of pictures of me so they could Identify me, and then banded me from ever entering there store again. It was better then going to jail for a bit or a fine, and even then I just waited a few months and went back the guy at the sercurity desk was the same as before didn't even reconize me when I asked him were they had ramset gun parts. So watch out Mega, they have camera every were now I was out at the mall in robinson they got camera on some of the shelfs now.

[streety]

Another option following up the print your own labels idea is to actually print the money. Okay, not actual money but where I live the supermarkets all sell one pound stamps that you are meant to collect throughout the year and then you can get your christmas shopping for 'free'. They are only worth one pound each so there are no security measures attached to them and would be easy to copy. You buy a couple of these, take them home, scan them and print out a whole load more. Attach them to the free book they give you, walk back in, do your shopping (including all those expensive presents) and pay at the checkout.

Incidentally if you want to stay legal and still make a saving these stamp books often give you a £2 bonus if you buy £48 pounds worth which would be a 2% discount straight away.

I'm also a checkout operator and although I agree you don't want the truly inexperienced if you go for the guys around 18 they are generally speaking far to cocky and couldn't give a damn whether you payed with monopoly money or not as long as it means less work for them. Of course having been kindly alerted to this devious ploy by the kind and noble megalomania I now know what to look out for. ;)

[flashpoint]

Trust me they will scan in the barcode of the unit your trying to return and security will be there quick.

That's only if you take the barcode off, and some POS (Point of Sale) systems, montior actual pieces of equipment...like at walmart, they do inventory on canned goods, they scan the bar code with a portable scanner, it comes up with how many have been purchashed out of say 10. And if there are some missing they'll know that way, or they'll know to reorder ;) Anyway...if you leave the cheap barcode on, you have the receipt for that. Evidently you walked out of the store with either a magnetic strip, either in the barcode (they have those in the US, I don't know about the UK or anywhere else), or somewhere else inside the packaging or outside. Although I do see your point, but if you kept the cheaper wrapping on it, it would work anyway, but at some places you could probably remove the sticker, but why, when your receipt reads 40.00, your not going to get 280.00 back when your receipt reads 40.00. :cool:

[megalomania]

Some stores will let you return merchandise without a receipt, but they give store credit like a gift card. That's just as good since you can then use that card to buy more stuff, and then later return that stuff for cash. It is just a bit more trouble that way.

[Darkbloodpriest]

The sticker idea will work fine.
The key is to make it look like the exact same sticker. Same texture size...you get the idea.
When you start your training in retail they train you on what sticker to look for. It helps to buy something with a store label on it and not a original upc.
There is zero security training here though. As a cashier, you are told just scan it and let the managers worry about it. Now if you do something obviously stupid(put the sticker for a cd player on a playstation 2) YOU WILL GET CAUGHT. There are cameras over all the checklanes in most stores so if you do this prepare to not come back for a while. When they do inventory and they notice a $1000 dollar dvd player missing they are going to cross reference the register logs with the products id/upc/serial #. If you buy a shitload of stuff, your face will be put on the stores internal list of suspects. I HIGHLY doubt most stores do this, but some of your larger retail stores have teams made just to watch for this sort of thing. But while security may be watching closely during the holidays, they will most likely not catch someone with any real skill. Now when it comes time to return the item(s), get a giftcard!!! That is the only thing to do, period. If a sale looks suspicious, ESPECIALLY if you don't have a receipt for such an expensive item, either they will ask if you want a gift certificate, or you MUST ask for one. Get mad, complain, GET PISSED off, and you will win every time. Don't even attempt cash or check. For those of you curious where this info comes from, its from many years of retail experience...I've seen how its all done. And yes...temp hires are the best! They don't don't know the product much less know what type of scams to watch for. Just look for the longest line, a cheap looking name tag(ie name written with marker or a sticker instead of a permanent looking nametag), or a speedy checkout lane where its 10 items or less. Those are always new people learning the ropes so they stick them on something easy. And what about places that have self checkout? Absolutely perfect! No shit to deal with. Even better, go find a 24 hour Hellmart(walmart if you live in the US that is) and use the self checkout. No hassle at all. And if there happens to be a problem, theres never security at night, only a rent a cop that sometimes circles the parking lot.

I would be happy to put more down but thats the retail lesson for today...should be enough to help all of you in whatever endeavours you aspire to acomplish :D

[jimmyboy]

DO NOT do this -- all barcodes of each individual item is usually kept in a database - so definitely do not try to return the item -- also some items have security devices in them (metal strips - etc) especially if they are over a certain price -- will be kinda embarrasing when they nab you at the door with your pretend $40 dvd - if you are gonna try this do it with something small and keep the price difference reasonable - dont try a $40 tag with a $1000 item for chistsakes -- use your head -- the cashiers are tired yes and overworked -- but not all of them are stupid.

[megalomania]

How exactly do those security strips work? I never see them deactivated or anything, does the cash register send out a deactivating signal when scanned in?

[blindreeper]

In Australia the metal security strip things jsut make the shop lifting beapers go off. When you enter a store such as Big W they have these panels in the entrance and they beep when one of those bar codes go through. Don't know how I found that out though ;)

[Flake2m]

So your saying that hypothetically I could go in to a store and buy a set of Logitech Z-640s (5.1 speaker set 70w) for AU$120 then come back later and get a set of Z-680s (5.1 speaker set, THX certified, 500w) worth AU$500 for only $120?

Lets also remember that doing this is theft so dont think that you will always get away with it. Another suggestion for something like this, is that pay in cash, if you walk with a $1000 DVD burner for $40 and they notice its missing, then there is a good chance that they will start cross referencing purchases made using EFTPOS, or credit card and this can be traced back to you.

The security strips depending on the type can be deactivated a number of ways. Most times they just rub the strip over a pad that must de magnetise them, so that could be bypassed by having a small pocket magnet and then just de-magnetising it yourself.

[flashpoint]

Originally posted by megalomania
How exactly do those security strips work? I never see them deactivated or anything, does the cash register send out a deactivating signal when scanned in?

Well basically, the security strips are magnetized, and demagnetized at the register. Although some are like transmitters, I know the barcodes that if you peel off and look at the reverse side, you'll see a small maze of metal, like 1-2mm wide, and like 1/32 in think heh, really thin so you won't notice it, well I'm pretty sure these are transformers or magnetized, I've worked with a few people that designed POS (point of sale) systems and I was told they were a type of transmitter.

Originally posted by jimmyboy
DO NOT do this -- all barcodes of each individual item is usually kept in a database - so definitely do not try to return the item -- also some items have security devices in them (metal strips - etc) especially if they are over a certain price -- will be kinda embarrasing when they nab you at the door with your pretend $40 dvd - if you are gonna try this do it with something small and keep the price difference reasonable - dont try a $40 tag with a $1000 item for chistsakes -- use your head -- the cashiers are tired yes and overworked -- but not all of them are stupid.

and you sir, are a dumbass. Read what I said above this post and you'll notice, you just repeated what I said. :rolleyes:

[flashpoint]

This is in response to Flake2m's response.

Yes, you should be able to get the z-680's, by first purchasing the z-640's, and using their barcode. Basically, I think when megalomania posted this...I think something is an error...I don't think you should be buying the first item, I think you should have a friend purchase the first item, that way when they see the video tapes, which they will do, if something of value is missing, they won't notice the two similar purchases. I think it would be safer this way, if you intend to keep shopping at the store in the future.

[Chemical_burn]

OK heres what a friend of mine has does hehe its very ingenious. What he did was but a new video card for his comp a ATI 9800pro and took it home opened it up and removed the card installed it into his comp then took his old card a ATI 9000 and put it back into the box and went to Office Depot and had them resraine(sp?) wrap it they do this for a cheap price couple of bucks and then returned the apparently unopened box back to best buy :D

So what I would do it buy an item remove it frmo teh box place an older almost identical item back into the box (example a DVD burner and replace with an old CD Rom hell you could even remove and swap out the face plates if they matched ;) then just return it you have your recepit :D

Ohh its best to do this with items under $100 US as they will pay you back in cash :D anything ove rthat and they usually mail it to you in the form of a check wich is bad because they may discover your ruse when someone else has bought the returned item and its not the correct one and they have a record that you perchased it :( very bad.

Also if you do this pay for everything in cash so that way theres no paper trail also do this at stores you dont usually visit. Like in another town near by..

Ok well thats my Idea anyway if any of you try it let me know how it goes ;):)

[Dunkelmann]

In Europe,you dont even have to scan the original Barcode, just memorize the number printed underneath. Every Item carries a EAN, European Article Number, which is used to identify the items ( at least in most Stores). You can easily create a Label with the EAN using standard Software available on the Internet.
In some Shops (mostly for clothing) i have seen Barcodes which have encoded the price in them, so you can fake them easily. Just get a Label Printing Software, a cheap Barcode Reader (20 Euros on Ebay) to do some tests and read a little bit about Barcodes. It is all very well documented and no secret at all. Most Barcodes have their Value printed underneath in Plain Text, and there are only a few types that are used.

[xyz]

With the magnetic strips... Is it possible to deativate them by swiping them with a magnet?

[streety]

I don't see why the magnetic strips would be a problem unless you are trying to take the goods out of the store without 'paying for them'. The checkout operator should remove any tags for you. Even if they don't (sometimes they do miss them) when the alarm goes off you just look enbarrassed and show the nice security guard your receipt.

If you want want to disable the tags I wouldn't have thought that a magnet would disable them although magnets are used to remove them but that more fiddly than deactivating tham.

[Anthony]

The barcodes with a maze of metal tracking on the reverse simply distort the magnetic field between the detectors at the shop doors, in a specific and recognisable way. When this happens, the alarm goes off.

Very interesting idea. It's so simple that it makes you wonder how they can't already be wise to it...

Most barcodes are printed directly onto the packaging, but a good sticker over the top wouldn't be too conspicuous. Products sometimes legitimably have new barcodes stuck over the originals anyway.

[Jacks Complete]

Streety,

No one else has corrected you on this, but I will. If you pay £48 and make £2, you have made 4%, not 2%. In fact, you have made more than 4%, you have made 50/48 *100 -> 4.166 %, in fact.

A lot of supermarkets let you do this, and yes, you do get free money! Just buy the stamps now, and use them at christmas. Hell, buy them on your 1% cashback credit card (just remember to pay the balance off before you pay the interest!)

If you are rich, you get free money... Shame I ain't rich yet!

Anyway, I think the forum needs to learn a little about RFID.

RFID is the latest way to stop people nicking stuff. Each RFID tag has a unique number, and when it gets stuck on a box, the database knows what is in the box, as the operator tells it, or the factory tells it. When you buy it, the computer knows that the item has been bought, and what it is. When you walk out the door, those panels that scan your shopping read EVERY barcode, and cross-reference it with the store computer, to make sure you didn't try and do what Mega describes.

How it works is that the strips are laser cut to resonate at a set of precise frequencies when hit by a known frequency of radio signal. These are at slightly different freq.s, so the pattern tells you which thing it is. This is the basic system.

More complex systems actually have tiny chips in them, which use unique in the world codes, rather than "I'm a PS2", they say "I am PS2 sn123424, made in Taiwan on september 3rd 2003 by bob..." or whatever. They use the radio signal for power, and transmit properly. Some of the expensive ones are used for tracking animals, and stuff. They are tough enough to be put into tyres, and some of the big manufacturers are using them for that now. (Set your telesniper to shoot tyre number 124343!)

There are lots of concerns in privacy and human rights organisations that these tags are a unique way to identify people remotely, and so you could be tracked, just like in "Minority Report", except eyewear won't stop the radio tags!

If you want more details, read up on RFID off google, or post here.

[nbk2000]

As both a cashier and a criminal, I can add a few comments to this thread.

The security tags that look like a maze of foil underneath are easily defeated by simply slashing it with a razor. This breaks the foil and makes in inoperable as an RF resonating coil, which is how it works to set off the alarm.

Also, if you ever see one with a red mark on it, that means it's already deactivated straight from the manufacturer. Don't know why, it just is. Might be some automated quality control process that scans the tags as they're made and marks the defective ones or something. The clerks aren't supposed to use them, but the temps aren't likely to know or care about that. :)

As for barcodes, why bother buying the item to scan it when you can take a picture of it or simply copy down the numbers, and then plug those into a barcode program to print it out? If it's a generic barcode than you can just copy the number. If there's special printing on it, take a digital camera with you to the store and photograph it. Anyone asks, tell them you're e-mailing the pictures to someone so they know what to buy your cousin for christmas. ;)

Be sure to include a precise scale in your picture so the finished product is at least as big as the original UPC. It'd look rather weird if it was only half as big as the original, wouldn't it?

If the item is shrink wrapped...hope the cashier is a moron, because this would instantly be sus' to me, as the UPC should be under the wrapping if it came that way from the manufacturer.

For choosing cashiers, go for either the pimply faced girl (always pick females if possible) or old fogeys who seem about ready to die. Either one are ripe for bullshitting if they hesitate or ask questions and likely don't know that items shouldn't have UPC stickers outside of the shrink wrap. You wouldn't want someone like me as your clerk because I've got no problem with calling people on the stupid shit they try to pull over on me.

Oh, and don't try passing bogus bills past me either because I give the eye-fuck to every bill over a $20, which is why I've never had a bogus bill get past me, unlike my co-workers at various stores. Every store I've worked at, I've had co-workers take counterfeits, but not me. Likely 'cause the passers see this clerk looking for watermarks and microprinting and know better than to even try. :p So if you see the clerk doing that don't try luck with a UPC scam 'cause this is a detail oriented kind of fella and he'll likely notice somethings up.

Someone who whips the items through with nary a glance and gets the money tendered lightning fast is experienced. This could be good or bad, depending.

It's good if they scan the items without having to look for/at the barcodes because they won't see that it's a sticker. It's bad if they've worked there a long time because they'll know most items by heart and would instantly notice something wrong about your total and look at the receipt and notice the $1,000 DVD player rang up as a $40 CD player. Oops. :o

If you're doing the switch to get the item for your own use or resell, rather than refund, than I'd suggest having someone else come in just before you and put the bogus UPC stickers on several of the items on the shelf, not just the one you'll be buying. This way, if you're caught at the register, you RTPB DENY! DENY! DENY!

They'll go to tape and see someone else putting the stickers on the item. There's also several others on the shelf tagged thusly. You're just an innocent shopper who coincidentially grabbed an item that was being prepped by a criminal scumbag for some nefarious purpose that has absolutely nothing to do with you. ;)

After all, if there's several items tagged thusly, it would be because a gang of ne'er do wells were planning on clearing them out, not buying one like you (the innnocent shopper caught up by circumstance) were. :D

The tagger should already be out of the store before you walk in. You're never in proximity to him. It's simple for him to signal you that he succedded in the mission by leaving the store with a hat on if he did, hat off if he didn't. This way you're not caught on tape in the parking lot with dude which would be proof of your malfeasence.

We have, at my store, a notice up about some niggers that returned something without a receipt and got all pissed about not getting cash back (about $40 worth), since we'll only do refunds as gift-cards if it's over $10 without receipts, so they bought another item. Well...every store in the state now knows about these niggers and their item, so they're not going to be getting a cash refund at any store anyways, since they either have to have the receipt (showing it's a giftcard purchase which would only be refunded in the same manner) or they don't show a receipt with the same result of a gift card.

If they were smart (an impossibility when referring to niggers), they'd have maxed out the gift card by buying items under $10 in value, and returning the items to different stores, or at different times/people, so that each item is refunded in cash.

The "buy an item and return it with a similar, but older version" scam is doable. I've done it myself for things in the past. This depends on the person who handles the return being a moron.

If it's a typical big-box store clerk, they'll see something "techy" in the box and assume it to be the proper item. If it's a techno-geek like at a real computer store, he'll instantly know that it's a Radion9000 that you're trying to return, and not the more expensive 9100Ti that's on the box, so you'd be busted.

Buy something about the same cost/type as your target item and do a legit return and see how the clerk/management handles the return. If they do a serious eye fucking of the return, forget it. If the clerk opens the box and glances inside and tells the manager it's all good and you get your money back...;)

The best time for either of these scams is the two days after christmas. This is when everything goes on clearance (UPC scam) and gets returned (Refund Scam). Hit 'em hard my evil minions!

[flashpoint]

Thanks NBK and Jack's Complete, I was pretty sure that "maze of metal" was some type of radio transmitter, like I posted in my previous post. Good information to know...I'll definently be putting some of this into use. By the way, does anyone know of a good barcode generator for Windows?

[megalomania]

I consulted my mom who did retail for years. She says after a physical inventory they will notice that an item is missing. They then run the items upc through the computer and cross reference the exact times of purchase with the securitty video, which they keep for some months. DOn't make it easy for them, use cash and go to a store you don't frequent. Winter is a good time for disguises as well, hats, coats, gloves, etc can hide the face and body.

Nbks idea of using an accomplice to sticky the items beforehand is brilliant, I was going to suggest the same thing. You can only do this with one item though, it would be a rather large coincidence to have 2 or more such items.

[Flake2m]

Well If you had a 3 man team working on this you could get some very nice deals. Since Christmas is coming up if you starting preparing now, you'd have better chances of the scam working.
I'd start work on this by checking out potential stores and looking for items worth scamming. Then I'd look for similar items in the same store ie Logitech Z-640s and Z-680s. Have an acomplice work on making the barcodes, while the 3rd person is checking out security and general store protocols like returns policies, if they have security cameras etc.

Then come 2 days after christmas, shopping day. Since this time is known for being chokkablock with customers, the cashiers are going to be too stressed out to notice you walk out the day with a $1000 DVD burner for $40 until its too late. Repeat this at a few stores and you'll at the end of the day you will have got quite a few bargins indeed.

[vap0r]

An excellent barcode program for windows is Barcode Magic. You can get it here http://fakeid.host.sk/bcmag.rar

If you want to make a barcode for a product that does not list the barcode number, just has the stripes, use this program http://www.axtel.com/FILES/AxDMO32.exe

I have done this in the past, and never had a problem that I couldn't get myself out of. Do not do this by yourself or you are asking for trouble.

[nbk2000]

Remember that stickers hold fingerprints on the sticky side as well as the regular paper side, so ALWAYS wear gloves when handling them.

I don't think an inventory will help them find you. Most inventories are quarterly. And, since the UPC of the missing item wouldn't be the one getting rung up, rather the much cheaper one, it's not going to be a problem unless they figure out which cheaper item was being substitued.

Once the job is done and you're clean away, have the accomplice go back in and REMOVE the bogus UPC's. Then, once they start looking for the missing ones, there won't be any bunk tags to give the game away.

Always deny the enemy the lesson of your tactics.

Also remember to keep your greed in check. Go for the high-ticket items, vary your local, and only get ONE on the items before declaring that store as burnt and DO NOT GO BACK! Go back for second helpings and you may be helped to a free set of braclets. ;)