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  • 2004-12-02 (xsd:date)
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  • Cash Back Scam (en)
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  • Versions of a Walmart cash back scam warning have been circulating since late 2004, all of them featuring the scenario of a WalMart customer who uses a credit/debit card that is charged for a cash back amount even though the shopper did not request cash back and was handed no cash by the cashier, with the discrepancy being noticed only when the shopper spots the added cash back amount on the receipt: In concept, this item was similar to an earlier piece which spread the false claim that gas stations were imposing surreptitious $10.00 surcharges on credit card customers. The similarity is that in both cases, it appears that an erroneous scam rumor originated because a customer misunderstood or misinterpreted something that happened to her while shopping and, despite not having any evidence of a deliberate attempt to defraud, was quick to write and circulate a message erroneously accusing retailers of wrongdoing. We investigated a number of different WalMart stores in different areas (along with outlets of other general merchandising and grocery store chains), and we spoke with (both in person and via e-mail) numerous people who were currently working as cashiers for a number of different retailers, including WalMart. In not one single case did we find a store with a checkout system that allowed cashiers to initiate cash back transactions on customers' cards on their own, without any involvement, knowledge, or approval on the customer's part. There was simply no way for a cashier working at any of these businesses to surreptitiously place a cash back charge on a customer's card and furtively pocket the money, all without the customer's requesting or knowing about it. As various WalMart cashiers told us: In every case of customers' complaining about getting cash back from credit/debit card purchases without having requested it that we were able to track down, the cause turned out to be that those customers didn't pay close enough attention to the prompts on the card processing keypads or simply pressed the wrong keys by mistake. And in nearly every one of those cases it was verifiable that the complaining customers had in fact been handed the appropriate amount of cash back by their cashiers (even though they insisted they hadn't requested it). It is possible (and sometimes occurs) that a cashier will actually reach over and manipulate the customer keypad herself to initiate a cash back request unbeknownst to the customer, but this form of theft requires that the customer's attention be completely diverted elsewhere, and it can't be done surreptitiously — the action takes place in full view of other employees, customer, and security cameras (and hence such perpetrators are easily caught). (en)
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