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tinytort
Jun 10, 2013

Super healthy, super cheap
Just got a text from someone alleging to be from Canada Drives, saying it's been a while since we talked but she can get me a great rate on a car loan.

I don't even have a valid driver's license right now. And I'm drat sure I've never talked to anyone from Canada Drives.

(Googling turned up that they are a real company, but they're considered predatory af. I just blocked the number anyway.)

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Fruits of the sea
Dec 1, 2010

Here’s a scam I’ve run into two times now bartending - guy walks in and orders a beer with an extremely strong accent and kinda broken grammar. Ten minutes later he comes up and wants to get another drink, but he can only pay with an extremely large denomination bill.

Here’s where the fun starts. The moment I start counting change out, he’ll say he wants to give a certain amount extra as a tip OR that he wants a specific amount of money back, also equating to a tip. He will explain all this very poorly, with a strong accent, talking quickly and repeatedly. So the person counting the change out is struggling to understand him, and also having to calculate a second transaction (the tip and whatever change is needed afterwards), all while they have probably close to $100 in their hands and the till is open. At this point, the dude will open his wallet, spread a mess of coins out and ask how much there is, again in broken English. So now I have to calculate the transaction, the tip, the small change he took out and whatever the hell he’s actually saying because he’s talking constantly. Here’s the scam: during the course of the (at this point incredibly confusing) exchange he puts the original large bill back in his pocket. If he’s already handed me the bill (this happened the first time), he asks for it back and starts asking about the change on the counter again.

So, the con is to state that he wants to pay with a large bill, then confuse the hell out of the cashier so he can pocket the large bill and still get the change.

I’m only like 50% certain I didn’t get conned the first time- the owner doesn’t want me doing counts of the cash register because lol and I was caught off guard, so even though my mental alarm bells were ringing halfway through, it might have been too late. I'm pretty sure the bill changed 3 times, not 4. Could be wrong though. The second time I was ready though and grabbed the large bill at the first opportunity. Even counted the tip out for myself!

Fruits of the sea fucked around with this message at 21:22 on Nov 21, 2019

Wicked Them Beats
Apr 1, 2007

Moralists don't really *have* beliefs. Sometimes they stumble on one, like on a child's toy left on the carpet. The toy must be put away immediately. And the child reprimanded.

People would occasionally try to run that on me when I worked in retail. They never got me because I would basically stop them and slow the transaction down until I could piece the numbers together, long line of customers be damned, but I know that there were other people whose tills would come up short at the end of a shift because they got pressured into rushing through.

therobit
Aug 19, 2008

I've been tryin' to speak with you for a long time

Fruits of the sea posted:

Here’s a scam I’ve run into two times now bartending - guy walks in and orders a beer with an extremely strong accent and kinda broken grammar. Ten minutes later he comes up and wants to get another drink, but he can only pay with an extremely large denomination bill.

Here’s where the fun starts. The moment I start counting change out, he’ll say he wants to give a certain amount extra as a tip OR that he wants a specific amount of money back, also equating to a tip. He will explain all this very poorly, with a strong accent, talking quickly and repeatedly. So the person counting the change out is struggling to understand him, and also having to calculate a second transaction (the tip and whatever change is needed afterwards), all while they have probably close to $100 in their hands and the till is open. At this point, the dude will open his wallet, spread a mess of coins out and ask how much there is, again in broken English. So now I have to calculate the transaction, the tip, the small change he took out and whatever the hell he’s actually saying because he’s talking constantly. Here’s the scam: during the course of the (at this point incredibly confusing) exchange he puts the original large bill back in his pocket. If he’s already handed me the bill (this happened the first time), he asks for it back and starts asking about the change on the counter again.

So, the con is to state that he wants to pay with a large bill, then confuse the hell out of the cashier so he can pocket the large bill and still get the change.

I’m only like 50% certain I didn’t get conned the first time- the owner doesn’t want me doing counts of the cash register because lol and I was caught off guard, so even though my mental alarm bells were ringing halfway through, it might have been too late. I'm pretty sure the bill changed 3 times, not 4. Could be wrong though. The second time I was ready though and grabbed the large bill at the first opportunity. Even counted the tip out for myself!

Standard quichange artist. It is day one of bank teller training to watch out for that, and should be also be part of training for any job that involves a cash register.

Wicked Them Beats
Apr 1, 2007

Moralists don't really *have* beliefs. Sometimes they stumble on one, like on a child's toy left on the carpet. The toy must be put away immediately. And the child reprimanded.

A lady once accused me of trying that scam on her because I asked for my change back in a combination of fives, tens, and quarters, but I think she was just really bad at math.

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
Yeah I saw that one a couple dozen times in the retail and bank teller days of my youth, a couple decades ago.

RenegadeStyle1
Jun 7, 2005

Baby Come Back
It got done to me once when I was 20 working at Albertsons and I fell for it. I knew about halfway through that funny business was going on. I didn't know how to back out at that point and I figured I was good enough with numbers that he wasn't gonna fool me. I felt really stupid that day.

Fruits of the sea
Dec 1, 2010

therobit posted:

Standard quichange artist. It is day one of bank teller training to watch out for that, and should be also be part of training for any job that involves a cash register.

Yeah, I'm surprised nobody had introduced me to the con before now, but I guess it's a regional thing. Where I used to live, it was always credit card fraud/counterfeit money or people stuffing poo poo down their pant legs.

This isn't really a con or scam, but the most impressive theft I saw from a decade ago was an addict who had a taxi waiting for him outside. Grabbed almost an entire display of blu rays and booked it into the cab. Well, probably a little more than a decade ago, since it was blu rays.

Fruits of the sea fucked around with this message at 21:50 on Nov 21, 2019

AmiYumi
Oct 10, 2005

I FORGOT TO HAIL KING TORG
Yeah, it’s a super common one - the accent and coinage isn’t standard (and actually seems detrimental since it comes off as abrasive), the usual pattern is to start with a high bill and then break out smaller ones, all the while talking quickly and “changing your mind” about how to pay.

IIRC the stated policy at every retail place I worked that brought it up was to immediately close the till and call for a manager as soon as someone starts waffling on which bills to use.

Inceltown
Aug 6, 2019

You just take the bill off them and place it across the register so you know what they gave you and hand out change after that. The idea of getting change sorted before actually having the money in your hand is bonkers.

If they want to do some fancy change business later you do that as a separate transaction.

Fruits of the sea
Dec 1, 2010

AmiYumi posted:

Yeah, it’s a super common one - the accent and coinage isn’t standard (and actually seems detrimental since it comes off as abrasive), the usual pattern is to start with a high bill and then break out smaller ones, all the while talking quickly and “changing your mind” about how to pay.

IIRC the stated policy at every retail place I worked that brought it up was to immediately close the till and call for a manager as soon as someone starts waffling on which bills to use.

People can be a bit naive and confrontation-averse here (Denmark), so being abrasive is probably a plus.

Inceltown posted:

You just take the bill off them and place it across the register so you know what they gave you and hand out change after that. The idea of getting change sorted before actually having the money in your hand is bonkers.

If they want to do some fancy change business later you do that as a separate transaction.

Pretty much exactly what happened the second time. I can see this trick working on many of my coworkers to be honest, at least the first time. Not that they are dumb, just trusting and they don't put a lot of thought or effort into what is to be fair, a part-time gig.

AlbieQuirky
Oct 9, 2012

Just me and my 🌊dragon🐉 hanging out

therobit posted:

Standard quichange artist. It is day one of bank teller training to watch out for that, and should be also be part of training for any job that involves a cash register.

Depicted in the movie (and novel) Paper Moon!

Yngwie Mangosteen
Aug 23, 2007

Fruits of the sea posted:

Yeah, I'm surprised nobody had introduced me to the con before now, but I guess it's a regional thing. Where I used to live, it was always credit card fraud/counterfeit money or people stuffing poo poo down their pant legs.

This isn't really a con or scam, but the most impressive theft I saw from a decade ago was an addict who had a taxi waiting for him outside. Grabbed almost an entire display of blu rays and booked it into the cab. Well, probably a little more than a decade ago, since it was blu rays.

This happened to me when I was working in the pharmacy at a grocery store. I was outside talking to a coworker and a guy pulled up in a truck, left it on with the door open, disappeared inside then came running out a minute later with a whole armful of DVD’s and steak, hopped in his truck and sped off.

The store manager was furious.

Wicked Them Beats
Apr 1, 2007

Moralists don't really *have* beliefs. Sometimes they stumble on one, like on a child's toy left on the carpet. The toy must be put away immediately. And the child reprimanded.

You have to applaud the simplicity. No tricky cons, no distractions, no complicated schemes... just a guy and his getaway driver grabbing what they can and getting the hell out of there.

Edit: oh hey in that story there's not even a separate driver. Even better, no partner for the cops to turn against you if you get caught.

goatsestretchgoals
Jun 4, 2011

Partners always gently caress up a good meat stealing operation.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=V7nHKUAGyC8

Red Oktober
May 24, 2006

wiggly eyes!



Inceltown posted:

You just take the bill off them and place it across the register so you know what they gave you and hand out change after that. The idea of getting change sorted before actually having the money in your hand is bonkers.

If they want to do some fancy change business later you do that as a separate transaction.

It's pretty common in, for instance, France for the cashier to take your note and put it on the side of the register (out of your reach, but in sight) held with a magnet.

Alkydere
Jun 7, 2010
Capitol: A building or complex of buildings in which any legislature meets.
Capital: A city designated as a legislative seat by the government or some other authority, often the city in which the government is located; otherwise the most important city within a country or a subdivision of it.



AlbieQuirky posted:

Depicted in the movie (and novel) Paper Moon!

Wednesday does it at least once in American Gods, at least in the original book version. (though they don't go into detail how he did it).

Dr. Platypus
Oct 25, 2007
My father talked about how people would try to push fast change scams on him when he worked at a newstand as a kid, I feel like they'd work best when there's no actual cash register. I saw someone try to pull it at a store once, and the manager shut down the till to do a count and the guy bolted.

JacquelineDempsey
Aug 6, 2008

Women's Circuit Bender Union Local 34



Dr. Platypus posted:

My father talked about how people would try to push fast change scams on him when he worked at a newstand as a kid, I feel like they'd work best when there's no actual cash register. I saw someone try to pull it at a store once, and the manager shut down the till to do a count and the guy bolted.

Yeah, I used to run a shop at a flea market; all of us vendors had to be crazy careful about quick change artists since few of us had anything more than a calculator and (maybe) a locking cash box. We also had to be super diligent about counterfeit money, since a primarily cash-based market like that was a great target for people passing off bad bills. It got to be just a thing that another vendor would wander up the aisles and warn the rest of us "bad tens going around" or "bad twenties today", like he was giving a weather report.

That said, some advice: if you ever go to a flea market or even a big garage sale, be really careful about checking the change you get back. If the vendor didn't notice a bad bill, there's a good chance it might get it passed on ---- not necessarily an intentional scam on the seller's part, just you getting burned as an innocent bystander, so to speak.

I guess I have counterfeiting on the brain right now because the city I live in now has had a rash of bad $10s going around, the place I work at has gotten two in one week. Bars are a logical place to pull that off; busy bartenders dealing with cash all night in a poorly lit environment and all that. The gas station next door has actually started using the detection pens on $1s, it's nuts.

Haifisch
Nov 13, 2010

Objection! I object! That was... objectionable!



Taco Defender
What I'm getting from this is that the less everyone uses physical cash, the better off we'll all be(except the scam artists).

Weatherman
Jul 30, 2003

WARBLEKLONK
What a shame Freedomland is sadly lagging behind modern and superior banknote trends.

Pekinduck
May 10, 2008
My old stores policy was the moment any change funny business started to close the till and tell the customer they were free to review the security camera footage with management and sort it all out. Theyd promptly skedaddle.

shame on an IGA
Apr 8, 2005

I'm frankly impressed that the local walmart got burned by aliexpress movie prop $100s with giant hot pink chinese lettering on them six times in a single day

CommonShore
Jun 6, 2014

A true renaissance man


shame on an IGA posted:

I'm frankly impressed that the local walmart got burned by aliexpress movie prop $100s with giant hot pink chinese lettering on them six times in a single day

Yeah this is actually good

Inceltown
Aug 6, 2019

shame on an IGA posted:

I'm frankly impressed that the local walmart got burned by aliexpress movie prop $100s with giant hot pink chinese lettering on them six times in a single day

Are Walmart really getting scammed here or is it just staff not giving a poo poo about it because they're not paid enough to care and basically reaping what they sowed?

MrNemo
Aug 26, 2010

"I just love beeting off"

My mum got caught a year ago with a fun ATM scam. She was withdrawing money and a guy came over to her to tell her it was it of order. She continued with the withdrawal and he kept saying 'it's not working, don't bother'. Knowing her I'm sure she asked him to go but not overly forcefully. Once she'd put the cash amount in, he put his hand over it and kept saying the machine is broken, you need to go inside.

Whole doing this he had one hand in front and with the other he pulled the notes out of the machine. She told him to leave her alone again and he walked off. At this point her card comes out, she picks it out and waits around for the money. After a few minutes she figured it was actually broken and went in. The bank people figured out what had happened pretty quickly fortunately but it was a slick sleight of hand

wizzardstaff
Apr 6, 2018

Zorch! Splat! Pow!
So wait, she enters the amount of money she wants, the ATM dispenses it, but someone says it's broken and takes the money in front of her while she walks away with the card still in the machine?

I'm sure I don't have all the details or my mental picture is off, but that sounds less like a scam and more like a very polite mugging.

The Lone Badger
Sep 24, 2007

wizzardstaff posted:

So wait, she enters the amount of money she wants, the ATM dispenses it, but someone says it's broken and takes the money in front of her while she walks away with the card still in the machine?

I'm sure I don't have all the details or my mental picture is off, but that sounds less like a scam and more like a very polite mugging.

They concealed the fact that they took the money, giving the appearance that it did not dispense.

Midjack
Dec 24, 2007



Anyone who comes up to you when you’re at an ATM is automatically in league with Satan.

Nighthand
Nov 4, 2009

what horror the gas

About eight or so years ago I went to buy some candy at a local gas station and tried to use one of the old style 20s, and the attendant (middle Eastern, probably not in the country for long because we get a lot of students from the area here for University) thought it was fake.

Not really a scam, I guess. It was a legit bill, just on the old side presented to someone who didn't recognize it.

peanut
Sep 9, 2007


I knew a guy who had to sleep on a park bench because a Tokyo currency exchange office rejected his Scotland-issued pound notes because they didn't match the photo in the guidebook.
In the morning, an English guy found him and knicked his mobile traded him yen.

Not a scam but lol

ToxicSlurpee
Nov 5, 2003

-=SEND HELP=-


Pillbug

Dr. Platypus posted:

My father talked about how people would try to push fast change scams on him when he worked at a newstand as a kid, I feel like they'd work best when there's no actual cash register. I saw someone try to pull it at a store once, and the manager shut down the till to do a count and the guy bolted.

That's what we always got told to do in the places I worked if we saw that poo poo. Stuff all of the money in the till, grab management, and do a count. Under normal circumstances the till might be a few cents, a dollar at most, off so the scam is up at that point. If there's no till and it's just a locked cash box then set the money aside some place specific so if you give change back and the person is like "no, I gave you a $20" you can show them the $10 they actually gave you and tell them to get hosed. If they start doing the "hey can you make change...no this different kind of change" then ask them to wait, run the transaction, and then be willing to make change but one transaction at a time. If they're trying to confuse you then ask them to hold on and you'll gladly do what they need or help them with what they want when you're done with this one.

shame on an IGA
Apr 8, 2005

Inceltown posted:

Are Walmart really getting scammed here or is it just staff not giving a poo poo about it because they're not paid enough to care and basically reaping what they sowed?

yes

therobit
Aug 19, 2008

I've been tryin' to speak with you for a long time
I don't know how anyone that handles cash regularly can wind up taking a counterfeit bill. I have about 4 years of cash box experience at a bank and also worked the till at a couple other jobs. You very quickly get a feel for the money, and all the counterfeits that I ever ran across felt different. If they hand you money that's really worn, you just have to slow down and scrutinize it. Otherwise most money just feels like money, and not like paper.

One way to tell if you're on the fence if a bill is real or not is that the shirt collar of whoever's on the bill should feel rough.

ianmacdo
Oct 30, 2012

AmiYumi posted:

Yeah, it’s a super common one - the accent and coinage isn’t standard (and actually seems detrimental since it comes off as abrasive), the usual pattern is to start with a high bill and then break out smaller ones, all the while talking quickly and “changing your mind” about how to pay.



Happened to me when I was working at a foreign exchange / cheque cashing place. A man and a woman, accents, everything like you said but with larger amounts of money. They got $500 bucks from me. The police said that they were part of a known gang of gypsies that travelled back and forth across the country. The funny thing was that they got greedy and came back a few days later to try again, but the guy working that night had seen the security video, so when she first handed over $1500 he just kept it. They started freaking out and he just said they can call the police if they have a problem. They ran off.

veni veni veni
Jun 5, 2005


I used to work with a guy who honest to god fell for the Nigerian Prince scam. It was back in probably 2004. it was especially sad cause he came up to me and was like "I haven't told anyone yet, but I'm about to quit this place, I know it's crazy but it turns out I'm a Nigerian prince". I just started laughing and then quickly realized he was dead serious. When I told him it was a scam he didn't even believe me at first and even claimed to be aware of the scam but "this is different/real". By the end of the conversation and a bunch of convincing on my part, I got to see him realize that he wasn't Nigerian royalty in real time. It should have been funny, but it was just kind of depressing seeing this true believer realize he wasn't actually rich or about to quit his job. Like, yeah he was dumber than a door knob but drat.

iirc I think I caught him before he had actually sent the money out or after he had only sent a few hundred dollars. I don't even remember how that scam worked tbh. It was a pretty basic wire fraud thing right?

Happy Thread
Jul 10, 2005

by Fluffdaddy
Plaster Town Cop
They'll ask you to front money by wire yeah, and sometimes they'll send you the big huge payout first, in the form of a check that you can indeed deposit at your bank but after a while bounces

MightyJoe36
Dec 29, 2013

:minnie: Cat Army :minnie:

veni veni veni posted:

I used to work with a guy who honest to god fell for the Nigerian Prince scam. It was back in probably 2004. it was especially sad cause he came up to me and was like "I haven't told anyone yet, but I'm about to quit this place, I know it's crazy but it turns out I'm a Nigerian prince". I just started laughing and then quickly realized he was dead serious. When I told him it was a scam he didn't even believe me at first and even claimed to be aware of the scam but "this is different/real". By the end of the conversation and a bunch of convincing on my part, I got to see him realize that he wasn't Nigerian royalty in real time. It should have been funny, but it was just kind of depressing seeing this true believer realize he wasn't actually rich or about to quit his job. Like, yeah he was dumber than a door knob but drat.

iirc I think I caught him before he had actually sent the money out or after he had only sent a few hundred dollars. I don't even remember how that scam worked tbh. It was a pretty basic wire fraud thing right?

I can't count the number of times I've heard this from somebody who is about to get involved with an MLM scam.

Tubgoat
Jun 30, 2013

by sebmojo

Dumb Lowtax posted:

sometimes they'll send you the big huge payout first, in the form of a check that you can indeed deposit at your bank but after a while bounces
Forgive my non-cheque-using ignorance, but isn't bouncing a thing when you first go to deposit it? Will they re-withdraw the money from your account after honoring it? Will they send pigs to retrieve the money you withdrew from the check if you no longer have a balance?

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Red Oktober
May 24, 2006

wiggly eyes!



Tubgoat posted:

Forgive my non-cheque-using ignorance, but isn't bouncing a thing when you first go to deposit it? Will they re-withdraw the money from your account after honoring it? Will they send pigs to retrieve the money you withdrew from the check if you no longer have a balance?

When you deposit a cheque the funds are available immediately, but the cheque is sent off to the issuing bank after. If it then bounces your bank will debit the money from your account.

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