What Is the Most Desperate Scam a Customer Has Tried to Pull on You?

[@xfuriousapex]

Working night shift at Wendy's. Winter. A dude with a snow plow bolted on the front of his truck comes to the drive thru and tells me "Amy, the night manager, gives me free food to plow the parking lot. It's a deal we've had for years." I told him We had a professional service for that, and no one named Amy worked there. He said I just didn't know her because she was "the night manager." I pointed out that it was night at that moment, and I was the manager. And I had worked there for 15 years. And I made the schedule. So I knew ALL the managers.

[@Sadakorka]

Hahah.

[@greg_216]

1:14 I called Citibank customer service on the morning of 9/11/2001 about some credit card issues. I had to phone a few times to actually get an agent. And while I wasn't rude or anything, I was annoyed. Later learning that a good chunk of NYC's communication network (and thousands of lives) had just been obliterated by a terrorist attack was a humbling moment and a lesson not to judge situations too quickly.

[@NurseSnow2U]

Wow. It never ceases to amaze me just how MANY different ways 9/11 change the world...even something as Innocuous as this is a powerful reminder as you stated. I'll never forget this story.

[@roxcyn]

My wake up was when I was calling for Billy Bob (I was the CSR and I made up the name for privacy), Billy Bob's brother answered, starts bawling. Supposedly his brother had just died that day in a car accident. 😢. Sh** got really quick. 😮

[@Screaminglemon631]

When my mom was pregnant with me she got a job working as a grocery store supervisor. The store had this junkie who would come in to return bottles and cans for money. he would only shop there when there were new cashiers on. His trick was to dump all his money on the conveyor belt to count it, and then get real nasty and mean and claim that x amount slipped inside the belt and he needed to be reimbursed for the dollar or what ever, because it was aparently their fault for moving it... he tried this with my mom one day, except she knew that she could open the conveyor belt and she lifted it up to show him the inside. sure enough, no money to be found... loser did not like being thrwarted out of one dollar so he screamed "bitch!" at her and then stormed out without the groceries or his money. And they never saw him again lol

[@xfuriousapex]

Working drive-thru at a fast food place. Teenager hands me a credit card with a Chinese name on it. Lots of X's in that name. No way this kid was Chinese. So I ran it and told him it was flagged at stolen. He said, "That's my mom's card." So I asked him, "How is you mom's name pronounced?" He Just stared at me for a few seconds then tore out of there, leaving the card behind.

[@riagreen9294]

I can’t 😂😂😂

[@ttmack354]

When I was working at big blue box electronic store, a customer put up a stink when I went to check the television he wanted to return(standard process). He contested, "you don't need to do that, are you calling me a liar?" Well now I think he's pulling a fast one. "Sor we have to check all items being returned" . Open up the box and it's not even the same brand. Customer fuming the whole time. Then he tries to pull "well that's why I'm returning it! I bought it used and it wasn't the right tv!!" . I sigh, "sir, this signature on your receipt *points to receipt* is a written agreement that the tv was checked BEFORE you bought it, we open every box before selling it and show it to the customer" "WELL THE PERSON WHO SOLD IT TO ME DIDNT" Sir just stop.

[@WolfyFancyLads]

"You just don't know how often I've gotten away with it" Some people are really good at nicking from stores and security can't always catch them. So that's either a brag or a blunt statement of how bad crime is getting.

[@seadragon4425]

Not me but my sister. She works at a pet store and there were gift bags with toys and treats for pets, they were for customers and for the workers, but you had to pay for them, cause you know, it’s a store you buy stuff from it. One lady takes a bunch of them and starts to walk out, my sister walks up and says “oh you have to pay for those they aren’t free” the lady says “oh it’s okay!” And continues walking. My sister follows her and says. “No those aren’t free you have to pay for them.” And the lady said. “No it’s okay I’ll come back and pay later” and continues walking, my sister’s co worker noticed this and also tried to stop her, the lady just kept a happy tone and said “no it’s ok! I’ll come back later to pay for them!” And then she eventually left and drove away. No idea if she actually paid for them. My sister has dealt with a lot of shitty customers blaming her for the reason why they’re out of stuff and trying to follow her in before the store opens, but that had to be the worst. Though that’s the pet store where she got an absolute love bug of a cat and due to being an employee, she got the cat for free due to her discounts and a pet card. Playing with kittens, puppies, and birds seems like heaven.

[@JeiCos]

I have one lol So I was not in at the time, but my boss then showed me the video and told me all about it. This was a grocery store. A small one. Think like 3, maybe 4, 7-11's all together. About that size maybe smaller. Well, this woman decided to do the "heavy item fell on her" scam. It was a frying pan. No, it was not cast iron. This one could fall on a child's head and they'd just go "what the heck was that". This was an outlet type store, where we got things other grocery stores didn't need or want. A lot of it was garbage tier stuff. This was one of those. Like an aluminum pan or some shit. So this lady decided to knock it off the shelf on her foot, and try to tell my boss she was gonna sue the store for it "breaking her foot" (she actually said it broke her foot). Directly on camera. This dumb idiot looked RIGHT INTO THE CAMERA, then back at the pan on the shelf and knock it off like a cat would knock your keys off the table, right onto her own foot. Clear as day. With sound and everything. After the crash, an immediate ^Ahem (through clear). Inhale....SCREAM!^ Very clearly faking the whole thing ON CAMERA! Afterwards, my boss told her to get the fuck out before he calls the cops, and she leaves still screaming that she's gonna sue for her "broken foot", which, by the way, she is walking normally on. A week later my boss get's some papers in the mail that THIS BITCH ACTUALLY STARTED A LAWSUIT! He saved the video. Bitch got arrested for some fraud or scam type shit and went to prison. Turns out, just as you might assume, she's done this a LOT, and this was the start of proving she made these things up. But for Christ's sake, I just can't fathom how someone can look into a camera, then fake something THAT BADLY, and not think "shit that's a camera. That will show me faking it..Maybe this won't work?" The amount of stupid on this planet is just..astounding.

[@phlushphish793]

Worked at an insurance co. A sales rep told me at an insurance co. he used to work at they got a Workman's comp injury case they were suspicious about; so, sent two investigators to surveil the guy. They caught him on camera climbing a ladder to his roof to clean out his gutters. Busted!

[@JeiCos]

@@phlushphish793 That's super common. A lot of stories on these reddit posts are fake, but that one I will ALWAYS believe because it s one of the most common. Humans are dumb, and don't realize they MIGHT be investigated when they file a lawsuit, so they don't do their little act when they are'nt in a place they think they need to do it (limping around/wearing a bandage of some kind/etc), so when someone drives by their home to spy on them, they get caught.

[@michealdrake3421]

20:05 I've worked at a couple of hookah lounges in NC. There all tobacco returns are illegal. Any place that sells tobacco products will have signs saying all sales are final. That's not to say the law is always followed exactly. Returns and exchanges of small stuff for damages or better fitting parts aren't uncommon.

[@RikuxRoxi]

Tweaker at Macy’s. I’m a seasonal hire day two at the customer service desk and there’s a woman who brings me a north face coat for a return with a receipt. Wrong receipt for whatever item at $140, $200 coat, no crl. And the kicker: THE FUCKING INK SENSOR WAS STILL ON IT. I know that was bullshit the moment I saw it. You can’t just leave with one of those on. She gives me a vague description of the girl that helped her, I know who she’s talking about but surprise! She’s not on shift that day so I play a little game with her cuz I’m bored and we go on a hunt around the store until my feet hurt. I offer to call her. She gets even more on edge cuz she’s not sure that I caught on yet. Call Loss Prevention and pretend to have a conversation while the guy on the other end catches on to what I’m doing and heads my way. He shows up, she gives her bullshit spiel and shows us her phone and bank statement for whatever and tells us to check the cameras. It might’ve been my second day there but I’ve been a manager at several retails and the quickest way to out yourself is to say “check the cameras.”

[@CSKaras]

On several occasions, I have had those little tags still on items I purchased, and had to return to the store to get them removed. I always had my receipt for proof of purchase because I was accused more than once of trying to steal the product.

[@pennyclark4844]

When the lottery first started in the UK,I was working in a supermarket. I had so many arguments with people because they thought they'd got 3 numbers. They had 2 numbers plus the bonus ball and that didn't count. I was so happy when I left.

[@corinnacarlson3748]

I work at Amazon in the returns dept. And we only deal with things you wear. Thankfully it's just processing returns and I don't have to deal with customers. But a few common scams are sending an old clothing item in the place of the item that they are supposedly returning ( i even had moldy shoes sent once), sending their nasty dirty wigs in place of what is supposed to be returned, and sending the items back with pieces missing. Sad part is a customer can get away with this many times before a red flag is made.

[@bland9876]

I really don't see what people think when they decide to take drugs like all you have to do is take one class on drugs to know what they do to your body and why it is a bad idea

[@notsmii7y]

It’s amazing how stupid people are and think they can scam people that clearly helped them the day before

[@xfuriousapex]

In my convenience store days a guy wanted to exchange two dime wrappers for $10 in bills. You can tell just by looking when someone has stuffed pennies into a dime wrapper. I pretended like I was stupid and took them, busted them open, and spilled the pennies all over the floor. He acted like he had no idea there were pennies in there and got down on his hands and knees and gathered them all up again while a line of people waited. People would try to cash in doctored scratch off tickets. It's was so obvious because they had to scratch off every trace of the sticky stuff. Normal people only scratch off enough to see if they won.

[@AdviserMoppet]

Worked at a pharmacy and we had a boyfriend/girlfriend couple try to return 4 boxes of Align probiotics for cash without a receipt. They were the obvious heroin/hard drug addicts complete with the track marks and everything. Stuff they had tried to return had been stolen. Align goes for $40 a box there's no way they bought it. Manager told them we can give them store credit. They of course didn't want that they wanted cash so they can get their next hit. Flat out told them no and they started to get angry until we said we were going to call the cops. They left in seconds probably because they have drugs in the car.

[@chippendaleduo]

That one story reminds me of the time I bought a brand new DVD at WalMart and opened it to find no disc. I was so afraid they'd think I was trying to get one by one them, but I really did want to watch it. Luckily they let me exchange it for the same one. Even let me open it in the store in front of the returns desk. It's the scammers that ruin trust in people :/

[@NicholeParker]

Honestly, as someone in retail, most of us are just tired. Not suspicious, just tired of it. So it’s easier to trade it out and all, instead of put up a fight. Plus I think a lot of us want to believe it is an accident, and they honestly do happen. My parents bought a ceiling fan and when they got it home it had three different blade designs and missing pieces. Luckily most stores get credit for problem items, but this incentivizes managers to submit to Karens and the like. So don’t be afraid of returns if you aren’t guilty. We track the problem people so you’re fine.

[@haseozenithmaru1186]

Old job memories

[@jessicajay9569]

I can’t fall asleep without watching at least one of your videos 😌

[@farsi1767]

Or Radio TTS

[@kaylanmartinez771]

I put my phone under my ear and lay down lol it’s the only way I can sleep now

[@sophiatrovato8658]

OKAY THOUGHT IT WAS ONLY ME

[@memorialled_zeppelin-warew1346]

@@kaylanmartinez771 .... I thought i was the only one. Very glad im not. 😆

[@mullerlarco]

Yess literally! Just such nice background noise to fall asleep to. Gets me out of my own head

[@ryancoulter4797]

There used to be a Canadian department store called Eaton’s (like Macy’s, including the parades) where they had a return policy where if the tags were still on the clothes you could return it. The original owner died and his kids squandered the fortune and the chain of Eaton’s stores all closed. But they still had that return policy as they closed. One lady came into the local location with outfits she’d bought 30 years earlier but had never worn and they all still had tags on them. They ended up refunding her just to get her to leave.

[@resdraon]

Yesterday at target a customer tried to return a jack-o-lantern because she said she messed up the carving she was doing on it and since we had no pumpkins to exchange it we have to refund her the whole price of it and another pumpkin. For some reason management ended up giving her 20% of the original price of said pumpkin(Like 50 cents?) back.

[@corsaircarl9582]

In order for these people to think these tactics work, means that somewhere in the past it *DID* work so they're trying it again. No one just wakes up and goes "I am the expert conman" and then proceed to think a crayon-drawn coupon is identical to the same as a normal coupon.

[@phlushphish793]

What about that guy who drew his own license plate?

[@ZephyrinSkies]

Uhh, those people do exist

[@corsaircarl9582]

@@ZephyrinSkies So they honestly think people are so dumb they'll fall for anything basically.

[@lizfritz6546]

“He wasn’t aware his work didn’t exist anymoreL

[@hk4124]

I work at a game store (like game stop but we do old school stuff too) had a guy bring in 13 new copies of NBA 2k22. Per store policy "don't judge the customer" we had to buy them even though they were obviously stolen. I could tell the games looked funny and luckily also per store policy we can't buy games as new even if they are sealed, we have to open them and buy them as used. Dude started freaking out "you ain't gotta open it you can see it's brand new!". When he saw me grab the box cutter to open the first one he took off out the door. Turns out every case was empty, idk how this guy got ahold of 13 empty game cases but he did and shrink wrapped them to make it look new. He even managed to remove the little stickers that seal the case and put them back. You had to really look to nodice it wasn't right. Our best guess was that he stole the games and was trying to double dip by selling the disks separately.

[@lightningcat815]

I worked at GameStop and there are loads of these stories. My favorite is this guy who is trading in a Xbox one with a wired controller ($25) and I ask him if he has the original controller ($60) and he tries to convince me it’s some limited edition whatever. I tell him no it’s not, I literally have the exact controller on the wall behind me, I know it’s a cheep third party controller.

[@gearfox7]

Ooooh I got a story. I work as overnight grocery in a kroger. Some guy was calling the store and was trying to scam us to order some bulk of can sodas and other goods to a specific shop. He said he was the manager of the store. When my friend told me about that I made it my mission to fuck around with the caller. A few hours before closing time he called again. "Hi, my name is *-insert managers name here-* I need a stock of this ordered and delivered to this location" At that point I put on my best german-american accent and played him like a fool till he realized that he was being fooled and hanged up. A week after he called again and I impersonated a heavy southern texas. It tool him at least 10 minutes and 3 times I put him on hold to realize I was the same guy bamboozling him and he hanged up. He did it again next week but he was cautious so I straight up told him. If You keep calling and pretend you are the manager of my store then I will keep fucking around till you are pissed off. That pissed him off for being called out And we haven't heard from him again

[@noneofyourbizznizz5375]

How brazen do you have to be to try these. I don't care if it's the area manager or a 16 yr old telling me my coupons expired, that's it. Game over, no coupon for me afaic. That jumpsuit story... I mean when I worked retail I was always understanding/lenient with returns but... It's got s**t in it. 👁️👄👁️

[@goodeats5845]

14:22 I just quit my job at Sephora and I can 100% CONFIRM this Esp the discount stacking

[@NicholeParker]

Maybe retail has exhausted me but I have never considered returning makeup or anything like that. That just seems so wasteful, both the product and my time.

[@lieferal4984]

I worked at a StarBucks in a busy shopping mall. There was a middle aged customer that we had to keep an eye out for, who paid using a £50 note. Who upon the cashier figuring out what his change was he would try to throw them off in order to receive more change back. No matter the cause.. if your till float is down by £5 then you would be investigated,

[@lieferal4984]

so this a*@h£+# was costing people their jobs. One day I was serving a man who fit his description, he used his £50 note and tried to throw me off. I asked him to stop talking as I needed to concentrate. So I intentionally paid him back in coins and a few £5 bills. He was not amused

[@trogdortheburninator3621]

Some kid tried using a fake id. The crap didn't even have his picture, just the blue curtain. I laughed in his face, junked it and told him to get his money back. He did not get his booze. Also, printed IDs...really?

[@chillydawgg4354]

Got a ton of these from the thrift store I used to work at, switching price tags, grab & dash, but the biggest was a couple who filled up 3 carts with mostly metal stuff, waited to be the absolute last people checking out at closing, then tried to pass a bad check knowing we all just wanted to get the f out of there at the end of our shift. Their total was several hundred $ & they were saying stuff like, " I don't get it, we have like $5000 in that account" luckily the manager didn't fall for it, but we still had to put all the crap back on the shelves

[@renaysari6631]

There was some guy in another country that bought a really nice computer, then came back to the store the next day saying that it was full of potatoes, sure enough it was full of spuds. They did the return, the dumb ass tried it again, they refused the next return, because what are the odds that you would get two computers full of potatoes.

[@grmpEqweer]

1:02 that's some effing chutzpah!

[@itslorn4400]

I love the first one. Wish I could have been there for it.😁

[@JStorm13]

Had a person come into the electronics area at night and wanting a visa gift card and an apple watch. He slid his card and told me I should type in the total and hit "cash". I told him no and that wasn't how it worked. He kept trying and eventually gave up and said he would be back with money from the ATM. Never saw him again. Looked up later and apparently I spoiled the guys "cash-cash scam."

[@leviweise1000]

The copper wire thief. Trying to sell stolen goods back to the people they stole it from. I think they played to much Skyrim.

[@DuchessofEarlGrey]

I'm surprised they weren't wandering around with baskets or buckets to put over peoples' heads before stealing.

[@breensprout]

i used to work at a second-hand clothing store where we would take returns up to two weeks so long as the item was unworn, the tag was still attached, and they had the receipt. one day when i was putting items back out on the floor i realized someone had returned an obviously dirty jacket. i looked at the tag and it was attached, but with a different type of tagging gun than what we carried in the store. this person took the tag off, wore the jacket, then bought a tagging gun to reattach the tag in order to return it. i was really pissed at the person working returns that day.

[@fratercontenduntocculta8161]

The worst ones are where they descend into basically name calling lol.

[@alichamay7012]

Not retail, but witness someone try to scam a sale purchased through a food stamp card. The lady in question bought two eggplants on sale and wanted to rerun it and not only wanted it returned, but also wanted it back at the current price. The server person explained about 5 times how it wasn't possible, as she used the card and they can't give money or store credit on food stamp purchases. The lady was not too belligerent but claimed the whole ordeal unfair before leaving. I had to ask how common that happened. The service counter just shook her head and sighed and stated, "All the time" I don't know that lady's story and I don't care about playing the system, but the person behind the counter can't magic their way around a bunch of fraud layers there because people try a lot to scam said system.

[@JJ-xj9xq]

There was a guy who was apparently was buying giftcards from our store and then selling them to customers. In the store.

[@BoondockBrony]

I work the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. One guy at the drive thru asked if we do law enforcement discount my manager said no, then at the window he asked if we did veteran discounts. I said no, he flat out asked me "Are you doing this because I'm black? Because I work for a company that can have your job." I was tired and just said: "Sir, I just look at the screen." I was scared for the rest of my shift but afterwards I knew he was clearly playing sheep dog as well as stealing valor for a discount then played the race card when it didn't work.

[@Runnow642]

There is some type of scam where the scammer randomly sent something to a random place and apparently they were gonna exchange cash there at our home but the user of the phone they called to is actually my deceased grandfather so they were basically scamming a dead person

[@Hannah-yh5gx]

Early, these are how I entertain myself very day and most of quarantine 🥰

[@PaBa1984]

Guy came in with an old Sega Genesis controller and said it was broken. It was in fact visibly broken. However, this was 2004. He did not get a refund.

[@THOMAS_VANN]

the credit card fake one is funny tho there obviously is still a chance the numbers would work if manually input

[@tidepodpadthai2633]

Why do these people take it so seriously, like the company doesn't care about you so why try so hard to prevent them from losing a few bucks

[@phlushphish793]

Had a friend that used to work at Marshall's. He told me of a guy that would regularly come in with stuff he stole from the store & 'return' it for credit on his credit card. Saw him in another clerk's line, called the clerk & told him not to do the return. The clerk did it. Then he saw a Mexican run out with a bag of socks. Security chased him, tackled him in the parking lot & called the police. My friend said, "So, credit card fraud is OK. But a bag of socks? We take that seriously!"

[@NurseSnow2U]

"a Mexican".....really, REALLY?!? Convinced some folks must've lived under a rock LITERALLY because wow...this is cognitive dissonance on a whole new level. Smh lol.

[@phlushphish793]

@@NurseSnow2U Why do you say that?

[@melancholykaleidoscope2859]

Real talk. One time I went to Walmart and bought a game for the 360 (don't remember what game) but it was brand new in the plastic and everything. Got home and opened it and it was some random CD. I was a little kid so me and my grandma went to return it and kinda they didn't believe it but I told them all I wanted was the exact same game so they let me.

[@annana6098]

My sister bought a soundtrack to a movie once and peeled the cellophane off to find an album by Queen in there instead. Nothing against Queen, just not what she paid for. The store let us return it for another copy of what she wanted, and sister opened it at the register herself to be sure.

[@phlushphish793]

Bought cold medicine at Von's. It has some ingredient druggies use to make something. Opened the box & half the tabs were missing & the box had been resealed. I'm not making a return trip to the store for that but I was pissed!

[@melancholykaleidoscope2859]

@@annana6098 I would be mad as hell if I bought ANYTHING and it turned out to be a queen CD

[@melancholykaleidoscope2859]

@@phlushphish793 lmaooo

[@NicoleHeals]

Warning: Feces Inside

[@Courier_6]

Hi, I’d like to return this Keurig Coffee Maker: it doesn’t work, doesn’t have a power cable and makes odd noises, can I get it exchanged?(man is holding what is clearly a rabbit)

[@Spacemanct]

Awesome another new video where I've already heard all the stories. Stop reusing old stuff and acting like its new content.

[@soccerjfam4473]

I’m accidentally early 😂

[@kendoruslink7017]

Yo, I can trim your armour

[@fnafplayer6447]

Just go back to the normal tracks PLEASE

[@mikehawk6517]

Yeet

[@danielfox9461]

So....not that I didnt love it, my ears have never pricked up so fast...but what's with the oddly specific but entirely unnecessary name drop of my hometown? Sparkle city...Spartanburg s.c.

[@iniesta8856]

This is either reposted or stolen... I saw a video with a lot of these more than a month ago.

[@Shermmy]

recycled content

[@smortwoody8128]

I'm early on accident

[@smortwoody8128]

Claim your before 200 view ticket here