Have you seen the cashier cash-back scam warnings, flying
all over Facebook and other social networking sites?
I just received such a notice, which already showed well
over half a million Facebook shares. Maybe you saw it too.
What do the cashier
cash-back scam alerts say?
Such an alert, which usually includes a photo of a customer’s
store receipt, claims that a certain customer recently discovered an unexpected cash-back
total on a store receipt. Many of the most widely circulated warnings point to
WalMart stores in various locations, although other stores (and even gas
stations) may be tagged as well.
The warning details how the apparently scammed customer
never asked for a cash-back on the transaction, which most likely involved a
debit card. (Similar stories may involve credit cards as well.)
Here, the cashier
cash-back scam stories may go in two different directions.
1) The customer supposedly left the store without receiving
any cash back, only to check the receipt later and discover the cash-back line
item listed.
2) The customer reportedly noticed the cash-back line item
on the receipt and pointed it out to the cashier, who either insisted on giving
the customer the cash or claimed he/she would delete that from the
transaction.
If the customer accepted the cash-back,
it would likely count as a cash advance against his or her own account,
incurring steep service fees or interest charges. If the cashier did not
actually cancel the cash-back, that might mean he or she pocketed the
difference, according to the scam warning stories.
Are cashiers actually stealing money from checkout customers’
credit card or checking accounts?
Apparently, the cashier cash-back scam stories, spreading
virally through social networking sites, are unproven and unsubstantiated. In
fact, most mega-stores have security cameras over their checkout stations, so
that every transaction may be monitored. (Look overhead in any Target, WalMart, or other big-box store. Those black balloon-like bubbles contain security cameras.)
Cashier cash-back scam rumors have circulated since at least
2004, despite the fact-checking efforts of popular rumor debunking sites like as Snopes,
Truth
or Fiction, Urban
Legends, and Waffles at
Noon.
This does not mean customers don’t need to double-check
receipts and guard cards carefully.
Just because actual cases have not been documented or proven
does not mean it does not pay to be cautious. When actual credit card or debit
card thefts or scams do occur, customers are expected to report them promptly.
In many cases, banks hold customers responsible for the first $50 of the
fraudulent charges, although account policies vary from one provider to
another.
Smart customers will examine cashier receipts carefully.
Savvy consumers will also fact-check viral warnings before sharing as well.
Sometimes a little homework pays off.
Image/s:
WalMart Checkout
Creative Commons
Attribution 2.0 Generic License
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