Free Money ---------- Free money. The ultimate scam. Ok. First, you need to find a store that does price matching. Certain computer warehouses do it like Computer City, Comp USA (i think), and a few others. Find a high price item at one store, and find another place that price matches but has it for a higher price. That is pretty easy to do. Good items to do this on are printers, scanners, monitors, etc. Remember that they usually won't match on full systems or anything like that. Purchase the item at the expensive place. Leave, come back the next day. Walk in to the customer service desk and tell them how you purchased something there and found it cheaper somewhere else. When they ask, tell them where you found it so they can call and verify. Once they do, they can offer the price match, and if under a certain amount, give you CASH back for the difference. Try to shoot for about a 70 or 80 dollar difference because most places have a limit of 100 dollars and the rest is done by checks mailed to you. When you are doing all this, it is important that you keep your receipt away from them as much as possible. Hold on to it, fidget with it, drop it, whatever, just don't let them write on it. Most places will just write the price on something else and then do some shit on the register and give you the difference. If they give you the money, and do NOT write on your receipt, then thank them, walk out, and wait. Come back a few days later, during a different shift, and scope out who is working. Make sure there aren't too many familiar faces, and go up and do the same thing. As long as they don't mark up your receipt, then you are fine, and they have no proof that they have given YOU the money back. If for some reason you are in their computer system, or they suspect it, tell them that you buy things from them all the time, and that you end up getting prices matched on a lot of things. After you do this a few times, return the item (within 30 days usually) and get your money back. They key is no marks on your receipt. Free Goods ---------- Once again, this works great at busy computer warehouses etc. Go in and buy a pretty high price item. Once again, printers, scanners, memory if it isn't locked up, or anything else. Purchase one item while the store is real busy, and people aren't paying attention to a lot. Go through the line, buy the item, and stall afterwards. Say something like "I need to look for my friend" or "Can I go look at something else?". Either way, say this while your receipt is in your hand, and the cashier can see it. Odds are, s/he will tell you no prob, as long as you have your receipt. Walk back in for about 5 to 10 minutes, WHILE IT IS BUSY! That is the most important part of this whole thing. If they let you take the item back in the store, that is fine, if they keep it there, that is still cool. After you have walked around a bit, go back up and talk to a different person, and show them the receipt and the merchandise. Walk out with it, since you payed for it, drop it in a friends car and let him drive off. Walk back in while it is still busy, go through the store and pick up a second item. If they original cashier made you leave it at the register or something, you might have some problems, just depends on if you see the oportunity. Anyway, if you were allowed to carry it back in the store, wait until you see the person you talked to leave the area. Go back to your original cashier, show the item, and the receipt, and walk out with a second one. Wait a couple of days and come back with one of them, and tell them you want to return it for your money. They shouldn't have a problem with that if it is unopened. Now you have a high dollar item, and your money back. Use the item, sell it, or whatever. It was free. The other way: Many places make you check in your bag from another store when you enter. If they do, and don't give you a ticket, yes, some places do that, then go in, walk around, and as you exit, walk up to the counter and ask for your bag. You can usually see what kind of bags are there, and half the time see what is in it in case they ask you. You don't get to select your stuff that way, but it is free and hell, if the receipt is in the bag you can return it for someone else's money. :) Free Hardware ------------- Free hardware. Run to your local computer warehouse and purchase a complete system. Hell, get a 486/66 with a 450 meg hard drive, 8 meg of ram, and some other shit. Pay with cash or check and take your item home. Don't worry, you will get the money back. As soon as you are home rip open the machine and take out the motherboard, hard drive, memory, and anything else you need. Put all your old shit in it and box it back up identically. Take the whole thing right back to the store and return it for your money. Just tell them that you aren't ready to make such a large purchase, can't afford it after all, or anything else. If the place doesn't give cash back, then don't pay by cash. Ideally, use a check, and just ask the place to get the check back out and let you rip it up. That way, there is little or no record of who did it. You don't want your name, or address, or anything else left with them if at all possible. If you hesitate doing that, then do everything, but call back in and tell them that when you got home, it wasn't what you bought, and that apparently, the box had been opened. Despite what you may think, when stuff is returned to warehouses, they often re-shrink wrap a box or retape it for resale. Free Software ------------- Free software without being a warez kiddie. You ever need some free software. Don't want to pay? Don't wanna get on a warez board? Want the docs and everything else? Go to Egghead! If you live in a town with Egghead Software, then you are set. As this file is being written, Egghead will allow you to purchase software, install it, use it, copy it, whatever, and then let you return it without a hassle! I work at a competitor of Egghead and am constantly beaten over the head with that fact since we don't allow software to be returned after it has been opened. Anyway, take your time with the software, copy the docs, manuals, or whatever else, and then return it for another piece. If they ask why you are returning it, just say one of the following: - I didn't have the system requirements. (HD, RAM, etc) - I have Macintosh/IBM and this won't work on my computer. - The box said it did this and this, and it doesn't quite do what I need. - I wanted it in CD Rom - Or any other excuse like that. Now you have access to high dollar software, access to copy the documentation, and you didn't have to become a warez kiddie to do so! Other Things ------------ If you have access to a shrink wrapping machine, you have almost unlimited access to free stuff. Easy as this: 1) Purchase something kinda small. 2) Take it home, immediately open and take out the goodies. 3) Put something in the box that weighs the same, and close the box up. 4) Re-shrink wrap the box. 5) Take it back almost right away and ask for your money back. Since they will no doubt look at the time and date it was purchased, and the fact that it is 'unopened' they will no doubt give you your money back. Only thing to watch out for is that when you replace the goods, make sure it doesn't 'shake' differently. Notice how things were packed, and make sure the weight is about the same. By the same token you can do this: Buy an item, take out the goods, replace it with a few decks of cards or something, and then return it to the store claiming that was all that was in it. Just be pushy and no doubt a manager will let you get a new one by "customer satisfaction". Wait a few days, and then take it back for your money. Afterword --------- With those ideas, I think you can start to see the possibilites of retail scams. Working for retail will open you up to most of the ways, and keeping an eye out for customers that do it to you is the other good way. Always remember to not get greedy. That will put a quick end to scamming most of the time. If you are not the best at social engineering (which a lot of this is in one way or another) then go for the old fashioned way of shoplifting. For a good guide to shoplifting, check out FUCK0016.TXT by Max Headroom. If you wonder what that file is, it is the 16th file released by F.U.C.K. (Fucked Up College Kids) and is a good guide on how not to get caught. Yes, a shameless plug never hurts.