(eva_deht)
Time was, a burglar needed a gun or a knife to hold up a store. But kids today, they got all sorts of new-fangled ways of pulling heists, like the Walmart in Ohio that is now short over $11,000 because of a phone call.
According to police in Columbus, OH, someone called up a local Walmart around 1 a.m. on Sunday morning and “tricked a clerk” into activating money cards over the phone and giving the suspect the activation numbers.
When all was said and done, the criminal had helped themselves to $11,054.60 in money cards.
While we certainly don’t condone retail crime, this is certainly a more inventive use of the phone than the Wendy’s robber who later called the restaurant — twice — to complain about the pittance he stole from the till.
Suspect Steals $11K With Phone Call To Walmart [NBC4i.com]
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What’s a money card?
+1
Yeah, just what is a money card?
How do i get one? .
What do i say to the Wal-tard to get one activated?
So many questions.
The credit card for wal mart? Perhaps it could be the company card?
Either way, this smells fishy… methinks the employee and scammer may have worked together to collect some money. Why did nobody consider this?
I am guessing they’re talking about the Walmart MoneyCard, which is a pre-paid, reloadable Visa card. No bank account required, and the cards can be used anywhere. Hopefully Walmart can just de-activate the bad cards… unless they’ve already been used.
It’s a prepaid card that people can use to cash their paychecks at Walmart without having a bank account. I remember when they first came out and they were loaded with outrageous fees.
Could it be more self explanatory? Really?
Could you be less helpful?
And while the walmart was being robbed, walmart was successfully alienating its paying customers via receipt check and full body cavity search for possible stolen CDs…
what’s a CD?
Something that pays better interest than a savings account
It is the polite term for “retard”.
people steal retards?
Life’s tough
So why doesn’t walmart get in touch with the credit card company that is the basis for the numbers and deactivate them?
This is a common scam. The money is moved from the cards as soon as they are activated so they really have no recourse.
I didn’t know you could activate gift cards over the phone! Either that person was in on the con, or was not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
You can’t, and this scam is more common that you would believe. The most common method is for the con to pretend he is with the corporate office or the CC company and they are “testing” the system.
It was just a stupid employee. No matter how much they educate people about it this still happens.
You can, they are activated by putting the is numbers in the system, those numbers are on the barcode, every system let’s you type in the numbers when the barcode scanner isn’t working, you just have to walk the employee through it.
Sounds like a typical Wal-mart employee at the Westpointe Plaza location. But the people who shop there, Jesus Christ, it doesn’t get any worse.
Some Wal-Marts are like shopping at a bazaar in a third world country. There’s one not too far from my house that is known as “Freak-Mart.” I think every city has their own Freak-Mart.
We have several in Columbus. This location, the one on Morse Road and the one in Whitehall are all places to avoid.
No kidding. The two you mentioned are far worse than the one in the story.
I agree, but the area around that Wal-mart is going downhill FAST. It used to be halfway decent a few years ago, but it is a giant shit-hole now.
I knew the elitist WalMart shopper comments would surface sooner rather than later.
If looking down on inappropriate behavior and crime makes me an elitist, then I guess I am.
Sorry if I misunderstood. I thought your comment was about “people.” As in “those people.” You didn’t mention any behaviors.
It sounds like Walmart lost $11K because of poorly trained staff, not because of a phone call.
Definitely. People have tried phone scams at every place I’ve ever worked. Employees need to be trained not to activate anything or have a customer pay for anything over the phone. Period.
Wal-Marts are a rural/suburb thing us city folk don’t get to experience the joys of Wal-Mart… I think it was nice of them to provide shoplifting services over the phone.
Think again. Walmart managed to infiltrate my beloved hometown (Chicago), which may very well be the foot-in-the-door they need to get into other big cities.
Then again, real estate for a store of their size is so costly that maybe they’ll stay out on the outer edges of the city, which are basically suburbia anyway.
Atlanta has one by the I-75 South exit for the Georgia Dome/World Congress Center via Northside Drive, putting this one within a mile of the Midtown skyscrapers. (We’re so proud! … $#&@)
People will blame it on walmart using low cost employees, but the vast majority of companies are highly vulnerable to social engineering attacks. Not just places like walmart
http://www.darkreading.com/insiderthreat/security/attacks/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=226600101&cid=nl_DR_DAILY_2010-08-06_h
+1.
Very true.
Love the picture. “Oh, FINSTAH! FInstah baby!”
I saw a sign posted in a Kroger directed to cashiers and managers NOT to do this very thing.
the story is missing details. most likely he had some empty money cards and he paid with stolen credit card to put money on them. only way I see if having it make sense.
Y’know if you people would SHOW YOUR RECEIPTS this never would’ve happened!!!!!!
/snark
inside job
“tricked a clerk” – meaning the clerk got caught stealing from Walmart and is blaming someone else. My theory, anyway.
I didn’t know Walmart was open at 1 a.m Sunday. Around here they’re 7 a.m to 11 p.m.
You must live in the boonies. Most are 24/7 now. The only time I ever see my walmart closed is christmas and for an hour before Black Friday starts.
Most Wal-Marts these days are open 24 hours a day
Any time Walmart loses money, it warms my heart.
Agreed.
hmmm… I know a clerk thats going to have a hard time finding a job