Many retailers now ask “Do you need a receipt?” Say yes, otherwise you don’t get one!! And then you could get scammed.
Be wary about this latest scam
…ASK FOR A RECEIPT.
ASK FOR THE RECEIPT
When you pay using your a credit card, you are not always asked if you want a receipt. In fact, some retailers do not bother to automatically issue a receipt unless the purchase is greater than a certain amount, $30 often. Therefore, you must ask for the receipt.
THE SCAM
Someone, I know recently purchased a quantity of stuff, over $450, and when they glanced at their receipt, they saw “cash out” of $20.
They explained that no such request for cash had been made and for the transaction to be cancelled. The clerk responded that cancellation was not possible and that the customer must take the $20 cash in hand.
The customer insisted on cancellation rather than taking the cash. A supervisor confirmed that cancellation was not possible. So the cash would have to be taken by the customer. The customer indignantly refused explaining that taking the cash would debit their card at the highest interest rate, “Cash advance.” The supervisor said the only way to rectify the situation was to cancel the whole order and re-enter it, item by item.
The second order
Just before entering the pin number again for the second scanning of the order, the customer noticed that the “cash-back of $20” had popped up again!!!
At that point, the customer asked that the cash-back $20 be deleted which it was, resulting in a ‘clean’ bill this time. No cash back of $20 was on the purchase.
Asking for an explanation, the customer was told it was likely a defective keyboard. But with neither of the two earlier $20 cash backs were offered to the customer at all. Yet the till indicated that $20 cash could be taken out…and given to whom???
Can you imagine how many people went through before this customer and by the end of the shift how much money could be pocketed by the cashier?
Receipt scam, new but growing fast
The receipt – cash back scam is the latest scam and it is growing by leaps and bounds.
The bottom line
In a nutshell, unscrupulous cashiers can add a “cash back” item to your receipt and unless you get a copy of the receipt and read it, you will never realize you have been scammed.
Ask for the receipt at check out
Protect yourself. Ask for a receipt for every credit card payment and check the receipt on the spot, not after leaving the cash register/store. Check the bottom of the receipt where “cash backs” are listed.
CHECK YOUR RECEIPT
Before leaving the check-out…
CHECK YOUR RECEIPT!!!!!
