$1.5 Million Bar-code Scheme Bilks Wal-Mart Stores 618
nomrniceguy writes "Two couples have been charged in a
price-switching scheme that allegedly defrauded Wal-Mart stores in 19 states of $1.5 million over the last decade.
Authorities said the scheme involved using a home computer to produce UPC bar codes for cheaper products and slipping them over the real codes on high-priced items. The suspects then allegedly sold the merchandise, or returned it for refunds or store gift cards that also were sold."
Is it that simple to make UPC codes? (Score:2, Informative)
Furthermore, Im suprised they werent caught earlier. Itd be pretty damn hard to get those past some sort of return. Hell, I took a DVD back to WalMart after Christmas and they wanted my drivers license number (I left the tin foil hat at home
-thewldisntenuff
Re:Doesn't add up (Score:3, Informative)
They probably returned the items without receipts. Many stores will give only store credit, or gift cards in the amount of the lowest sale price for the item when it is returned without a receipt. They still would have made money, and that would account for them having gift cards to sell.
Re:Doesn't add up (Score:5, Informative)
Yes, in theory. However, one of the reasons my mom loves walmart (and i cant really argue this point) is that they will take *anything* back. No receipt? Fine! Got it somewhere else? No problem! You broke it?! and coughed on it and it's a food product?!! Sure, we'll take it back! They are very accomadating with returns.
Re:Doesn't add up (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Doesn't add up (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Doesn't add up (Score:3, Informative)
Of course, she takes the piss out of me because I look at every receipt to check the print quality, but that's because I do tech support for most of the UK's supermarkets...
Re:relapse (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Doesn't add up (Score:2, Informative)
Re:It's even simpler than that. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Doesn't add up (Score:3, Informative)
It actually has nothing to do with caring. I worked at a grocery store for quite a long time earlier this year, and store policy, it seems for most retail stores is not to do anything to interfere with a customer who is shoplifting, ripping you off, ect. Furthermore, the customer is always right rule still holds. The only time a lowly checker is supposed to even consider doing anything is if the manager instructs them to do so. And since they are told to wait until after it's over to notify the manager, and they probably didn't goto the same cashier twice, it's not hard to not get caught doing it (although, they did it too much, and eventually did get caught).
Re:Use similar items (Score:1, Informative)
While this not certainly impossible the standard UPC is actually fairly sharpie-resistant. First, the bands are either wide or narrow, but with a sharpie all you can do is make narrow bands wide. Moreover, the encoding switches from black on white to white on black in the middle, so the scanner can easily determine which direction it's reading. This means that you'll have to find the mid-point of the code and change your method from making narrow black bands wide to making wide white bands narrow. Again, possibly but annoying to say the least.
Another problem is the design of the numbering scheme. The first half of the number is assigned per-manufacturer in an orderly fashion. The second half is supposed to be randomly assigne for each product (as opposed to matching the model number). Therefore you'll probably want to change the last half, and you'd have to know another UPC that existed in the POS system, or the item wouldn't scan. And you'd have to be able to make that change simply by adding black lines.
Another problem comes from the embeded checksum (for detecting read errors, not tampering). You'd not only have to create a new code that existed in the POS system but you'd have to find one that either had the same check-digit (1/10 chance) or that had a check-digit that could be adjusted simply by adding black lines.
In short, just print new lables. It'll save you a lot of time.
HOWTO: print your own barcodes with linux (Score:5, Informative)
2) install a thermal label printer (the dymo 310 is nice)
3) install pbm2wxl if using dym310 (use google to locate)
4) type "apt-get install barcode"
5) run echo thebarcodenumber | barcode | lpr -Pdym310
6) when the local law enforcement agencies come knocking on your door claiming that the GNU barcode program is illegal and subversive software, RUN LIKE HELL!
Re:Doesn't add up (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Wal-Mart, the apotheosis of mediocre consumptio (Score:2, Informative)
Re:idiots + crime = caught (Score:4, Informative)
Nurse
Is your man secret? Did you ne'er hear say,
Two may keep counsel, putting one away?
Re:Self-checkout fraud possible (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Doesn't add up (Score:2, Informative)
Comment removed (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Doesn't add up (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Shady, but probably legal (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Doesn't add up (Score:5, Informative)
If they're doing Item Data Sync (and I know for a fact Wally World is, along with some other retailers -- since they're doing it with my employer) not only do they know the price, the UPC code, the weight, the color, but they know the inner pack (how many in a "multi-pack" if any,) how many per case, and the cube of the item so that they know how much volume the item will take up in the truck and how much real estate it will consume on the pallet. We have Logistics Strategy Analysts who think it's a Good Day (tm) when they can get a truck that gets closer to the nirvana of 4000 cube (which is the theoretical capacity of a 53' trailer.) The cube data that is provided by Item Data Sync allows them to max out shipments without "weighing out" (being overweight) or "cube out" (being too big to fit on a single trailer.)
It's a trivial matter to send this weight data to a checkout scale.
Re:Doesn't add up (Score:2, Informative)
Someone tried this with me once... kind of. (Score:5, Informative)
More on topic, this was something that was part of the training. they taught us how to find fake pricetags, hidden items (carabiners in shoes, tents in backpacks, etc.), and a whole bunch of other tricky stuff. It goes to show that if you don't pay for good training up front, you'll pay for it later.
Re:Burger King and Super Mario (Score:2, Informative)
Smash Bros. was on NES before it was on N64 [planetnintendo.com]. There existed adapters to run NES games on Super NES.
Re:Someone tried this with me once... kind of. (Score:2, Informative)
No, Guilty only when proven guilty. The clerk didn't necessarily assume anything before picking up the backpack. He just followed standard procedure.
Saying that checking the product is assuming guilt is like saying the doctor is assuming you are sick when he takes your temperature.
Re:Doesn't add up (Score:2, Informative)