Originally Posted by
Stout
I used to work for a department store that had one of those no questions asked return policies. Employees were told to issue a slight challenge like "This brand isn't and has never been sold by this store" and if the customer didn't leave then either issure a refund based on the price
tag, or make them an offer.
One big scam was in fragrances. A customer buys ( or steals ) a plastic wrapped bod with a bottle of perfume in it, somehow opens the plastic wrapper. takes out the box and bottle, removes the bottle and replaces it with something of similar weight as the bottle, usually a rock, reseals the plastic wrapper and returns the box with the rock in it for a full refund.
Sales associates wouldn't examine the wrapping and issue a full refund. Later someone else some back with the actual bottle of perfume and returns it saying " I tried it for a week and I hate it, sorry I threw out the box" and gets a refund.
Stealing things and returning them was par for the course.
Then there was the buy an expensive item of clothing, wear it for a while then return it for a refund with the insistence that" No, it's never been worn" scam.
Thieves and scammers knew how store security worked and store security knew that thieves and scammers knew how store security worked so there was this constant dance with both groups trying to stay one step ahead of each other.
Got a really obvious thief scoping the place out ? Don't pay too that person because they're a distraction for the real thief whose no too far behind. Sometimes store security would act and look like thieves so the real thieves would relax and ply their trade confident that the other thief will have store securities attention.
I remember similar scams from when I was in retail. We had this one couple that always came in and never bought anything. And surrounding that couple, a lot of stuff went missing (ex. clothes they tried on). One time and employee returning from lunch spotted them getting into a car that was full of merchandise, and a few times people saw strange bulges on their backs underneath their clothes, etc.
Eventually one of my coworkers was promoted to manager in a store in her home state, two states over. She reported that the