Common scams, frauds, etc in Target Electronics department

Most of your guests will be normal, rule-following shoppers but there are some scams to watch out for. Especially when you are new, scammers are always looking to take advantage of us. Following is a list of some common, and some not-so-common things you may have to deal with and suggestions on how to deal with them. Scammers by nature are clever and always coming up with new stuff, so do not think that this list is by any means comprehensive. Always use your brain – when something seems sketchy, it probably is.

K1/Cash Card Scam

Guest will pay with card and pretend to swipe it and it won’t work
They will tell the cashier that the card is a cash card and that they need to “run it as cash” using the K1 option.
- Some scammers will get angry at cashier to intimidate and throw them off guard, and others are just very smooth talkers that pretend to work at Target and know the registers
- Recent updates to the registers now make you type how much cash is going into the drawer.
If you type in the amount to put on this fake cash card, the register will think you have put that much cash inside.
- The scammer then has a legitimate receipt that says he paid cash, and he can later return items for cash back or keep the items.

stopping the K1 scam:

1. The first and easiest way is to simply be aware of its existence.
2. Never let someone shopping tell you how to run your register. If in doubt, do not move forward and ask on the walkie for assistance.

Elderly Person Buying Expensive Gift Cards

Old (or not old) person will be buying a gift card for a very large dollar amount.
They will have been called by someone claiming to be the IRS or some other government agency and are told they will be arrested unless they pay a portion of a fake debt using gift cards.
The person will be instructed to not tell you about the circumstance of them buying these cards or they will face legal repercussions.

stopping the elderly from getting scammed:

1. Make sure the guest is aware of these scams
2. You can ask who the cards or for and just reiterate what kinds of things these scammers might have told them

“Corporate” Phone Call Gift Card Loading Scam

Scammer will call and claim to be from the corporate office.
You will be possibly instructed to give your team member number to them, which they can later use for discount frauds.
The caller will instruct you to load funds onto a gift card to test the activation systems.
They will have you read off the card number and activation code.
In no time at all, they will have used the funds from the card and your store will be at a loss.

stopping phone call gift card scams

1. Corporate will never call you directly unless you have called them first and they are returning/following up on that call.
2. Never take any payments over the phone

Sketchy TM discounts and Digital Coupons

Usually, they will be buying several expensive items
Will have several barcodes on their phone to scan, some inside the Target app and some not
Often the coupons will be expired but when they work they offer huge discounts
Will pay with the Target app’s wallet and have a team member discount attached but they do not work for Target

stopping sketchy coupons and TM discounts

1. Scan all the guest’s barcodes before hitting total, if you see a TM discount on the register ask to see their TM discount card
2. We have been instructed to not use the Target app when a guest is buying multiple Apple items

Barcode/UPC Swap

Scammer peels off cheap item’s barcode and places it atop expensive item’s barcode, causing it to ring up at a low price
Many products have barcodes that are just stickers, but some advanced scammers may print and bring their own barcodes or cut them off other items and discreetly tape them on the new item

stopping barcode swapping:

1. Make sure to look at each barcode you scan, if they look weird investigate further.
2. Keep an eye on prices and items as you scan. If something that should be expensive comes up super cheap, investigate further.
3. Be aware of ballpark pricing on items. Common items with swapped barcodes are things like Bluetooth speakers or LEGO sets. Usually it will be small but expensive items.

Raincheck/Ad Substitution Fraud

At our store, this is usually done on Apple watches.
They will ask for several of the item, and normally don’t seem to care which version or color they get.
They will be very chatty and friendly, and near the end of checkout will ask you to scan their “coupon”.
Scammer will have a receipt from a store out of state with a raincheck barcode on it.
The raincheck will be for a similar but much cheaper item. For example, they will be buying big Series 5 Apple Watches but the raincheck will be for a Series 3.
The percentage will come off the more expensive item that was never on sale in the first place.
If successful, the raincheck fraudster will ask for his coupon back because he only bought 4 items but his raincheck was for 9.

stopping raincheck/ad substitution fraud

1. Verify with a leader that any substitutions or rainchecks are acceptable
2. Telling guests that we only accept rainchecks from our own store

Quick Change Artists

Quick change artists are not very common at our store and I’ve never seen one but they are something to be aware of:

Guest will buy inexpensive item and pay with larger than needed bill ($50 for an example)
As soon as change is given but before the register till closes, the scammer asks for change for a larger bill ($100 for example)
Change for the big bill goes into his pocket and then he decides he does not want small bills and asks for the big bill back/
Instead of taking the $100 out of his pocket, he will pull some smaller amount from his other pocket.
To make it worse, he will then ask the cashier to count it and make sure they counted it right and when it is short, will try to take even more money by tricking them into giving them the difference. By this point, they are counting on you being befuddled and stressed.

stopping quick change artists:

1. Close change drawer before handing the change back to guests.
2. If making change for something, treat it as a second transaction after you close your register and all change is accounted for

LISA and BOB

These are not so much fraud as straight up stealing.
LISA stands for Look InSide Always
- Basically, if an item has zippers or a lid you should always look inside to make sure nothing has been concealed
BOB stands for Bottom Of Basket
- Behind our desk, it is difficult to see the bottom of the guest’s basket but up front there are mirrors at all the registers strictly for this reason.