According to one TikToker, this sleight-of-hand scam poses a risk to anyone with a debit card, especially if they’re not paying close attention. Fortunately, he’s raising awareness on why it’s important to check your receipt at the cash register. Josh’s (@beardenjosh) recent video quickly gained more than 440,000 views on TikTok.
“I wanna alert you guys to a new scam that I found out about yesterday. It was because my neighbor actually got affected by it,” he began.
According to Josh, a seemingly ordinary trip to the grocery store resulted in his neighbor losing $50, and the culprit turned out to be someone people might not have anticipated.
“So my neighbor goes to the grocery store. She is checking out, [and] gets done with her transaction. The cashier is like ‘Oh the receipt printer is not working. I’m so sorry.’”
Moments later, the register finally spits out a receipt. The neighbor quickly grabs it, slips it into her purse, and leaves the store. It wasn’t until she pulled out of her parking spot that a shocking bank alert popped up on her phone. It showed a $102 charge. She only spent $52.
“So she was like ‘Wait a minute $102?’ So she checks and just double checks and sure enough it shows $102. She gets her receipt out and it shows that she got $50 cashback,” Josh continues.
Josh goes on to reveal how the neighbor was robbed of $50—and who stole it.
Who took her $50?
“So you know on these machines you guys are using a card [and] it gives you the option of getting cash back. ‘Do you want cashback?’ You push no. Well, the cashier also has the option to push cashback and quantity and that’s what this person did, this girl as the cashier. She chose $50, and she was gonna pocket that 50 bucks.”
The neighbor returned to the grocery store to confront the cashier. The cashier grew nervous and claimed she had tried to find the neighbor to hand over the $50. When the neighbor responded that she never requested any cashback, the manager intervened to resolve the situation.
“Well, it turns out, […] the managers can check to see who pushed the cashback button and sure enough it was the cashier on her side that pushed the cashback option.”
@beardenjosh Cash back scam al3rt!! #scam #alert #sharethis #sharethisvideo #share #cashback #cashbackscam #viral #video #fypシ゚viral ♬ Armor of God – Spiritual Warfare Music Epic
Josh wraps up the video with a warning. If you aren’t vigilant about getting your receipts or regularly checking your balances, an unscrupulous cashier can take advantage and pocket some extra cash without you ever realizing it.
Josh did not immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via TikTok Direct Message.
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