The Unsorted BBS Collection/thegreatunsorted.tar/thegreatunsorted/texts/anarchy_text_a-l/scam.txt

Text File | 1993-07-31 | 8KB | 159 lines

    Scam(s)
    taken from Hustler Mag.
    by Kurupt

    Cashier Cons: An Overview
    Like magicians, cashier cons construct illusions
    to mesmerize and trap their prey. According to Pete.

    "Never returning to the scene of the crime is a rule
    by which cashier cons live or die by says Pete"
    "Populous urban centers, with their numerous small
    shops and businesses and high employee turnover,
    attract these scum in droves. I've got a map drawn
    on the wall so I can place a pin on the area or stores
    I like to make sure I dont pop the same store again"

    Pete cracks a smile."One time, I nearly got busted
    because I went to the same store a year later, and
    the guy rememberd me. The lesson I learned was that
    once people have been conned, they'll always remember
    the guy who made them eat shit."

    According to Pete, cashier cons look for cashiers who
    aren't thinking. Not placing the bill on the register
    while counting back a customers change, always looking
    at the clock and mindlessly chatting with co-workers
    are signs indicating a cashier is waiting to be scam-
    med. Poor job performance is a plus in a prospective mark,
    but its not always needed. Expert cashier cons can sway
    an otherwise competent cashier with attitude alone.

    Once a con has picked his victum, says Pete, he wont
    jump into his scam right away, and he always has a back-
    up plan. In most cases, even for veteran ripoff artists,
    scams backfire. The con needs a ready exit, a fast line
    to get him away from the scene quickly and with little fuss.

    "The expert con moves to his target naturally, as though
    he's there to do business," Pete explains. "Showing signs
    of nervousness is the quickest way to get busted."

    When caught passing a doctored 20-bill, for example, a
    competent con can smooth over the difficulty. "What? I
    didnt know it wasnt real money! I got that bill at another
    store! You mean i was swindled?" cries Pete with true dismay
    demonstrating how a caught con can deter suspicion by acting
    just as outraged as his victim. A suspect crook may ask
    indignantly what steps the cashier himself takes when coming
    across counterfeit money, even going so far as to offer to
    call the police himself. Whether he plays innocent or dumb,
    the two mainstays in every thiefs acting repertoire, chances
    are a good performance can shift the blame.

    After a successful scam, the con will want to get out of the
    store gracefully. Hurrying invites suspicion, as does chat-
    ting  to the cashier any more than absolutely necessary. If
    the transaction seems stalled, if the cashier acts especially
    inefficient or confused, an alert con will announce he doesnt
    have time to wait, and exit. Oftentimes, cashiers turn the
    tables. They'll play stupid to stall the crook until the
    authorities arrive.

    Cashier cons target businesses where anyone can get lost in
    the crowd. Convenience stores, a longtime favorite scamming
    ground for cashier cons, are now so wary that cons have moved
    to record and video chains, hardware stores, auto supplies,
    any locale with a register and cold, hard cash inside.

    The Penny-Pop Scam:

    the penny pop is one of the simlest nickel and dime cons,
    but a thief hitting five stores a day can make a hundred dollars
    before dinner. The scam requires empty change rolls, the paper
    tubes pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters are stored in for
    easy transfer. Dime rolls work the best, because pennies fit
    inside them easily. After filling paper dime rolls with pennies
    and inserting a dime at each end, a con is ready for business.

    A con needs at leaste four penny filled dime rolls for each
    scam, explains Pete. EAch roll, if properly filled with dimes
    has a value of five dollars. Four rolls equal 20 dollars.
    Fake dime rolls in hand, all a con needs is a good line.
    "Excuse me", he squeaks in a nerdy voice,"I work across the
    street and were out of five dollar bills. Weve got a lot of
    dimes. is it possible you can exchange these dimes for bills?
    "Why dont you go to the bank?" the savvy cashier may reply.
    Sunday is the best day to work this scam because banks are
    closed, but if he happens to be working during the week, the
    con may smilingly respond,"It would save me the travel and time"
    or "Your the closest place around, and no one is minding the
    store, I have to get back, quik!" The thief may barter favors:
    "If you do this for me, ill give you a free [whatever the
    business around the block sells] next time you come in my
    store." If the cashier knows the owner of the business that
    the con claims to work for, the con will explain that its his
    first day on the job, or that hes simply doing the boss a
    favor. Chances are, with a few earnest works and a dose of
    smiling charm, the con will exchange paper rolls containing
    $1.12 for nearly 20 times that, pure profit.

    The Quick-Change Scam

    The quick change scam requires the use of a magic vanisher,
    which can be bought at minimal cost at magic shops or can
    be made at home with a rubber band, a safety pin, and
    paper clip. After attaching one end of the rubber band with
    a safety pin to the inside shirt under the arms, then pulling
    the rubber band from inside the shirt till the paper-clip
    end pokes out the sleeve, the stress of the band produces
    a sling shot effect when the clip is released, shooting
    back up the sleeve faster than the eye can see.

    The con enters a store carrying 20 one dollar bills. He asks
    the cashier for a 20 in exchange for his ones, on the pretext
    that so many singles will not fit into his wallet. The cashier
    opens the register and gives the con a 20. The con turns to
    leave, but in a split second notices he was mistakenly givin
    a one. He turns back to the cashier right off and politely says,
    "Excuse me, but I believe youve made an error. You've givin me a
    one dollar bill." The cashier knows he actually gave the con a
    20. He may try to argue with the con, but seeing just a one
    dollar bill in the cons open hand and realizing the con hardly
    paused before speaking, he has little recourse but to exchange
    the single for another 20 or return the ones in frustration.

    The trick takes sleight of hand, but not much effort. The con
    hides a single dollar bill within the cuff of his sleeve. The
    shirt is oeversized and roomy. Once the 20 spot is handed
    to the con, he simply turns his back, places it in the paper
    clip and releases it while unfolding the dollar bill. If the
    trick works smoothly, the cashier will assume the error and
    try to dismiss it, and the con walks out of the store with an
    extra 20 up his sleeve.

    Pete stresses that the proper time for this scam is when the
    store is busy. "The cons got to give the cashier enought
    leeway to reason with himself that he didnt accidentally place
    a single where he thought a 20 had been."

    Cash Splicing:

    "A con can turn 20 bucks into 40 just by cutting one 20 in
    half and pasting an end onto half a one dollar bill. By placing
    a hand over half of the altered bill, the bill looks like a 20.
    Cash-Splicers hawk their bogus bills  most often in busy con-
    cession stands at amusement parks, where there are pleny of
    tourists and the people behind the service counters are young
    and inexperienced. When theres a mob of tourists at the con-
    cession stand, its a pretty safe bet that the person behind
    the counter will take the bill at face value. Hes just got one
    time for a first impression, he doesnt have time for a double
    check.


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