Posted: 5/29/2010 6:52:05 PM EDT
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State trooper: Clerk was 'pretty well confused.' By KATHARINE HARMON For the Daily Record/Sunday News Updated: 05/29/2010 08:18:18 PM EDT State police at Gettysburg are looking for this man in connection to a retail theft at the Giant Food Store in Straban Township. Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call police at 334-8111. (Submitted)State police at Gettysburg are looking for a "quick-change artist" who pocketed $650 from a cashier at a Giant Food Store in Straban Township Tuesday evening. Trooper James Bivens said the man used a $50 bill to pay for two candy bars at the grocery store at 44 Natural Springs Road around 8:15 p.m., then began asking the cashier for his $50 bill back. The man, who Bivens said was a "quick talker," then said he needed other bills to play poker later, and a back-and-forth with bill exchanges occurred for only a few minutes. The man pocketed cash as the cashier tried to give him change, Bivens said, and in the end he walked out with $650. "I can't comprehend it," Bivens said of the thief's interaction with the clerk. "He had the poor fellow pretty well confused." Surveillance videos caught images of the man, but Bivens said there were no cameras in the parking lot, so it is unknown how the man left, or in what direction he traveled. "It will come down to someone recognizing him at this point," Bivens said. The images of the man were put into a law enforcement database in case he's struck in other areas, Bivens said. It's likely he's not from the area and has done this before, he added. In releasing the surveillance images, Bivens said he's hoping someone may have seen him get into a car and which direction he may have left in. Unpossible 
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I've seen them in action, they are pretty good at it.
I reported it to a manager and they looked at me like I was crazy. I told them they needed to close the lane and count the drawer. After they did, I wasn't as crazy as they thought. I stuck around to describe the man to the po-po. ETA: most clerks now have a system of placing the original bill that was submitted for purchase, on the register, to prevent such confusion. |
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Ive seen them in action, they are pretty good at it. I reported it to a manager and they looked at me like i was crazy. I told them they needed to close the lane and count the drawer. After they did, i wasnt as crazy as they thought. I stuck around to describe the man to the po-po. What did he do? I really can't figure out how he pulled this off. |
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Ive seen them in action, they are pretty good at it. I reported it to a manager and they looked at me like i was crazy. I told them they needed to close the lane and count the drawer. After they did, i wasnt as crazy as they thought. I stuck around to describe the man to the po-po. What did he do? I really can't figure out how he pulled this off. it's relatively simple, you start asking for change and talking about something irrelevant to keep the cashier(who would have been selected because they look inattentive) busy. then you do something like hand them a 10 and a five and ask for a 20 back, repeat, mix it up, hand them a hundred, get it back, give them a 10 for change, ask for five 20's because you just handed them a hundred. I worked in a grocery for a while and saw some dude doing it to one of our cashiers, I tried to call him on it but he sprinted out the door and across the street before I could get security on him. usually it's only for like 60-80 bucks though and they'll hit a number of stores in a day. I've never heard of someone doing it for 650
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I had them try some thing like this on me in the late 70s
Gave me a 100 for a candy bar (some thing cheap) Then said oh I have the 1.28 can I have my 100 back I said sure but doubled it over my hand and stuck out my other hand They said what do you want I need my change back Oh never mind They what till you are busy I did not even realize it till later that day |
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I had them try some thing like this on me in the late 70s Gave me a 100 for a candy bar (some thing cheap) Then said oh I have the 1.28 can I have my 100 back I said sure but doubled it over my hand and stuck out my other hand They said what do you want I need my change back Oh never mind They what till you are busy I did not even realize it till later that day had a Hispanic guy try that on me once right after Katrina, he barely spoke a word of English. I just stared at him like he was retarded and he walked out of the store. 
left the bottle of water he was buying on the counter too... 
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I've seen them in action, they are pretty good at it. I reported it to a manager and they looked at me like I was crazy. I told them they needed to close the lane and count the drawer. After they did, I wasn't as crazy as they thought. I stuck around to describe the man to the po-po. What did he do? I really can't figure out how he pulled this off. He was real tall and very skinny. he stood over the counter quite close so only the clerk could hear their convo. I seen bills being passed back and forth for about 2 minutes. he started out with a $100 dollar bill to pay for a small item. Then worked the scam from there. I'm not sure as how that particular exchange went, as I could not hear everything being said. My wife was a cashier early in life and was also taken for a ride, she clammed up and shut the drawer and called for the manager after she figured out she was in trouble. They counted out the drawer, and gave the man his rightful change. He was enraged of course because he was caught in the act and was showing out to try and act innocent. The best I can figure is they hand over a large bill, ask for smaller bills, pass some of the smaller bills back, then ask for different bills. All the while still holding onto some of the change and telling the cashier, what bills to give him next. the exchange is all about confusing the cashier, so they will continue to think the exchange is legit. |
