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Daughter nearly fell victim to one of these. An auditor over the course of 2 hours convinced her that the store manager was stealing money and that she needed

Daughter nearly fell victim to one of these. An auditor over the course of 2 hours convinced her that the store manager was stealing money and that she needed to transfer it back to corporate. Thankfully I was giving her a ride that day. She was in a total panic but wouldn’t tell me what was going on. He had her convinced that if she said anything she was gonna go to jail. I thought they were having her do a night money drop off by herself which I was pissed about. She went into a Kroger to the finance counter. Which is when I finally realized what was going on. The lady at the counter was totally gonna let her send several thousand dollars to some random Green dot account. So I asked if the lady could go get the store manager real quick. Older lady walks up and says “oh you’re being scammed” My daughter burst into tears as she finally realizes she had just robbed her own store. Store manager regaled us with tons of stories of scams people were constantly trying to run on them many of them incredibly elaborate. If I hadn’t been there good chance she would be arrested. A painful life lesson.

PeopleB4Cars 4y ago
This sounds like a separate, but related novel version of these scams that target Walmart's employee. You might want to report this to the FTC via the contact info in the article so they can be on the lookout for stuff like this in there investigations.
- treeman79 4y ago
  There was actually a news article with the exact scenario. I showed it to my daughter at the counter as a way to get her to slow down and think.
  - batmanthehorse 4y ago
    Can you post a link to the article? I’m having a hard time understanding the scam based on your comment.
    - treeman79 4y ago
      https://www.wistv.com/2019/10/23/authorities-warn-businesses-green-dot-scam-lexington/?outputType=amp https://www.wistv.com/2019/10/23/authorities-warn-businesses...
    - xsmasher 4y ago
      Someone called the daughter (a Walmart employee) on the phone and convinced her they were an "auditor" for Walmart. They convinced the daughter to take cash (from the register? from the safe?) to another store and almost convinced her send it to a green dot card (some kind of debit card?).
pessimizer 4y ago
> An auditor over the course of 2 hours convinced her An auditor, or a voice on a phone?
- bombcar 4y ago
  Hi it’s me your irs tax audioter accounter cto manager I need you to buy many Amex gift cards and send me the codes so I can surprise the Ukrainians with them. Sincerely, totally honest guy.
  - Arrath 4y ago
    Ah you must be the same auditor who sms'd me my new amazon account credentials a couple hours ago. Thanks for being so on the ball watching for fraudulent activity.
  - treeman79 4y ago
    It was initially just a simple request to countdown register. But he never stopped taking and never let her put phone down. Never gave her a moment to think.
  - xsmasher 4y ago
    You'd be surprised how targeted these scams can be. A friend's mother got an email from her synagogue, with the rabbi's name and everything, asking her to buy some gift cards to surprise some other (named) officials.
    - mistrial9 4y ago
      except that the scammer was another attendee with a drug problem? before you yell at me, this actually happened to me, contacted via a trusted, long-term social club, and one of the wives (unknown to me) apparently had a full-on painkiller addiction and when it is time, they do anything.. even as far as using the phone list from the trusted social group to arrange for (thinly disguised) payment card purchases "now"
      - 4y ago
krustyburger 4y ago
So she still took thousands in cash out the door with her? It sounds like she went right back to work and put it back, but if anyone found out she had taken that money off the property, I doubt she would keep her job. I would recommend not sharing this story with anyone else.
- treeman79 4y ago
  She immediately called her boss. She didn’t get fired. Boss was initially sympathetic. But she lost her promotion. Then had hours cut. So she had to leave.
  - justinjlynn 4y ago
    Honestly? This sounds like a constructive dismissal - designed to avoid claims of retaliation and victim blaming in a sympathetic case - to me.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - treeman79 4y ago
      She was a victim. She also showed poor judgment as an assistant manager being fast tracked to manage the store. Also from his standpoint, he doesn’t know for sure if she was being scammed. She could have taken money then gotten cold feet and made up story. It’s a crap situation. Money person at Grocery store also showed poor judgment. I had to ask for the store manager. Which is what article is referencing.
      - jstarfish 4y ago
        > She could have taken money then gotten cold feet and made up story Not saying anything about your daughter (don't know her), but there's an easy way to tell: get the phone records and verify the "conversation" took place. It should have lasted longer than 30 seconds. One simple trick unravels 90% of the "someone else made me do it" clusterfucks.
formerkrogemp 4y ago
I've seen more of these sorts of scams working in my former retail employer than I have in accounting so far.
projektfu 4y ago
It would help if people were taught a few things about the IRS when they're kids. First, they never urgently need your money. There are consequences for missing deadlines but meeting them is up to you. Second, the IRS may call you (an auditor did call me once) but they just tell you that a letter is in the mail. All their correspondence is verifiable by calling the office. Third, they know your SSN. It's on the 1040. They will not call and ask you for it. Fourth (applies to all callers, like banks, too), they don't call and ask for your PIN. If they do, find out how reach them from the main number, and never give a PIN to someone you don't know who called you.
- SoftTalker 4y ago
  Not just this, but common red flags that indicate a scam. There are many variations but they all follow the same broad plot lines. Any unexpected request for money should be verified. The more urgent it sounds, the more likely it is fake. If you are traveling, give your kids/parents a code word that you will use in case of an emergency. No legitimate collection agency, business, bail bond company, or government office is going to demand payment in the form of gift cards.

PeopleB4Cars 4y ago

This sounds like a separate, but related novel version of these scams that target Walmart's employee. You might want to report this to the FTC via the contact info in the article so they can be on the lookout for stuff like this in there investigations.

treeman79 4y ago
There was actually a news article with the exact scenario. I showed it to my daughter at the counter as a way to get her to slow down and think.
- batmanthehorse 4y ago
  Can you post a link to the article? I’m having a hard time understanding the scam based on your comment.
  - treeman79 4y ago
    https://www.wistv.com/2019/10/23/authorities-warn-businesses-green-dot-scam-lexington/?outputType=amp https://www.wistv.com/2019/10/23/authorities-warn-businesses...
  - xsmasher 4y ago
    Someone called the daughter (a Walmart employee) on the phone and convinced her they were an "auditor" for Walmart. They convinced the daughter to take cash (from the register? from the safe?) to another store and almost convinced her send it to a green dot card (some kind of debit card?).

pessimizer 4y ago

> An auditor over the course of 2 hours convinced her An auditor, or a voice on a phone?

bombcar 4y ago
Hi it’s me your irs tax audioter accounter cto manager I need you to buy many Amex gift cards and send me the codes so I can surprise the Ukrainians with them. Sincerely, totally honest guy.
- Arrath 4y ago
  Ah you must be the same auditor who sms'd me my new amazon account credentials a couple hours ago. Thanks for being so on the ball watching for fraudulent activity.
- treeman79 4y ago
  It was initially just a simple request to countdown register. But he never stopped taking and never let her put phone down. Never gave her a moment to think.
- xsmasher 4y ago
  You'd be surprised how targeted these scams can be. A friend's mother got an email from her synagogue, with the rabbi's name and everything, asking her to buy some gift cards to surprise some other (named) officials.
  - mistrial9 4y ago
    except that the scammer was another attendee with a drug problem? before you yell at me, this actually happened to me, contacted via a trusted, long-term social club, and one of the wives (unknown to me) apparently had a full-on painkiller addiction and when it is time, they do anything.. even as far as using the phone list from the trusted social group to arrange for (thinly disguised) payment card purchases "now"
    - 4y ago

krustyburger 4y ago

So she still took thousands in cash out the door with her? It sounds like she went right back to work and put it back, but if anyone found out she had taken that money off the property, I doubt she would keep her job. I would recommend not sharing this story with anyone else.

treeman79 4y ago
She immediately called her boss. She didn’t get fired. Boss was initially sympathetic. But she lost her promotion. Then had hours cut. So she had to leave.
- justinjlynn 4y ago
  Honestly? This sounds like a constructive dismissal - designed to avoid claims of retaliation and victim blaming in a sympathetic case - to me.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - treeman79 4y ago
    She was a victim. She also showed poor judgment as an assistant manager being fast tracked to manage the store. Also from his standpoint, he doesn’t know for sure if she was being scammed. She could have taken money then gotten cold feet and made up story. It’s a crap situation. Money person at Grocery store also showed poor judgment. I had to ask for the store manager. Which is what article is referencing.
    - jstarfish 4y ago
      > She could have taken money then gotten cold feet and made up story Not saying anything about your daughter (don't know her), but there's an easy way to tell: get the phone records and verify the "conversation" took place. It should have lasted longer than 30 seconds. One simple trick unravels 90% of the "someone else made me do it" clusterfucks.

formerkrogemp 4y ago

I've seen more of these sorts of scams working in my former retail employer than I have in accounting so far.

projektfu 4y ago

It would help if people were taught a few things about the IRS when they're kids. First, they never urgently need your money. There are consequences for missing deadlines but meeting them is up to you. Second, the IRS may call you (an auditor did call me once) but they just tell you that a letter is in the mail. All their correspondence is verifiable by calling the office. Third, they know your SSN. It's on the 1040. They will not call and ask you for it. Fourth (applies to all callers, like banks, too), they don't call and ask for your PIN. If they do, find out how reach them from the main number, and never give a PIN to someone you don't know who called you.

SoftTalker 4y ago
Not just this, but common red flags that indicate a scam. There are many variations but they all follow the same broad plot lines. Any unexpected request for money should be verified. The more urgent it sounds, the more likely it is fake. If you are traveling, give your kids/parents a code word that you will use in case of an emergency. No legitimate collection agency, business, bail bond company, or government office is going to demand payment in the form of gift cards.