Cardboard Fraud

Certain high-value and medication products are kept in a locked cabinet. Customers bring empty display boxes to the counter to request the actual item. A customer approaches my register holding four display boxes.

Customer: “I need to return these.”

She has no receipt. I glance down at what she’s holding: literal display boxes. They’re clearly labeled DISPLAY ONLY and have no barcodes to scan. I just… stand there for a second, confused, trying to figure out if she’s serious.

Me: “Ma’am, these are display-only boxes. They aren’t the actual products; they can’t be scanned, and we never sell them. There’s no way you bought these.”

Customer: “I did buy them! I want a refund!”

Me: “I can’t return something we didn’t sell you. I’m going to have to keep these.”

Customer: *Starting to get aggressive.* “I’m calling the cops!”

She steps aside, pulls out her phone, and calls 911. Right there in the store. She tells the dispatcher I “refused to give her money” for “her purchase.”

I calmly go about helping the next customer. Unsurprisingly, the police never show up.