(Not) A Good Thief

[Dark Psion]

I think it was in a short story I read once; "The first rule of a good thief is knowing when not to steal."

Well the second rule of a good thief is you don't go to WalMart with the stolen credit card and try to charge $1500 worth of cigarettes.

When I went there Friday for groceries, I saw two police cars and two college security guards. My first thought was maybe some Baseball players stole something more than second base, but I found out today it was far stranger.

Someone stole a wallet from the swimming pool, the person noticed it was gone and called their credit card company and the card company called right back as they had already purchased a couple hundred dollars of cigarettes from a grocery store. But then they went to Wally World and tried to buy $1500 of cigarettes.

That set off every red flag in the county, WalMart checked with the credit card company and called the police who had already been informed of the theft by our security a couple hours earlier.

It was just like Law & Order, I wish all criminals were caught within 60 minutes.

[Redbeard]

Well, they'll have plenty of currency for when they're behind bars....

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

$1500 worth of cigarettes? Somebody's gotta habit.

[sstabeler]

Could be that they'll try to sell the ciggies somehow. OTOH, it could be a years supply for them or something.

[Sleepwalker]

Ciggies are one of the easiest things to resell. Mein gott, what a moron. Good for the guy whose card was stolen, that he was that dumb.

[cashierbex]

I'm glad some places set rules for the amount of cigs they can buy a day. I think I read 10 cartons per day of a couple of brands from one of the major tabacco companies was allowed to be sold at my store. That does not equate $1500 where I live. More like $500-$700. I dunno how the rules are up north. But that be closer to the $1500 methinks.

[Chromatix]

Bulk imports of cigarettes are also a prime target for UK Customs, since people think they can buy as much as they want in Duty Free shops during (say) a Channel crossing, then turn around and sell them at a profit when they get home (since the vice duty is a large proportion of the total price at retail).

[manybellsdown]

Oh wow, I never thought of cigarettes. My debit card number was stolen last month. They spent $104 at a gas station in a state 3000 miles away, and the bank shut the card down when they tried to charge another $200 at a second gas station.

I was just wondering where they were putting all that gas. That gas stations sell cigarettes never occurred to me.

[tech_monkey]

Thinking about it, assuming they were going for the red and white brand that starts with an "M" it would be about 30 cartons for ~$1500 by my local prices... That is either a years worth of smokes or selling them on the side. Yeash.

[Shalom]

I used to work overnights at the Aide of Right back in the '90s. We had one guy would shoplift stuff and then turn it in for refunds. When the night staff finally got sick of him and told him no refunds without receipts, he tried to get store credit instead, then used it to buy cigarettes. Apparently they were as good as currency in some places. (He got ye olde heave-ho, of course. He tried to say that the SM always let him do it, but we knew this was bogus, as the SM was a right bastard who'd have thrown him out so fast he'd have bounced twice in the parking lot.)

[wagegoth]

They seriously bumped up the taxes on cigarettes here, so they're easily $6 a pack and up. I'm glad I don't work at a c-store anymore, because the theft level must be crazy.

[AccountingDrone]

They seriously bumped up the taxes on cigarettes here, so they're easily $6 a pack and up. I'm glad I don't work at a c-store anymore, because the theft level must be crazy.

Not sure which brand, but something is up to $8.50 here in CT - and it was on a convenience store window, so I doubt it was anything fancy like imported players or sobranies. I can make dinner for 3 people for $8.50

[dragon_wings]

In Baltimore the cheapest cigs are 5.08 after tax and the most expensive are well over 8 bucks.
My bf lives in Queens and spends $11 easy on the same cigs that here cost 5.08 (aka the cheapest).

[cashierbex]

Kinda OT-
My mom had me buy her 4 packs of smokes since they were cheaper down here, then up in NY where I was meeting her. She prolly forgot to get them when she was leaving AZ for her vacation. I am not paying 11 bucks for a pack. With the smokes I get, I pay $9.40 for 2, maybe less when they have a $.50 deal on the pack. And they aren't the cheap icky stuff.

Now back on topic-
When it comes to that much in cigs, I would ask for ID to match the name on the credit card. Though, I have known some people to send smokes to their friends up in NY since it be cheaper here. Or bring it with them on a trip.

[MiloMorai]

Working the gas station years ago we had regulars that had valid gas cards but were short on cash. They would buy cartons and sell them for less than half of what they paid. One of the few times I loved being a smoker. $30 carton for $10-15, oh yeah. At least it wasn't illegal, just stupid.