A 24-Year-Old Allegedly Used A Simple But Brilliant Scam To Cheat Apple Out Of $300,000

[KamaAina]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/24-old-allegedly-used-simple-162800325.html

According to a Secret Service criminal complaint, filed by special agent Bryan Halliwell and investigators associated with Apple and Chase Bank, Parrish allegedly tricked Apple Store employees in 16 states starting around December 2012 into accepting fake authorization codes to purchase $309,768 worth of Apple goods....

Here’s how it works: Parrish allegedly visited Apple Stores and tried to buy products with four different debit cards, which were all closed by his respective financial institutions. When his debit card was inevitably declined by the Apple Store, he would protest and offer to call his bank — except, he wasn’t really calling his bank.

So, the complaint says, he would offer the Apple Store employees a fake authorization code with a certain number of digits, which is normally provided by credit card issuers to create a record of the credit or debit override. (Business Insider, like the Tampa Bay Times, refuses to publish the number of digits “so as not to inspire anyone.”)

But that’s the problem with this system: as long as the number of digits is correct, the override code itself doesn’t matter.

[randome]

1. Not so 'brilliant'. He was caught and no doubt will serve time.

I wonder if it's 'brilliant' because Apple was involved. Would it still be 'brilliant' if he scammed a hospital or a hardware store?
[hr][font color="blue"][center]No squirrels were harmed in the making of this post. Yet.[/center][/font][hr]

[PoliticAverse]

2. I would call it 'brazen' rather than 'brilliant'. And he was caught. n/t

[SummerSnow]

3. Greed was his "core" problem

[Nuclear Unicorn]

4. $300,000 ?!? What is that? Like, half a dozen iPhones and a laptop? n/t

[Politicalboi]

5. Since corporations are people

That should mean people are corporations. He should just say he's a bank. Slap on the wrist, and laughed at for only stealing $300,000.

[Nye Bevan]

6. A greedy serial thief gets caught and will go to prison.

There, fixed the subject line for you.