This article is to help the newbies card instore without shitting their pants. I wish I had read this when I was first starting out because I was scared shitless when I started out. Sometimes I would get scared and not go through with it. I would drink a little beer or pop pills to get me over the fear. However now, it is quite different and my confidence level is 100 times more than it used to be. The goal of this article is to give you some tips and tricks to get you through your instore Instore carding trips until it becomes second nature.
Step 1. Look like you have money.
When I take partners on road trips, I have a dress code believe it or not. No baggy jeans, nice belts, button up shirts or polos, well trimed hair and clean shaved. Listen people, do NOT underestimate the power of clothes. I have some training in loss prevention and profiling customers does exist. This means that if you look like your gonna steal somthing in the store then your going to attract more attention and attention is something a carder doesn't want.
Question? Have you ever wore a suit and tie? When you were walking around did you feel more powerful? Or at work when you wear a tie, do you gain more respect? For most people the answer is yes so dress nice!
Ok here is a tip.
*If you are carding during the week and during business hours. Try wearing dress clothes, slacks with button up shirt tucked in. Wear a tie if your into that. The reason is that you are working and left work to pickup some gifts or new replacement laptop.
*If your carding during week and in the evening then you can look a little more sloppier because after-all you had a long day at work. Dress slacks, shirt untucked, no tie.
*Weekend carding is a little more casual but don't wear sandals or flip flops either. Some nice jeans(not too baggy) and polo shirt works just fine.
Step 2. Take your time. And be patient.
When you are spending your real money, how often do you walk into a department and pickup a $1,100 item and buy it without comparing models or prices or asking questions? Not often. Loss prevention is also trained to look for people like this. So be patient and look like your shopping. Don't be afraid to ask questions about a product, even if you know the answers. Act stupid. Be concerned about the price if it is large. Ask if the cheaper model is better. Honest people are concerned about money so you should be too! Remember, you have not broken any laws yet so don't worry yet.
Tip--I like to make comments like:
*"I like it but I don't know if I should spend that kind of money". Hopefully you will have a salesman talking you into it.
*If you have a friend with you, ask them what they think about the purchase. "What do you think? Should I buy this now or shop around?".
*When ending the routine, "OK, lets do it before I change my mind".
Step 3. Conversation is your friend
Conversation is the key here. Nervous people are nervous for a reason. It is because they are scared about getting caught. Good cashiers get cautious when encountering nervous customers. We don't want to look nervous. So how do we look calm. Simple. Be calm.
But seriously, make small talk.
*If your cashier looks mad or mean, call them out. "Long day?" or "You don't look too happy." You will be surprised that breaking the ice like that will get them talking or venting to you about their shitty jobs. Just laugh with them.
*If you encounter a overly happy cashier, call them out. "You are way too happy bro." "What did you drink? I need some of that." "You seem happy, you must have just started your shift." Always laugh at your self afterwards, it will get the cashier comfortable with you.
*How about the good looking cashiers? Flirt with them. Get them feeling good about themselves. This isn't a lesson on picking up chicks so you will have to learn that elsewhere but if you get them smiling or giggling then you are doing your job. NOTE: do NOT seriously try and pick up the cashier. Don't get their number and don't give your number. We are committing a crime here so remember that we don't want anyone leading cops to us.
*A lot of stores have items at the register to sell. You can even ask cashiers about this crap. Walmart keeps DVD's at a lot of their registers. Ask the cashier if that movie is any good.
I hope you see where I am going here, just make conversation. The point here is that if something goes bad with the transaction, we have laid out the ground work to get out safer than if we just stood their sweating nervously and looking around cautiously for security.
Step 4. They profile so why not us?
Sometimes it helps to profile cashiers. I use to profile cashiers but I have found I can talk myself out of any situation with any type of cashier. But for the newbies, I suggest this step until you are more comfortable with social engineering. From my own personal experience, I have found that middle aged white women who appear to have not gotten laid in over a year give me the most problems. They have nothing going for them in life except their shitty job. Also avoid cashiers with 30 stars on their badge. These super cashiers do their job well and might give you some problems if a bad situation occurs. My preference is cashiers that look like their boyfriends sell crack. LOL the more ghetto the cashier the more I like it. Young girls are good also. So if you have a choice why not make a choice that might help us in a bad situation?
Step 5. Be creative
It never fails, there is always a cashier who is nosey. I often get asked why i am buying so much or along those lines. If the cashier looks cool, I will tell her to "touch your nose" or "Dang girl your nosey" and then I laugh afterwards. But i will give a quick story about my purchase because again, conversation is your friend. If i am buying products, i might say that "I am buyin it for the wife. Do you think she will like it?" Or i might have a bunch of giftcards and say "i buy these for a local poker game we play in. You wanna play with us?" or "This is child support. I give her these so I can see what she spends my money on." Young female cashiers love that one If you are close to a holiday then use the holiday as an excuse. From November 1st though December 24th, i use Christmas shopping as an excuse. Maybe you have a party and need some gifts for party prizes. Maybe you are buying 20 giftcards for your office employees. Maybe your wife just told you to buy this item and your not sure why lol
Point is, have a story ready to go. Better yet, have a few stories and rotate them. Over time you will know which story might invoke a good conversation from the cashier. Don't over complicate the story. we don't want to overtalk the cashier, we want to invoke a conversation so they feel more comfortable.
Step 6. Get out safely
Eventually you will run into a problem with the card. The right way to encounter this problem is to talk your way out the door. The wrong way is to run out the door. Most cashiers don't want to deal with these problematic situations or they are improperly trained to deal with these situations. So what we want to do is give the cashier a solution that helps both parties out. Call for authorizations are a little more simple to deal with, just get the cashier to try another card. I use two methods. One is that I have a store giftcard or cash in the car and I tell the cashier to cancel the transaction and I will return with some money. The other is too say something like, "I didn't think I had enough money on that card, sorry about that. Just cancel that and lets use my other card. I know I have plenty of money on this card". There are some more examples of outs in another article in this section of the forum. But those two methods work for me 99% of the time.
The pickup and stolen cards are another situation that needs a different approach. If you have good plastic then it helps in this situation. I would suggest pulling out your cell phone and pretend to call the number on the back of the card. Tell the cashier you are calling the bank because you don't understand how that's possible. Tell her to cancel the transaction. Obviously while you stay on the phone, slowly make your way out to the door.
Choosing your cashier is important but choosing your store is also just as important. I prefer to card in stores that have self swipe terminals. Most large stores in the U.S. have these. This keeps the cards in your hands and not in the cashiers hands. In situations where you need to get out, this helps because you don't have to get your card back from the cashier.
NOTES
*With the type of purchases I make, I sometimes run into issues where a manager needs to get involved. The only thing I can say here is to obviously stay calm but more importantly is to keep an eye on all parties involved. Watch where the cashier is going and if the manager clears you, watch where she goes. Look for them talking on the phone or walkie talkies. Look for them watching you or telling other employees who might turn and look at you. You have to feel out the situation and if it is going bad, tell the cashier that you need to go and you don't want the rest of the items. However, don't let your paranoia ruin a good purchase. Wait it out as long as possible. You will know when it is time to leave if you have any common sense.
*If a situation arises where you have security in your view, you need to exit the store. Something you need to know is their goal is to get you to their office so they can call the police. They have no legal right to arrest you, they may only detain you. But to detain you they must get you to cooperate. Do not cooperate and do not stop from leaving the store. Some security guys WILL try and physically hold you or stop you from leaving. STAY CALM. your goal is to plant a seed of doubt in their minds. The reason is that if they wrongfully detain you then you can sue their store. So stay calm and tell them to not touch you. State that you have done nothing wrong and you are upset they are accusing you. Threaten them if they touch you again you will sue them. Trust me, they are always scared of getting sued in the U.S. Just keep walking to your vehicle calmly and denying everything. (I hope if your in a vehicle, its a rental in fake name, its got a fake temp tag, you bent the tag so it is not readable, or you just removed the tag.)
There you have it. Remember, practice makes perfect. Eventually you can card anywhere without that overcoming fear. I hope you find this article useful. Please add rep if you like this article and want more.
Step 1. Look like you have money.
When I take partners on road trips, I have a dress code believe it or not. No baggy jeans, nice belts, button up shirts or polos, well trimed hair and clean shaved. Listen people, do NOT underestimate the power of clothes. I have some training in loss prevention and profiling customers does exist. This means that if you look like your gonna steal somthing in the store then your going to attract more attention and attention is something a carder doesn't want.
Question? Have you ever wore a suit and tie? When you were walking around did you feel more powerful? Or at work when you wear a tie, do you gain more respect? For most people the answer is yes so dress nice!
Ok here is a tip.
*If you are carding during the week and during business hours. Try wearing dress clothes, slacks with button up shirt tucked in. Wear a tie if your into that. The reason is that you are working and left work to pickup some gifts or new replacement laptop.
*If your carding during week and in the evening then you can look a little more sloppier because after-all you had a long day at work. Dress slacks, shirt untucked, no tie.
*Weekend carding is a little more casual but don't wear sandals or flip flops either. Some nice jeans(not too baggy) and polo shirt works just fine.
Step 2. Take your time. And be patient.
When you are spending your real money, how often do you walk into a department and pickup a $1,100 item and buy it without comparing models or prices or asking questions? Not often. Loss prevention is also trained to look for people like this. So be patient and look like your shopping. Don't be afraid to ask questions about a product, even if you know the answers. Act stupid. Be concerned about the price if it is large. Ask if the cheaper model is better. Honest people are concerned about money so you should be too! Remember, you have not broken any laws yet so don't worry yet.
Tip--I like to make comments like:
*"I like it but I don't know if I should spend that kind of money". Hopefully you will have a salesman talking you into it.
*If you have a friend with you, ask them what they think about the purchase. "What do you think? Should I buy this now or shop around?".
*When ending the routine, "OK, lets do it before I change my mind".
Step 3. Conversation is your friend
Conversation is the key here. Nervous people are nervous for a reason. It is because they are scared about getting caught. Good cashiers get cautious when encountering nervous customers. We don't want to look nervous. So how do we look calm. Simple. Be calm.
But seriously, make small talk. *If your cashier looks mad or mean, call them out. "Long day?" or "You don't look too happy." You will be surprised that breaking the ice like that will get them talking or venting to you about their shitty jobs. Just laugh with them.
*If you encounter a overly happy cashier, call them out. "You are way too happy bro." "What did you drink? I need some of that." "You seem happy, you must have just started your shift." Always laugh at your self afterwards, it will get the cashier comfortable with you.
*How about the good looking cashiers? Flirt with them. Get them feeling good about themselves. This isn't a lesson on picking up chicks so you will have to learn that elsewhere but if you get them smiling or giggling then you are doing your job. NOTE: do NOT seriously try and pick up the cashier. Don't get their number and don't give your number. We are committing a crime here so remember that we don't want anyone leading cops to us.
*A lot of stores have items at the register to sell. You can even ask cashiers about this crap. Walmart keeps DVD's at a lot of their registers. Ask the cashier if that movie is any good.
I hope you see where I am going here, just make conversation. The point here is that if something goes bad with the transaction, we have laid out the ground work to get out safer than if we just stood their sweating nervously and looking around cautiously for security.
Step 4. They profile so why not us?
Sometimes it helps to profile cashiers. I use to profile cashiers but I have found I can talk myself out of any situation with any type of cashier. But for the newbies, I suggest this step until you are more comfortable with social engineering. From my own personal experience, I have found that middle aged white women who appear to have not gotten laid in over a year give me the most problems. They have nothing going for them in life except their shitty job. Also avoid cashiers with 30 stars on their badge. These super cashiers do their job well and might give you some problems if a bad situation occurs. My preference is cashiers that look like their boyfriends sell crack. LOL the more ghetto the cashier the more I like it. Young girls are good also. So if you have a choice why not make a choice that might help us in a bad situation?
Step 5. Be creative
It never fails, there is always a cashier who is nosey. I often get asked why i am buying so much or along those lines. If the cashier looks cool, I will tell her to "touch your nose" or "Dang girl your nosey" and then I laugh afterwards. But i will give a quick story about my purchase because again, conversation is your friend. If i am buying products, i might say that "I am buyin it for the wife. Do you think she will like it?" Or i might have a bunch of giftcards and say "i buy these for a local poker game we play in. You wanna play with us?" or "This is child support. I give her these so I can see what she spends my money on." Young female cashiers love that one
If you are close to a holiday then use the holiday as an excuse. From November 1st though December 24th, i use Christmas shopping as an excuse. Maybe you have a party and need some gifts for party prizes. Maybe you are buying 20 giftcards for your office employees. Maybe your wife just told you to buy this item and your not sure why lolPoint is, have a story ready to go. Better yet, have a few stories and rotate them. Over time you will know which story might invoke a good conversation from the cashier. Don't over complicate the story. we don't want to overtalk the cashier, we want to invoke a conversation so they feel more comfortable.
Step 6. Get out safely
Eventually you will run into a problem with the card. The right way to encounter this problem is to talk your way out the door. The wrong way is to run out the door. Most cashiers don't want to deal with these problematic situations or they are improperly trained to deal with these situations. So what we want to do is give the cashier a solution that helps both parties out. Call for authorizations are a little more simple to deal with, just get the cashier to try another card. I use two methods. One is that I have a store giftcard or cash in the car and I tell the cashier to cancel the transaction and I will return with some money. The other is too say something like, "I didn't think I had enough money on that card, sorry about that. Just cancel that and lets use my other card. I know I have plenty of money on this card". There are some more examples of outs in another article in this section of the forum. But those two methods work for me 99% of the time.
The pickup and stolen cards are another situation that needs a different approach. If you have good plastic then it helps in this situation. I would suggest pulling out your cell phone and pretend to call the number on the back of the card. Tell the cashier you are calling the bank because you don't understand how that's possible. Tell her to cancel the transaction. Obviously while you stay on the phone, slowly make your way out to the door.
Choosing your cashier is important but choosing your store is also just as important. I prefer to card in stores that have self swipe terminals. Most large stores in the U.S. have these. This keeps the cards in your hands and not in the cashiers hands. In situations where you need to get out, this helps because you don't have to get your card back from the cashier.
NOTES
*With the type of purchases I make, I sometimes run into issues where a manager needs to get involved. The only thing I can say here is to obviously stay calm but more importantly is to keep an eye on all parties involved. Watch where the cashier is going and if the manager clears you, watch where she goes. Look for them talking on the phone or walkie talkies. Look for them watching you or telling other employees who might turn and look at you. You have to feel out the situation and if it is going bad, tell the cashier that you need to go and you don't want the rest of the items. However, don't let your paranoia ruin a good purchase. Wait it out as long as possible. You will know when it is time to leave if you have any common sense.
*If a situation arises where you have security in your view, you need to exit the store. Something you need to know is their goal is to get you to their office so they can call the police. They have no legal right to arrest you, they may only detain you. But to detain you they must get you to cooperate. Do not cooperate and do not stop from leaving the store. Some security guys WILL try and physically hold you or stop you from leaving. STAY CALM. your goal is to plant a seed of doubt in their minds. The reason is that if they wrongfully detain you then you can sue their store. So stay calm and tell them to not touch you. State that you have done nothing wrong and you are upset they are accusing you. Threaten them if they touch you again you will sue them. Trust me, they are always scared of getting sued in the U.S. Just keep walking to your vehicle calmly and denying everything. (I hope if your in a vehicle, its a rental in fake name, its got a fake temp tag, you bent the tag so it is not readable, or you just removed the tag.)
There you have it. Remember, practice makes perfect. Eventually you can card anywhere without that overcoming fear. I hope you find this article useful. Please add rep if you like this article and want more.
