FROM A SHOPPER: This happened at Wal-Mart (Supercenter Store #1279, 10411 N Freeway 45, Houston, TX 77037) a month ago. I bought a bunch of stuff, over $150 worth, and I glanced at my receipt as the cashier was handing me the bags. I saw a cash-back of $40. I told her I didn't request cash-back, and to delete it. She said I'd have to take the $40, because she couldn't delete it.

I told her to call a supervisor. The supervisor came, and said I'd have to take it. I said NO! Taking the $40 would be a cash advance against my Discover card, and I wasn't going to pay interest on a cash advance!!!!! If they couldn't delete it, then they would have to delete my whole order. So the supervisor had the cashier delete the whole order and re-scan everything. This second time around I looked at the electronic pad before I signed, and an unwanted cash-back of $20 popped up. At that point I told the cashier, and she deleted it. The total came out right.

The cashier agreed that the electronic pad must be defective. However, it was obvious that the cashier already knew that the electronic pad was defective because the first time around, although the $40 cash back showed up on the receipt, she kept quiet and NEVER offered me the money, like she should have! She intended to pocket my $40.

Can you imagine how many people went through before me, and at the end of her shift how much money she pocketed?

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FROM ANOTHER SHOPPER: My co worker went to Milford, DE Wal-Mart last week. When a cashier rang her up, the cashier hurried her along and didn't give her a receipt. She asked the cashier for a receipt and the cashier acted annoyed, but gave it to her. My co worker didn't look at her receipt until later that night. The receipt showed that she'd asked for $20 cash-back, but SHE DID NOT ASK FOR CASH-BACK and she certainly didn't receive the $20.

My co-worker called Wal-Mart who investigated, but they could not see the cashier pocket any money. My friend then called her niece who works for a bank, and her niece told her about this new scam going around whereby the cashier will punch in the code saying that a customer asked for cash-back (but not tell the customer), and then secretly hand it all over to a friend who comes through the line before the end of her shift. A dozen such cash-back transactions could be given to her friend all at once, as long as she keeps track of the running total. The cash register balances out at the end of her shift, and her friend gets the cash instead of the customers.

This is NOT limited to Wal-Mart, although they are the largest retailer so they have the most incidents.

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FROM ANOTHER SHOPPER: My husband and I were in the Wal-Mart in North Salisbury, paying with a credit card. When my husband started to sign the credit card signer he just happen to notice there was a $20 cash-back added. He told the cashier that he did not ask for, nor want, cash-back and she said this machine has been messing up and she cancelled it. We really didn't think anything of it until we read this email.

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THIS SCAM CAN BE DONE ANYWHERE, AT ANY RETAIL OR WHOLESALE LOCATION!!! Please, please, please CHECK EVERY SINGLE RECEIPT, ON THE SPOT, when using credit or debit cards! And if you DO receive $40 cash-back, for example, check that the receipt also says $40, and not $60 or $80, etc.

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That cashier with the nice smile, standing right there in front of you, has the power to take a cash-back right out of your pocket. No matter what a cashier says, it's quite unusual for such a financial device to be 'messing up' or 'defective' all by itself, without a little help. LET THE BUYER BEWARE.

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