Idiot Tries To Buy iPod With Bogus $4.99 Barcode

[Steve MB]

$4.99 iPod? College Student Accused In Barcode Switch (www.thedenverchannel.com/technology/5449909/detail.html)


BOULDER, Colo. -- A 19-year-old freshman at the University of Colorado faces criminal charges after police said he made a fake bar code label to buy an iPod for $4.99. The actual price of the MP3 player was $149.99.
Jonathan Baldino was arrested Wednesday at a Target store and police said the electrical-engineering student admitted making phony bar codes using a program he downloaded off the Internet....

Baldino wrote a statement for police that begged them not to prosecute him, according to The Denver Post.
"I will NEVER EVER DO THIS EVER AGAIN and I am once more terribly sorry," Baldino wrote. "Please let me go for I am terribly sorry!!! I'm only a kid! Help me out. I just want to go home. I did this not knowing of the serious penalty that lies behind it. Please! Please! Please!"
Baldino faces a felony charge of forgery and two misdemeanor counts of theft....

Yeah, you're "sorry" all right, but not in that sense of the word. :rolleyes:

[lno]

Well, he was only "terribly sorry!!!" and not "terribly sorry!!!!111one`", so I don't think he's that repentant.

[lno]

Oh, and the absolute best part about it?Police said that Baldino didn't even pay for the software program. He used barcodes generated during the 15-day trial period.

[ivylass]

Only three Pleases? Bah! String him up!

[Miller]

No, the best part is this:

I did this not knowing of the serious penalty that lies behind it.

Translation: "I'm not sorry I did it, I'm just sorry I got caught!"

ivylass, I've got the rope if you've got the tree.

[Merijeek]

I remember I caught someone doing this ONCE when I worked retail.

A woman went ahead and taped the bar code from a 6-pack of Pepsi to the bottom of her 24-pack of Pepsi.

I was the fastest cashier EVER (except for Mark, but not only did he look like Luke Skywalker, he was also a cokehead, so he was disqualified as far as I was concerned), but I still caught it.

Take that, biatch.

-Joe

[tdn]

"I'm really sorry. It was wrong of me to have murdered so many people in so short a time, and I promise never to do it again."
--Eric Idle

[Ponder Stibbons]

You think the idiot's lawyer's first piece of advice is going to be "Shut The Fuck Up"?

I did this not knowing of the serious penalty that lies behind it.

That should double his sentence, right there.

[Yeticus Rex]

A 19-year-old freshman at the University of Colorado....blah...blah...blah

Baldino wrote a statement for police that begged them not to prosecute him, according to The Denver Post.
"I will NEVER EVER DO THIS EVER AGAIN and I am once more terribly sorry," Baldino wrote. "Please let me go for I am terribly sorry!!! I'm only a kid! Help me out. I just want to go home. I did this not knowing of the serious penalty that lies behind it. Please! Please! Please!"
Baldino faces a felony charge of forgery and two misdemeanor counts of theft....

My 17 year-old told me last night that he wasn't a kid anymore. I chuckled.

But, I'm sooooooo confused. :rolleyes:

[Gangster Octopus]

I'm sorry I caused all that cancer.

[Nawth Chucka]

I'm sorry I caused all that cancer.

Funny what you find out in dress rehearsal, isn't it? I understand, though - you were on a roll.

[World Eater]

What a moron. An electircal engineering student didn't know better?

[Mr. Blue Sky]

I think his punishment should involve being given an iPod full of Slim Whitman songs played at the wrong speed and be forced to listen to it 16 hours a day for the rest of the year.

[kaylasdad99]

I think his punishment should involve being given an iPod full of Slim Whitman songs played at the wrong speed and be forced to listen to it 16 hours a day for the rest of the year.What's the matter with playing them at the right speed? And do you really think four weeks is enough?

[Mr. Blue Sky]

What's the matter with playing them at the right speed? And do you really think four weeks is enough?


Mmmm....tough guy, eh?

How about doing that AND having to stand in front of the store (on one foot) and wearing only white jockey underwear and having the fake bar code tattooed on his chest.

[Merneith]

I'm only a kid! That there is definitely the best part.

Of course, I wouldn't have thought that this would be a felony either. The felony is "forgery" - would it have been a forgery if he'd just somehow pried a barcode off another product? Also, the misdemeanor charges of "theft" - is it theft if you get caught in the act? Or an attempted theft?

Maybe I'm splitting too many hairs. Still, I'm happy if it interfere's with this guy's getting an electrical engineering job since he's clearly too dumb for that.

[Helen's Eidolon]

Also, what cashier is really going to say: "4.99 for an iPod? Seems fair." It's not like he was buying something inconspicuous, like soft drinks.

[BubbaDog]

What a moron. An electircal engineering student didn't know better?

Many EE students have a very slim grasp of reality.


Note:Bubbadog is an EE and lived among EE students at a time in his life.

[Larry Mudd]

Also, what cashier is really going to say: "4.99 for an iPod? Seems fair." It's not like he was buying something inconspicuous, like soft drinks.Maybe he was hoping to bluff his way through with the "That's what the sticker price says, you have to sell it for that -- it's the law!" tack.

...but more likely he suffers from the common blindness that prevents people from intuiting how a given scenario might appear to someone who's not as astonishingly stupid as themselves.

[World Eater]

Many EE students have a very slim grasp of reality.


Note:Bubbadog is an EE and lived among EE students at a time in his life.

Really? Should I go recheck the wiring in my building? :p

[Metacom]

Really? Should I go recheck the wiring in my building? :p
No. The wiring in your building was installed by an electrician. Most EE's (electrical engineer's) wouldn't have a clue how to wire up a house properly.

And frankly... The kid should be punished, but a felony? Sheesh.

[Monty]

Also, the misdemeanor charges of "theft" - is it theft if you get caught in the act? Or an attempted theft?

FWIU & IANAL, it's nothing at all until the person leaves the store with the unpaid for (in this case, unpaid for correctly on purpose) product.

Maybe I'm splitting too many hairs. Still, I'm happy if it interfere's with this guy's getting an electrical engineering job since he's clearly too dumb for that.

I agree with you...the $4.99 dude is too stupid to get a degree. I'm curious though as to how someone that stupid can breathe.

Too bad he's not attending my father's alma mater, Virginia Military Institute. One incident of theft and he'd be expelled.

[World Eater]

No. The wiring in your building was installed by an electrician. Most EE's (electrical engineer's) wouldn't have a clue how to wire up a house properly.


I knew someone was going to bring that up. But an EE designed some of the electrical components that are in my building.

[Metacom]

I knew someone was going to bring that up. But an EE designed some of the electrical components that are in my building.
Be thankful for Underwriters Laboratories (http://www.ul.com/), who set extremely strict standards for those electrical components. :)

[World Eater]

Be thankful for Underwriters Laboratories (http://www.ul.com/), who set extremely strict standards for those electrical components. :)

I'll toast to that!

[JonScribe]

No, the best part is this:



Translation: "I'm not sorry I did it, I'm just sorry I got caught!"

ivylass, I've got the rope if you've got the tree.


No, no, no. Hang 'im by his earbuds.

[Voyager]

Maybe he was hoping to bluff his way through with the "That's what the sticker price says, you have to sell it for that -- it's the law!" tack.

And pay no attention to the taped on UPC?

Throw this shmuck in the slammer until he is too old to breed. I'd be more lenient if it was a clever attempt at theft, but immoral and stupid together is too much.

[Xema]

Also, what cashier is really going to say: "4.99 for an iPod? Seems fair."
He was probably hoping for something along the lines of "Any would you like our extended warranty with that, for only an additional ... let's see ... 49 cents?"

[Tabby_Cat]

FWIU & IANAL, it's nothing at all until the person leaves the store with the unpaid for (in this case, unpaid for correctly on purpose) product.

Not sure about US law, but in UK law, if you switch the labels you are already committing theft, even if you don't bring it to the cashier.

DPP v Gomez (http://www.leeds.ac.uk/law/hamlyn/gomez-hl.htm)

[Nawth Chucka]

Throw this shmuck in the slammer until he is too old to breed. ..

He's an idiot AND an EE student - just what do you suppose his breeding options are going to consist of? He'll need a schematic to find his way.

[Guinastasia]

Jesus, at least use a more realistic price! I don't think the kid would have made the news had he knocked it off even to half price.

4.99 for an iPod? Kid, you deserve what you get. And you just know you're going to become a legend at that store. 20 years from now, they'll still be talking about it!

[lonesome loser]

I'm really sorry. It was wrong of me to have lied about the reason for going to war. I promise I will never do it again.

George

[Little Nemo]

"Your honor, my client would like to plead not guilty by reason of stupidity."
"That's not technically an allowable plea, counselor, but your client has presented some pretty compelling evidence."

[World Eater]

I'm really sorry. It was wrong of me to have lied about the reason for going to war. I promise I will never do it again.

George

hehe, he switched the sticker!

[EmeraldGrue]

:smack: And to think that engineers "rule the world"...we're doomed.

[kanicbird]

Translation: "I'm not sorry I did it, I'm just sorry I got caught!"

True translation: "I really didn't understand the magnitude of the offense I commited, now I do and now I understand why it will never happen again, so much so that if you let me go, and if this does happen again you can string me up by my 'nads"

[Voyager]

:smack: And to think that engineers "rule the world"...we're doomed.
We do? Why wasn't I informed?

And why isn't my salary bigger?

[TellMeI'mNotCrazy]

True translation: "I really didn't understand the magnitude of the offense I commited, now I do and now I understand why it will never happen again, so much so that if you let me go, and if this does happen again you can string me up by my 'nads"
not knowing of the serious penalty that lies behind it

He's not saying he didn't know how serious the offense was - he's specifically saying he didn't know how serious the penalty was. In other words - he probably thought the worst that would happen is a slap on the wrist and an ejection from the store. No matter what, he had to have known what he was doing was wrong, and illegal. And he still did it anyway.

[Daisy Mae]

I was the fastest cashier EVER (except for Mark, but not only did he look like Luke Skywalker, he was also a cokehead, so he was disqualified as far as I was concerned), but I still caught it.

Take that, biatch.

-Joe

Ha! That made me giggle madly. Luke Skywalerish and a cokehead? Off with his head!

[saoirse]

:smack: And to think that engineers "rule the world"...we're doomed.

So MEs make the box the future comes in. Then EEs try to get away with putting a different UPC code on the box, hoping for a 97% discount.

[Zabali_Clawbane]

He's an idiot AND an EE student - just what do you suppose his breeding options are going to consist of? He'll need a schematic to find his way.

He needs a schematic to find his own penis, much less knowing where to put it should he ever get a chance to breed.

[Mister Rik]

Maybe he was hoping to bluff his way through with the "That's what the sticker price says, you have to sell it for that -- it's the law!" tack.
Is that one right next to the law that says "the customer is always right"?

[Steve MB]

More details, from another account (www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3270764):

Baldino's alleged holiday caper actually worked - once.... But Baldino's alleged scam was thwarted Wednesday when he returned to Target and was recognized by the store's security specialist, according to police....

Baldino told police that he didn't have an accomplice at Target. "He looked for female checkers that he thought did not know enough about electronic items to catch the switch," Schuler wrote in his report....

[robby]

From the same story (www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3270764):

Baldino could not be reached for comment Thursday. In a follow-up statement to police, he wrote: "I am extremely sad now, and I just want to go to bed," he wrote. "Please let me sleep in my own bed tonight."

This loser is 19 years old?! Someone needs to advise him to stop making statements to the police. :rolleyes: They're not making him look sympathetic, just pathetic.

[ivylass]

Let's recap, shall we?

19-year-old student who begs and cries like a little girl when caught stealing, who thinks he can get a $150 piece of electronics for $5, who scopes out female cashiers who he thinks are too stupid to tell the difference.

How much you want to be there's an inflatable doll somewhere in his dorm? Cuz dude ain't never going to get a date with a real live woman if he doesn't show her the money first. :rolleyes:

[BubbaDog]

He's not saying he didn't know how serious the offense was - he's specifically saying he didn't know how serious the penalty was. In other words - he probably thought the worst that would happen is a slap on the wrist and an ejection from the store. No matter what, he had to have known what he was doing was wrong, and illegal. And he still did it anyway.

Exactly. He figured out that it was technically possible to fool the scanning equipment but it was morally wrong.

[EE student nerd voice] But jeez guys! Wouldn't that be cool? You could, like, make up some tags and go to Walmart and, like, do your whole Christmas shopping list for under $5.00. Man if only we could use that technology to git girls to talk to us! [/EE student nerd voice]

[Borborygmi]

the electrical-engineering student admitted making phony bar codes...
I'm shocked at the frequency of this sort of thing. Hopefully his punishment really hertz.

[Miller]

Baldino told police that he didn't have an accomplice at Target. "He looked for female checkers that he thought did not know enough about electronic items to catch the switch," Schuler wrote in his report....

Ah. He's one of those. (http://www.queenofwands.net/d/20051109.html) The more I hear about this kid, the more I hate him.

[Electronic Chaos]

I'm shocked at the frequency of this sort of thing. Hopefully his punishment really hertz.

I laughed at that joke way more than I should have.

[bouv]

I knew a guy in college who did something like this as well. He made the fake barcodes (possibly with the same software, and knowing him, used a cracked version to go more than the 15 day trial period.) Instead of iPods, though, he bought the large, $100 DVD sets for things like Star Trek and X-Files for ~$5, then sell them on eBay. He said the trick was to go to the register that had the old lady at it, sicne they never know what things should cost. :rolleyes:

[Velma]

More importantly, what ipod is Target selling for $149? That's $50 less than any price I've seen for the Nano and $50 more than the shuffle. I thought Apple wouldn't let retailers sell the Nano for less than $199?

He was getting a good deal even without the scam! I want an ipod for $149!

[bouv]

More importantly, what ipod is Target selling for $149? That's $50 less than any price I've seen for the Nano and $50 more than the shuffle. I thought Apple wouldn't let retailers sell the Nano for less than $199?


$50 more than the 512 MB Shuffle, yes, but that's the spot on price for the 1 Gig shuffle, I think.

[gazpacho]

I knew a guy in college who did something like this as well. He made the fake barcodes (possibly with the same software, and knowing him, used a cracked version to go more than the 15 day trial period.) Instead of iPods, though, he bought the large, $100 DVD sets for things like Star Trek and X-Files for ~$5, then sell them on eBay. He said the trick was to go to the register that had the old lady at it, sicne they never know what things should cost. :rolleyes:Did he get caught?

[Steve MB]

Did he get caught?
And, if so, did he try the "I'm just a kid" defense? :rolleyes:

[Hampshire]

Those guys at the door at Best Buy that check your receipt at the door even though you just came from the register that everyone likes to bitch about (including people on this board) check for just this type of thing. When you hire 30 seasonal cashiers you can't expect them to know models and prices of everything. The guys at the door check for this type of fraud.

[Cheez_Whia]

FYI,a 1-gig shuffle goes for $129.00 on Apple's site today, with free shipping.

[rjung]

Those guys at the door at Best Buy that check your receipt at the door even though you just came from the register that everyone likes to bitch about (including people on this board) check for just this type of thing.
I dunno, all the receit-checkers I've ever encountered just do a quick count of stuff, then swipe the receipt. I can't imagine they'd do the totals in their head in a split-second. My understanding is that the receipt-checkers mark the receipt so it cannot be re-used by an unscrupulous employee to "return" a shoplifted item back to the store...?

[TellMeI'mNotCrazy]

I dunno, all the receit-checkers I've ever encountered just do a quick count of stuff, then swipe the receipt. I can't imagine they'd do the totals in their head in a split-second. My understanding is that the receipt-checkers mark the receipt so it cannot be re-used by an unscrupulous employee to "return" a shoplifted item back to the store...?
My experience has been that they look at the obviously higher-priced merchandise in the cart, and then look for a corresponding entry on the receipt. If you have an iPod in your cart but the highest item on your receipt is 5 bucks, they are probably going to catch it.

[bouv]

Did he get caught?

Unfortunatly, no. It probably would have been good for him to get caught and learn his lesson. I doubt he still does this, seeing as he is now in CA working at a nice paying computer graphics job, but he did it for at least two yuears in college, on average of one DVD set a week. It's actually a miracle he didn't get caught.

Oh, and he had a "fool-prrof" plan if he got caught...claim ignorance.

"Gee, I had no idea this DVD set should be $100 and not $5! Someone else must have put the sticker on there!" :rolleyes:. Yeah, I'm sure the security guard will buy that.

[Steve MB]

My understanding is that the receipt-checkers mark the receipt so it cannot be re-used by an unscrupulous employee to "return" a shoplifted item back to the store...?
How does that work? If an unscrupulous employee gets hold of a receipt and then shoplifts a corresponding item, the mark isn't going to invalidate the return -- a legitimate return would use the same marked receipt, after all.

In any case, the marking process is such a slap-dash application of a pen stroke that I can't see any difficulty in reproducing it on a bogus receipt generated by an unscrupulous employee.

I suspect that the true purpose is simply to confirm that the bag was checked on the way out for any discrepancies (of the sort created by Our Hero's bogus barcode scheme).

[Hampshire]

How does that work? If an unscrupulous employee gets hold of a receipt and then shoplifts a corresponding item, the mark isn't going to invalidate the return -- a legitimate return would use the same marked receipt, after all.

In any case, the marking process is such a slap-dash application of a pen stroke that I can't see any difficulty in reproducing it on a bogus receipt generated by an unscrupulous employee.

I suspect that the true purpose is simply to confirm that the bag was checked on the way out for any discrepancies (of the sort created by Our Hero's bogus barcode scheme).

The mark on the receipt is so someone who just bought a DVD player that shows their receipt at the door doesn't put the DVD player in their car, come back in the store with their receipt, grab another DVD player off the shelf, wait for a shift change of the door checker, walk up to them and say "here's my receipt! bye!"

[fushj00mang]

That there is definitely the best part.

Of course, I wouldn't have thought that this would be a felony either. The felony is "forgery" - would it have been a forgery if he'd just somehow pried a barcode off another product?


No, if he'd pried the barcode off of another product (that he owned) it'd be fraud. If he pried the barcode off a product still in the store, it'd be vandalism and fraud.

[cosmosdan]

FWIU & IANAL, it's nothing at all until the person leaves the store with the unpaid for (in this case, unpaid for correctly on purpose) product.


It may vary from state to state but I think putting a false barcode on is enough to show intent. In some states just concealing an item, in your jacket or something, is enough to get you charged with shoplifting.

[cosmosdan]

Unfortunatly, no. It probably would have been good for him to get caught and learn his lesson. I doubt he still does this, seeing as he is now in CA working at a nice paying computer graphics job, but he did it for at least two yuears in college, on average of one DVD set a week. It's actually a miracle he didn't get caught.

Oh, and he had a "fool-prrof" plan if he got caught...claim ignorance.

"Gee, I had no idea this DVD set should be $100 and not $5! Someone else must have put the sticker on there!" :rolleyes:. Yeah, I'm sure the security guard will buy that.

And you can bet that more than a few others are doing it as well. That's why this kid whiney little pathetic punk that he is, should get some cell time. I'd bet ten bucks his parents excused every little bullshit thing he did as a kid. When he shoplifted they just wagged a finger and said "Sweetie that's naughty" instead of kicking his ass and marching him right back to the store.

I actually think you buddies excuse would have worked at least to avoid any real prosecution. Unless they found bar codes in his pocket they'd have no proof he did it and most major chains just want to discourage shoplifters rather than the hassle of prosecution. They won't believe him but they won't prosecute. They might ban him from the store.

There's dozens of little scams that people use. The more it costs the stores the stricter return policies and other things get for the honest folks.

Incidently, there is no law that says a store has to sell you something that is mistagged at the mistagged price. Most stores do that on little stuff as customer service but on larger stuff they usually won't.