Barcode spoofer caught stealing iPod shuffle

Barcode printing, barcode creation apps, and barcode spoofing are really nothing new — but you have to be of a certain persuasion to walk right into a Target with a fake barcode for $4.99 headphones and try and walk back out with an iPod shuffle for your trouble. Perhaps some might call that the poor college student persuasion, but apparently 19 year old Colorado college student Jonathan Baldino actually made it past the register with his $4.99 purchase, only to be halted by one of those receipt checking door guards. Now dude's facing a criminal felony count of forgery and two misdemeanor counts of theft (he'd admitted to trying the fake-barcode trick on a CD player, before). Sucks to be 18 and out in the world, kid, but you've got to grow up and buy your gadgets like the rest of us, dig?

[Via CNET, thanks Mark]

[maddav @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

Umm, how was this supposed to work???

[David Crowe @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

maybe just me, but why not steal a video ipod if you're gonna go that far?

[Bean @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

Those "receipt checking door guards" can't legally force you to stop unless they actually saw you steal something. Just keep walking. There's nothing they can do.

[0xF050 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

To #3, thats not strictly true, i used to work in a supermarket and there are usually signs near the door stating that apon entry you agree to have your bags inspected on request.

[Jordan @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

Yup, you can keep walking, learned that in my Criminal Justice classes. Store employees cannot touch you unless they have permission from a local police department, or to stop you from doing harm to others (as any citizen can).

If they KNOW that you stole something, and they touch you, they are banking on the fact that you will plea and not sue them. They still are not legally allowed to touch you in our state.

We reviewed an example case in which a retail store thought a girl stole something. They grabbed her and held her on the ground. She hadn't stolen anything, they were mistaken. She was awarded slightly over $1 million in damages. The point of the case review though is that they couldn't have touched her in our state even if she HAD stolen something. Some states they can. I think in Texas they can shoot you. Seriously. Guns can be used in Texas to protect property over a certain amount (I think $1,000?).

[mopper @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

dig? lol ryan ur posts are so funny

[Jordan @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

To #4 -

Clauses in contracts, whether verbal or otherwise, cannot overshadow state, local or federal laws. That sign may make people THINK that, but they still cannot touch them.

If a sign said "Upon entering this store, you may be raped." could you be? Nope.

[Despero @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

If he tried pulling that at the SuperTarget I work at, he would not have failed. He just went to the wrong Target, that's all.

[Cantelope @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

Jordan, although you are trying to make a point, you cannot post a sign indicating the store may commit a crime upon you, just in case you may on them.

Checking bags isnt a crime, nor is it a forceful activity. Rape is.

Make a valid point next time with actual facts. If you are just trying to be funny, you failed.

[TZK @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

Maybe the cashier needs an in-house demo on how an MP3 player looks different from a pair of $5 headphones.

[Bean @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

It's scare tactics. Just think of it this way... After you buy your shiny new gadget at Best Buy, it's yours. You own it. It's not theirs anymore. What right do they have to stop you. You're just trying to go home.

I stood in line for 14 hours to buy an Xbox 360 at Best Buy. On the way out the door there were two "receipt checkers". And they were standing three feet from each other. Can't that second guy just stand there and watch the first guy check my receipt? Seriously, what's the point of that. The only possible reason for that is to scare you.

[Excuse me for my terrible grammar @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

"I will NEVER EVER DO THIS EVER AGAIN and I am once more terribly sorry," Baldino wrote in a statement for police. "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!"

Geez, he is only 19. What a dork. But that's okay, I cried after I arrest for shoplifter for stole MK2 (SNES).

[Josh @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

This guy went to University of Colorado, not Colorado College. I thought the lowercase c was a typo.

[wtfunkymonkey @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

speaking of dig... OLD NEWS!

[anonymous @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

where can i get said barcode fakery software ::evil grins::

[Aaron @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

As a Colorado College graduate, I expect much more from the students. They don't call us the Harvard of the rockies for nothing, but maybe the student body is changing.

[lupinstel @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

Looks like he should have learned to manipulate online shopping cart software instead.

[Bedpanjohn @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

When i worked at lowes we had a trainning video about when the door alarms are set off by a tag that hasnt been deactivated. And they insisted at least 30 times to never stop the customer if they keep walking and never touch them.

"dont be a hero because they might have a gun"
________

Even when the guy stopped him he defiantly shouldn't have admitted to forging anything, I mean come on. He should have said he thought it was on sell $14 bucks or he just swiped his card and didn�t even hear how much they were charging him for it. deny deny deny.. or don't even talk until your lawyer is there.. even though they probably had him on video placing the sticker on the box

[brandon @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

well at school here (high school) there allowed to go through your backpack if they suspect you have something you shouldnt.. is that illegal ? cause id loovee to get a law suit going.

[Vern @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

Tested this theory at Fry's Electronics, where they look at your bag and look at your receipt and mark it. I bought a computer case a while back and just kept walking while the guys coming after me which meant 3 people went through the door without being checked. He stopped once I told him that my belongings don't have to be searched unless an on duty officer stated so. He silently went back to his post. Btw this was in Texas.

[Sam @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

Or you could just start yourself a technology web site - like say... Engadget. Then peeps will just send you all this great free stuff.

Right?

[Sam @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

Or you could just start yourself a technology web site - like say... Engadget. Then peeps will just send you all this great free stuff.

Right?

[nix @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

brandon-
no,that is legal. look up New Jersey v. T.L.O. from 1985. that set a precedent that it is legal for school administrators to search students in the case that they even _think_ that the student has illegal or dangerous items.
as far as the reciept checker or anyone else looking in your bag, usually they're told not to force the subject if he/she refuses to consent to search, as the person may have a weapon. that's why so many companies have "no chase" policies too.

[nix @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

also, you guys should read
http://www.crimedoctor.com/loss_prevention_3.htm
and
http://www.crimedoctor.com/shoplifting2.htm
he points out that it is completely legal for stores to check bags, "as long as the inspection is voluntary, [not] if the bag check is involuntary or coerced."
the author also notes that "there are six universally accepted steps that a merchant should follow before deciding to stop someone suspected of shoplifting:

You must see the shoplifter approach your merchandise
You must see the shoplifter select your merchandise
You must see the shoplifter conceal or carry away or convert your merchandise
You must maintain continuous observation the shoplifter
You must see the shoplifter fail to pay for the merchandise
You must approach the shoplifter outside of the store "

[Cire @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

I live in NYC. Kmart here (ugg - yes I admit to going) has the same revolting policy..

First you pay - then go through the electronic gates - then you meet up with the low IQ guy who stamps your receipt and lets you out.

I was always freaked out by this - if I have to show you my frigging recipt what the hell are the gates for and all the tagging that bumps up the retail price?

So if I'm in a glaring bad mood - I just walk on by while all the sheep hand over their reciepts for inspection - while the guards have called after me no one (yet) has come after me.

I can't say if they don't make a chase for legal reasons or just sheer lethargy - but It would be nice to know the laws in NY.

[Preston @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

Everyone is a lawyer online.

The laws and applicable civil statutes vary from state to state. Often people confuse what they think is a crime, with what is really just the grounds for a lawsuit under some generic common law tort. Checking the penal code in your state, most are available online, or asking a crim law professor at your school are the best ways to get a clear answer to specific questions like this (but often they will tell you there is no clear answer, that's how law profs roll).

For the kid above, however, in every state in this country (thanks to the supreme court) your school in "loco parentis" has much more authority than a private citizen or merchant to invade your personal space or belongings. Locker searches and backpack searches can usually be conducted with little reason at all. See New Jersey v TLO (1985) where a search of a girls purse for cigarettes she was suspected of possessing was upheld and the loco parentis doctrine was reaffirmed.

[jen @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

Stealing one iPod Shuffle by switching the barcode? Try stealing $200,000 worth of Legos (also by switching barcodes at Target): http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1344990

[Jordan @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

#8 (Cantelope) -

I certainly wasn't trying to be funny, if I was, I wouldn't have picked rape as an example. I don't think there's anything funny about it (despite what George Carlin might say).

What I was trying to say is that the store cannot forcibly check your bags.

Checking your bags while you a willing to allow them to is of course no crime.

Putting up a sign that says "we can check your bags" is not allowing them to commit a crime against you, as you said. Putting up a sign that says "we can check your bags, and if you refuse, we will have our rent-a-cop tackle and handcuff you and take you into a top-secret interrogation room." (which is what they all secretly want to do) WOULD be a sign that "allows" committing a crime against you.

I'm not expert though, and local laws always differ. I'm just saying, putting up a sign allows them to make you think that they could force the issue, when truly they can't.

[Brian Dotson @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

It's amazing that he tried to get away with such a blatant crime. You'd think he'd make it a little less obvious.

[resource @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

What happened to good ole shoplifting?

In my day, the kids wore baggy clothes for a reason. Those large pockets were not just for fashionable they practical.

How I miss the megastores of the mid-west.

[m @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

Not a very smart kid. Not that I condone what he did but just say, "No thanks," and walk out. It is illegal for them to hold you at the store (assuming they haven't already figured out what happened). (Note: don't try this at Sam's, since you're a member there they can withdraw your membership if you don't follow their policies.)

And in the case where they do hold you illegally, the cop will probably discover what you did and you can at least bring the receipt checker down with you....

[jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

hahahaha i know that kid! that's funny.

[Sam @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

i do this at my local dicks sporting goods. lol. lax sticks are sooo expensive i just relpace the cheapest shaft on the most expensive. on screen it still comes out as a shaft so the employes dont know. they dont know the diff between a kevlar stick and a graphite one

[Long @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

Places where membership is required like Costco can force you to check your items because you have to be a member and obey their rules. But places like Best Buy and stuff cant force you to give them your receipt and stuff. My local Best Buy has changed their informal procedure, they let you walk away on small items without checking.

I know when I applied at Best Buy they were worried about theft because out of 25 questions 15 were about theft. But it seemed like employee theft is what worried them the most. They have policies that would give you bonus if you rat out a coworker for theft such as if the person tried to still $100, you get the $100. And they have a threshold on how much they can lose per store due to theft. If no one steals, the threshold amount would be divided as a bonus to each employee.

I have a question about places at Campus Book Stores that make you do backpack checks or place them in a shelf while you go shopping. Is that legal? What happens if your stuff get stolen because it might be unattended.

[Charles @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

Is this an ad for RFID?

[Paul J. @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

I think its asking to get caught to do this and go through a register with a live cashier checking you out. You need to do it at a store that has self-checkout =)

[ipod @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

"What happened to good ole shoplifting?" Heh, so true...

[Wixx @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

Hmmm, this happened to me a few times while I worked as a cashier at WalMart. I had one gentlemen try to purchase a $250 flat screen monitor, but for some reason the darn thing rang up as a $14 GE telephone. Well, I just ripped off the sticker and manually entered the UPC. He wasn't happy, but whatever, he paid and left.

This kinda thing happens alot, ppl always think they can get away with that kinda thing, the sad thing is most cashiers are so unobservant that, most times, this simple scam works.

Anywho, forget bag searches, forget dumb college students, this was all the cashiers fault. If he/she had been paying attention and doing their job they would've caught the mistake before the kid ever left the register.

[Justin @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

On Black Friday I went to target, and I was able to get my hand on one of those Magnavox 15" LCD TV's ,and a $99 DS with Mario Kart.

The cashier lady said " $141.30". I didn't say anything, and I wasn't charged for the TV. Some way the TV didnt ring up or she didnt do it correctly. I was thrilled. Then I asked for a bag for the TV, and she said "I don't think I have one for that, you don't need one" Stupid me, I get to the doors and the security guard came up from the side. Checked my reciept and he had me go back to Customer service to pay for it. I was so pissed...

[bobby barnes @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

i always get pissed after standing in line for 20 minutes at check out to pay for my stuff then get to door to exit amere 25 feet away and have some low iq person want to see my receipt, put in my wallet with my credit card so to check against monthly statement. so line is now long so lets next 6-8 people out just to check mine and then looks at it for 5 seconds and so okay , well i know he didnt look to see if all 25 items were in cart or if there was 30

[jean @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

was at walmart and after paying for all my items i was about to go outside when a checker wanted to see my receipt so gladly handed it to him went to car found 1/2 missing so returned to store manager to find cashier had forgot to put items in my cart,funny checker didnt do his job very well told manager,. wasnt happy with me thought i was a wise guy.just goes to show you checkers dont care whats in your cart, either way

[Ernie @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

Get real dude. you must be pretty bored to do this and iPods suck!

[KurtRoedeger @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

hehe, anybody wanna give him a call or e-mail Mr. Barcode

http://dirwww.colorado.edu/whitepages/ldapnew.xml?affiliation=*&campus=*&cnfull=baldino

Home: 303-786-3408
FRESHMAN: OPEN OPTION [e-mail]

[hydrogen_wv @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

The problem here is that a contract was made (essentially). The cashier said '$4.99 please', he gave them the $4.99. This is essentially the cashier and customer signing a contract that says 'I agree to pay $4.99 for said item(s).' By changing the barcode, he just persuaded the cashier to give him the item for less than the store wanted for it. The way I look at it, he paid for his item per the 'contract' so he did nothing wrong.
Same with the guy above with the 15" TV and the DS game.. He should have just said 'The cashier told me how much the store wanted for the item(s) and I paid it. End of story, I'm leaving.' I don't think they could have done anything to him. When they tried making him pay the extra he should say 'I didn't agree to pay $xxx.xx, I agreed to pay $141.43, which I did.'

If the cashier screws up, the store can deal with him/her.

[KurtRoedeger @ Dec 19th 2005 12:56AM]

#45

I think you need to re-evaluate your statement. If you are considering it a contract as such, then by picking up the item off the shelf with the advertised price, you are entering a contract with the store to purchase it at said price. This is why he is being charged with fraud, and not theft.

--KurtRoedeger

[rachel @ Dec 30th 2005 5:06AM]

you know it is quite easy to pull that old barcode trick off,my experience-well i didnt know about the barcode program however we tryed to scan barcodes and print them well needless to that didnt work ,but all you do is find someth'n that has a sticker barcode one that you can pull off fairly easy and stick it over the other barcode then look for a checker that isnt looking at there screen everytime they scan something and buy other stuff along with your cheap thing makes it harder to really notice.look for a checker thats pretty young and dumb for me i go to the young guys or old and my charm usually has them distracted either that or my boobs.