Participation in Return Fraud

My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: California

I was asked to return something for someone and when I walked in the alarm beeped however I kept going and when I went to return to item the lady at the register she scanned my Id , she then gave me a gift card and that was it. Is there a possibility of me having returned something stolen and if so could there be outcomes? It was a 50 dollar whitening strips

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. Is there a possibility of me having returned something stolen

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sure it could. Why not ask the "someone" if they stole the item. That would give you your answer.


It's unlikely anything will happen unless they review security tapes and see somebody stealing the item in question.


You are likely simply added to a watch list so each time you bring something back, it will be noted. If your returns are suspicious, the retailer may look into the issue further or simply have a security guy follow you whenever you are in the store.

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Quoting Edd

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My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: California

I was asked to return something for someone and when I walked in the alarm beeped however I kept going and when I went to return to item the lady at the register she scanned my Id , she then gave me a gift card and that was it. Is there a possibility of me having returned something stolen and if so could there be outcomes? It was a 50 dollar whitening strips

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Sometimes that alarm beeps because when the item was legitimately purchased, the cashier forgot to remove the security tag, so don't make any assumptions of your friend before you ask them about it. However, if they start asking you to return items for them all the time, I'd start refusing.

The fact that you are asking the question leads me to believe that you consider it a possibility that you friend stole the item. If they did, they sent YOU in to return it ... and possibly set you up for a jail stay. You should think twice when someone asks YOU to return an item they can easily return themselves.

Also, for the record, entering the store with the intent to commit such fraud can be considered burglary (a felony) in CA.

it was a man outside of the store. i didn't know him possibly not the smartest thing to do on my part but he he seemed desperate and in need of a hand so i returned it for him. He said they wouldn't let him do it because he was from nevada and they needed to see a california licence. After the incident i started freaking out and now im just hoping its nothing serious or maybe im just worrying to much.

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i didn't know him possibly not the smartest thing to do on my part but he he seemed desperate and in need of a hand so i returned it for him.

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and the reason he didn't just walk into the store and return it was...? The license issue was obvious BS.

As the comedian says:

Here's your clue.

yeah now that i look over the incident i see the flaws in his story that's why i'm wondering if there could be any legal repercussions towards me. I mean it was just 50 dollars, but even then I understand the law is the law.

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or is there anything i can do to fix it?

fix what? Unless the store tries to press charges for some crime, there is nothing to fix.

well do you know the worst that could happen if the store pressed charges? or do you think they would?

If the store called the police, and you gave the police THAT story, they'd be looking at you for burglary. Any reasonable person would find that fishy as heck.

No, it's likely that they will not have reported it to the police, but this is a great example of how to walk into a felony!