This trick never works, yet people still keep trying it. I’m sure when they come up with the cunning plan they’re very proud of themselves, but they always end up in the pokey in the end.

Reginald Newman was at a Wal-Mart and found a 26-inch HDTV that he wanted. You and I, we’d check our bank account and see if we had enough to pay for it. But not crafty Reggie. No, he took the UPC bar code from a $3 bottle of water and placed it over the TV’s barcode.

Then he casually tried to buy the TV for $3. Needless to say, the quick-witted cashier noted $3 was a bargain on a new LCD TV so he called a manager who discovered the ruse. Oops!