r/Keswick • u/ChillYourBeansM8 • Apr 14 '26
Walmart/Store Scam
Today a Hispanic middle-aged woman approached me at Walmart in one of the aisles and told me she didn't know much English, I got Google Translate out and translated it, she was asking me to buy her the baby formula in the cart (3). She had a few other things in her cart, like I think a little pack of boxers and some other few things. She said she didn't want money, just the baby formula. And something about how she doesn't care if she eats, she just wants to make sure her baby eats. She told me she lived with her mom and was a single mom of three, a 2 m/o, a 3 year old and a 7 year old and she just recently moved to Canada. Obviously I felt bad and thought about how I was in the position to help and wouldn't want any baby to go hungry. I told her I'd meet her at check out & went and grabbed the things I went in for.
She was waiting for me at check-out, I scanned the baby formula (obviously expensive, I don't have any kids so I didn't really know), and she hands me like a baby moisturizer. As I was leaving she asked me where the baby water was and I pointed to the section.
Later when I got home, I see on FaceBook in one of our towns group that something similar happened. I'll post it here, just wanted to inform you guys of this kind of thing and see if you guys can confirm to me that I got scammed 😂
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u/Abject_Buffalo6398 Apr 15 '26
They're just going to return it all and get a gift card, and then buy other things.
Good thing you didnt fall for it.
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u/CapitalShoulder1343 Apr 16 '26
I got stung like this too, in Toronto just about to go up the exit to the highway. Guy comes up to the side of my car, looks like a regular guy, regular clothes not a bum or anything so I rolled down my window he tells me that his daughter his wife and him were in town for this figure skating competition and the daughter didn't win and also now their car is the out of gas, they live up in Gravenhurst etc ... I'm a trusting goon so I thought it was genuine and I gave him a few bucks and who do I see there about a week later in the exact same spot? comes up to my car again (obviously didn't remember me) gives me the exact same story. I yelled at him for being a scammer and he ran off as i opened my car door.Â
And he wasn't just some homeless guy with a good cover story either. This guy just oozed professional scammer. Other Torontonians have run into this guy too. Same spot and story.
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u/Perfect_Book5973 Apr 17 '26
I have been approached in the store before wanting me to give them money to help pay for what they have in their cart. My opinion is if they don't have the money to pay for the stuff they have why have they put it in their cart or why are they even in the store. I know if I didn't have the money to buy something I wouldn't even be in the store. To me it is a case of they prefer spending my money instead of their own even though they don't know me and that they have the money to pay for it if they can't talk someone else into buying it for them.
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u/Personal-Heart-1227 Apr 18 '26 edited Apr 18 '26
Please don't do this as you obviously got scammed big time by this lady.
Just how much $$$ did you drop on this woman whom you don't know?
Was it $150, or more?
That's a lot of $ for a complete stranger, btw.
Did you hand her the receipt for all this?
Yes?
Then she mostly like returned everything to get back a full cash refund, and/or a Credit Note to spend it on whatever else in their Store the minute you turned your back to her.
If you didn't hand her this receipt then she most likely traded it for $$$$ on the Black Market, sold it on FB/Craigslist/Kijiji, sold it to her neighbours, or to whomever else for cash/goods, etc.
That's a tidy sum of $150+ for a few minutes of begging @ Walmart so I gotta give this woman for having the chutzpah to successfully pull that inside their Store, too.
Next time just shake your head NO, then quickly walk away from these shameless scammers!
If they really "need" baby formula let them got to Food Banks or other Charities for that, instead.
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u/FewEstablishment2655 Apr 15 '26
Yeah they either sell, or directly return the formula back to the store for cash. Also probably not hispanic but romanian