When Reddit user @NotYetDomestic asked, “what are your best examples of people cheating “the system”?” answers flooded in about people who found atypical ways to achieve success...
Whether it’s about securing that Black Friday deal or making sure your boss doesn’t catch you slacking off, everyone has cheated the system a few times in their life. But these people went above and beyond the norm to showcase their sheer brilliance.
Getting the Best Deals on Black Friday
“In the good old days of Black Friday before stores like Best Buy started getting very crafty and clandestine with their deals (8+ years ago) there used to be a slight buffer where someone would leak the sales and the items wouldn't be removed from the shelves.
I don't remember specifically but they had a system to prevent you from purchasing then pricematching retroactively. As soon as this happened I strolled on down to Best Buy, took a bunch of stuff that I wanted, and put it in their dryers and washing machines.
Basically whatever hiding place that didn't look like it got a lot of browsing or consideration. Then when Black Friday comes: sleep in, head to the store around noon and pull the door busters out of a washing machine.” Story credit: Reddit / GleepGlopDC
Getting Free Wi-Fi on a Plane
“I was flying last month, and the plane I was on had Wi-Fi. There was a free 15-minute trial, and then you could purchase a chunk of time. I just kept deleting the cookies on my phone, refreshing, and logging back in. I stayed online for over an hour for free.” Story credit: Reddit
College Never Has to End
“I graduated from my college 3 years ago, I still use my student ID for discounts.” Story credit: Reddit / godaiyuhsaku
Everyone Deserves a Warranty
“I used to work in a camera store that sold warranties. No matter how the camera broke, they would fix it or replace it under the warranty.
The only problem was that the store would ship off the camera to be repaired, sometimes for months, up to five times before replacing it.
So, let's say your battery cover breaks off. You ship it off and six weeks later it's back. But, it's really a brand defect, so, the cover pops off again. They won't replace the whole piece or give you another camera. You're out the camera for months while it's being fixed. They keep selling the defective camera and the warranties.
I got tired of [messing with] customers. I thought it was dishonest. I read the contract myself and found an interesting clause. If the camera was so physically damaged that it was obvious it couldn't be fixed, we could take a pic of it and send that instead. The person immediately got a new camera.
When people would come in with a camera with a defect I'd seen 100 times, I'd ask if they just wanted a new one (the next model up, without the defect). They'd say yes and I'd tell them to take it out into the parking lot and run over it with their car. I'd pile the pieces on the counter, take a pic and give them their new, non-defective camera.
I slept fine.” Story credit: Reddit / AustinTreeLover
Let Your Phone Provider Know That You’re Moving
“If you want to cancel your cellphone contract without paying a fee, pull up the provider's service map. Find a huge hole in the map, like a desert out west. Look for a town name in that map. Tell them you're moving to Putzachateeawaka, Arizona and you want to cancel because they don't provide service there. Boom.
3 times now. 3 times.
I've done it with AT&T two times, Verizon the other. Last time was AT&T in 2011.” Story credit: Reddit
Avoiding Import Tax by Writing the Wrong Address
“I'm from Northern Ireland, and when ordering stuff online I'd always write 'Belfast, Ireland' on it instead of North Ireland - the post'll still get there, as yes, technically Belfast's in Ireland.
The post would be directed via the Dublin sorting office instead of coming into the UK routes. Nine times out of ten, the Dublin sorting office would just send it on up to Belfast, instead of forwarding it to Royal Mail in London who would then slap a huge import bill on it (whereas the southern Irish postal service can't charge me import, as I'm a UK citizen).
The Republic of Ireland couldn't [care less] if the Queen's out of pocket over a few quid. My granddad was a royal mail postman for years, he taught me that one. For anyone who's confused- if you live in Northern Ireland (which is part of the UK), you have to pay UK import tax on stuff you buy from outside the EU.
If you write 'Ireland' as your address instead of NI, the parcel will be sent to the republic of Ireland (different country, same island) who usually forward straight to you instead of sending it back to the UK so you can [be] charged. It's a sneaky way of avoiding import tax.” Story credit: Reddit / dingle_hopper1981
Self-Serve Soda Isn’t Free?
“When I was a teenager I worked at a McDonald's where the beverages were self-serve, we just sold you the cup. Once, on a particularly slow day when I was the only one at the registers, an older man walked in with an empty gallon of milk carton, walked over to the coke dispenser, and started to fill.
It took a full minute or two, and he actually looked over at me once, where I was watching him utterly fascinated. When he was done, he put the little cap back on, nodded to me, then walked back out to his car.” Story credit: Reddit / teeth_cheese
My Own Personal Taxi
“At my university I would always order delivery from a late night eatery and get a ride home with the delivery guy. Less expensive than a taxi, with a meal included.” Story credit: Reddit / afcjl12
Hundreds of CDs For the Price of One
“Anyone old enough to remember BMG Music Club? They were that company always advertising 9 or 12 CDs for "the price of one." As a kid I got them to send me literally hundreds of CDs without paying by inventing new aliases.” Story credit: Reddit / hahabmg
A Teacher Who Supported Cheating
“A teacher I had in high school always said to his students "if you can get away with cheating go for it.” Turns out he had gotten a raise for getting his masters degree, but never actually got the degree.
This went on for over 10 years before the school system figured it out. Somehow he got hired at a new school too.” Story credit: Reddit / bioexplosion
Teach a Man to Fix an Xbox and He’ll Play for Life
“About three years ago, I bought an old battered Rrod Xbox off of Craigslist for 40 bucks. Apparently the previous owners never registered it and, at the time, Microsoft was allowing Xboxs less than two years old to be replaced if they had rrod.
This thing was older than that but I figured I had nothing to lose so I sent it in. Microsoft never said a word and I got a brand new one in the mail about two weeks later.” Story credit: Reddit / myballs_yourdestiny
How to Get Customers to Sympathize With You
“So I work in the luggage claim department for a major airline. All day I get to hear customers yelling and complaining. What I did is borrow one of the wheelchairs from the airport and sit behind my desk all day long.
Customers come in all angry, see me in the wheelchair, realize they are about to yell at a guy who is possibly crippled and all of a sudden they turn in to the nicest people. Physically my blood pressure has dropped and in general I'm in a pretty good mood most of the time.” Story credit: Reddit / greyham0707
Foodie Tax Hack
“I know a married couple who started a "food blog" basically so they can write off their entire grocery bill.” Story credit: Reddit / slainte99
I Left a Huge Tip to Get My Money Back
“When I was in college, I had this meal plan where the school essentially took my "actual money" and turned it into "campus dollars" that could only be spent at school dining halls and cafes.
I didn't mind so much until the end of the semester, when I was informed that any unspent "campus dollars" would "go away." I had more than a hundred bucks left, and only a day to spend them. Here's what I did.
I went to the nicest campus restaurant -- the one where you're supposed to take your parents when they come to visit. Basically, a real restaurant with waitstaff, that also happened to take "campus dollars.”
I got the most expensive thing on the menu, and then called the waiter over. I asked him if I could tip him in "campus dollars," and he said yes. I asked him if he would have immediate access to those "campus dollars," in the form of "actual money," and he said yes.
So I made him a deal. I gave him a monster tip, and he gave me half of it back in "actual money." Many years later, I am still proud of this. I made a server's day, screwed the Man, and got my money back.” Story credit: Reddit / superkiy
I Got Free Pokemon Cards Online
“When I was a (precociously computer savvy) 10-11 year old, I found a website that parents could set up as a reward system for children doing chores.
The parent would set up an account listing several chores and assign them point values. The child, after completing these chores, could then use the points to buy various items offered on the website. There was (somehow) no charge for any of the stuff.
So, I created two e-mail accounts, two passwords on the site, and set up a really generous reward system where I got tons of points for doing imaginary chores. I used this to "buy" a [ton] of Pokemon cards. That I then played with my Grandpa because I didn't actually have any friends.” Story credit: Reddit / waningwax
I Tricked My Boss Into Thinking I Was Working on Saturday Night
“My boss will often check the "Date Modified" on certain files on our server to see if I have updated or even opened a certain file recently. So, I have installed a changer utility that allows me to modify the "Date Modified" on any file. This comes in most handy when my boss wants to give me weekend assignments.
I just come in on Monday morning and change the "Date Modified" to Saturday night and he thinks I was actually doing something for work on Saturday night! I've actually received a lot of kudos for this. I don't feel bad though, because my boss is a huge [jerk].” Story credit: Reddit / amitrippin
The Arcade Found Out About My Scam
“Back in high school I would buy massive quantities of arcade tokens from the manufacturers off of eBay. I was getting about $10 worth of tokens for each $1 spent.
I was there one afternoon when some kid went up to the counter and pointed out that the token machine was giving out tokens from some other arcade. The owner was more than upset and I knew it was time to find a new arcade.” Story credit: Reddit / Zikben
I Got a Hot Tub Because My Boss Was Forgetful
“When I quit a job over a decade ago, my [jerk] of a boss forgot to submit my termination form. I kept getting paid for over 3 months. And I was a manager, making pretty good coin.
I knew they'd eventually catch it, and I thought they'd ask for the money back, so I banked every check and didn't spend a cent.
So the paychecks eventually stopped after 3+ months, and I waited for the call or letter asking for the money. It never came.
Two years later I used the money to buy my hot tub. Now my [butt] gets massaged by bubbling water thanks to my incompetent ex-boss.” Story credit: Reddit / Beyond_Re-Animator
I Got Out of Paying My Parking Tickets
“The college I commuted to didn't have enough parking for the commuters but roughly 10 times what it needed for the residents. One day I was forced to park in the resident parking and got a ticket.
Every day I had to park there I'd slip the ticket under my windshield wiper and walk on into class. The cars around me would get tickets but they'd just leave the old one on my windshield figuring they already got me.
Never even paid it. Worcester State did a horrible job of enforcing parking fines 10 years ago.” Story credit: Reddit / Funkenwagnels
I Had Free Access to the Gym For Three Years
“I used to be a member of NY sports club. It is a semi expensive gym here. At the time if you forgot your ID card you could just tell the person behind the desk your number. I always forgot.
After a while I noticed I was transposing two numbers in my ID and they were still letting me in. I cancelled my membership and had free all access gym membership for three years. Ha!” Story credit: Reddit / badamant
I Got in Free by Pretending I Had a Membership
“I did this at a local racquet club for awhile. The very first time, I walked in like I knew the people behind the desk. I waved and said a very friendly hello like I was happy to be seeing them again.
There was a guy and a girl working the desk and they both smiled and waved back as I walked in without paying or showing an ID card. Perhaps each thought I knew the other?
I did this on Monday nights for several months and it worked every time. After awhile, they DID recognize me and the smiles and hellos became genuine.” Story credit: Reddit / veggie_sorry
Call Tech Support to Get Free Ink
“Every time my old Lexmark printer ran out of ink, I'd tell their tech support that the printer no longer detected my ink cartridges. They'd then send me new ink.
I still haven't stopped doing this…” Story credit: Reddit / krabagobanjo
I Became a Smoker to Get a Break at Work
“Old job gave us smoke breaks, but no 15 minute breaks for non-smokers. I explained this was [crazy] to my boss, he didn't get it. So I took up "smoking" again. I'd take 15 minutes every shift to stand behind the building with a lit cigarette, puff it once, and then call my girlfriend on the phone.” Story credit: Reddit
The Best Lifeguards Save You Money
“Whenever people come to the pool where I lifeguard and have guests with them, I always ask them if they live more than 50 miles away (our policy is guests from more than 50 miles away don't pay guest fees). If they say no I give them the look and ask them again. They usually say yes after that.
Saving customers two dollars like a boss.” Story credit: Reddit / kfactors
Paying $14 For Mashed Potatoes To Get Ahead
“I used to work at a restaurant that would track our tip percentage, but not too much else of our activity. The amount of tables we got per night would be based on our tip percentage, and there was also a regional leaderboard.
We were allowed to buy food from the restaurant, but we couldn't ring ourselves in. Which led me and my friend Jim to our greatest discovery.
We would buy a side of mashed potatoes from each other, a $2.00ish side, and pay with a credit card. We would then tip each other 10-12 dollars, a 500-600% tip.
We would do this every so often, not enough to be ridiculous, and within a few months we were the top servers in the entire region, with an average tip percentage of over 30%, thereby granting us some kind words from management and the most tables per night of the whole restaurant.” Story credit: Reddit / machpe
He Turned His Yard into a Graveyard to Stop the Government
“A guy in my neighborhood owned a piece of land where buildings had been planned to be built. After his wife died (eerie coincidence, yes) he turned it into a graveyard with only her grave in it so the government couldn't take the land.” Story credit: Reddit
He Got Two Free Computers From an App
“On my iPhone, there is a particular app that awards "M Points" whenever you do certain things in the app; the first time you open it each day, when you watch one of the news stories, that kind of thing.
Well those M points you could trade in later for tons of things, including Amazon gift cards. 5k M points was a $5 amazon gift card. Watching a 10 minute video was worth (in the beginning) about 300 M points.
The trick was that you could drag the bar to the end of the video and it would still trigger the M points. Basically, you could make about $5 a minute the first day they opened it. My buddy and I stayed up super late that night and made several hundred dollars in amazon gift cards that night, which were just a coupon code you attached to your amazon account.
The next morning they reduced the value from 300 to something like 100 points. Still worth it in that you could make 1/3 of the money which was essentially free.
The final blow was when they reduced the amount to something like 10 points, then it became to much.
In the end, after about a week, we bought 2 high end gaming computers (parts then assembled) from nearly scratch. We already had a tower and power supply for one, but the other was completely built for free, courtesy this app.” Story credit: Reddit / lfernandes
A Long Con at the Bookstore
“I used to work at Walden Books back in the day. There was a dude who used to routinely come in and buy bargain books. He would then go home and come back another time with the bargain books with the stickers ripped off to return them and claim he didn't have a receipt.
We would then have to give him store credit for the price that the books rang up as (always more than the discounted bargain sticker). He would then come back at a later time and use the store credit to buy full priced books.
He would then come back one final time and return the books with a receipt for cash. It used to irritate me when he would do this because I knew what he was doing and there wasn't anything I could do about it.
Interestingly enough, this very same man would become a supervisor of mine at another place I worked at later and was a pretty cool guy. I never mentioned to him that I knew about his scheme, but even if I told him, he would have [not cared]. Story credit: Reddit / sk4ht
A Student Cheated the Whole Class by Lying to the Teacher
“Back in the day in high school we had our "huge" junior term paper to do. Our teacher absolutely required that we have some ridiculous amount of like 100 note cards all with individual quotes on them, citations from the numerous sources we were supposed to have collected and read for this research paper.
Most of us in the class hated this teacher and she hated most of us, I think. None of us were actually making the 100 note card citations and keeping them in little boxes, and then organizing them. It was ridiculous.
So when the note card deadline came up in like February or whatever, almost no one had all the note cards. I got busted in class for not having them and she called my parents and told them to talk with me because she thought I was a druggie burnout who didn't do anything. Actually I had done like 50 legit cards.
But one kid in class had made zero note cards. The night before he just made up a ton of quotes and fake names and put them on cards and put them in his box.
Teacher thinks he's a goody-two-shoes, so pulls out his box from the pile in the front of the whole class, flips to a random card, and reads the quote, which is 100% made up the night before. It was something like: "We are the Molemen, we must make it over that hill. We are the greatest warriors to ever live." - General Mole (1942). We were all like, 'Oh [no], he is [done for].’
Teacher raises an eyebrow, 'General Mole,' Jonathan? And I [kid] you not, without skipping a beat kid replies: "Yeah! You mean to tell me you don't know who General Mole is? One of the greatest French generals in World War 2?" And she's like 'Oh,' puts the card back in the box, and moves on to the next person to bust.
What a [jerk]. We all hated him for that, cause he didn't do any of the work we were supposed to. But I still respect him for pulling the wool over that lady's eyes so easily.” Story credit: Reddit / sointex
He Got a Better Credit Score by Complaining
“I got a negative removed from my credit report. Once you have a negative on your report it stays on for 7 years (there are exceptions).
Write a letter to all 3 agencies telling them that the negative is a mistake and that by law they must investigate it and provide proof of their investigation within 30 days. You can send these letters every 30 days as well, and they must investigate it each time.
The agencies don't have the resources to investigate each claim, so they often just remove it. When I wrote my letters the first two agencies removed the negative the first time, the other agency did the investigation and responded saying that it was in fact accurate.
I sent the same letter a month later and they dropped it that time. You should use old fashioned snail mail as it is more difficult to process that way. Worked like a charm and now I have a perfect credit history!” Story credit: Reddit / unclechett
They Got Free Premium Channels By Inquiring with Customer Service
“Know how they have the 3 month free premium channel thing when you switch TV providers? You can get that without switching by calling up your provider and asking to speak to a supervisor and spinning a yarn about how you're unsure since xxxx company will offer you the premium channels.
The supervisors job is to ensure customer satisfaction and they get in trouble if people leave the service under their watch, as such you will often get a price cut or free premium service.” Story credit: Reddit / friendliest_giant