A Sliver of the Internet's Underbelly

I wasn't going to write anything about the increase in shoplifting because it makes total sense that shoplifting would rise during tough economic times but then something caught my attention further down in the article and I was left thinking "damn...this is totally crazy".

The (illicit) money quote from the NYT...

Security experts say retail theft is also being facilitated by Web sites that sell fake receipts that thieves can use to obtain cash refunds for stolen merchandise.

Andreas Carthy, the creator of one such site, denied that he was assisting with fraud. “We provide a no-questions-asked service,” he said in an e-mail message, adding that his site was intended for people looking for prank gifts or students seeking to inflate spending to get more generous allowances from their parents.

At about $40 each, the Web site — which insists they are “for novelty use only” — sells about 80 fake receipts a month, Mr. Carthy said.

I've got to give it to Andreas for his larceny derivative creativity but he could certainly come up with a better excuse than prank gifts.