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Has anyone dealt with Staples rewards Theft??

205 28 July 17, 2010 at 01:02 PM in Question
Ok, so I have been turning in ink cartridges to staples for a while now, and have received rewards since February I believe, and I have never been able to use them except one. I usually waited til the last day before they expired and then they wouldnt work when using them online or in store they wouldnt work, so i just figured i missed my chance, and would try again next month (i know, not the smartest approach, but thats a different issue).

Anyway, since I kept having non-stop problems with my rewards, I just logged onto my account to check my status on rewards.. Well apparently, EVERY single one of my rewards was redeemed in New York by somebody buying external hard drives both times. One was in Staten Island and the other in Selden... The problem here is that I am from Indiana, and have never been to New York in my life.. Now I dont know if 'New York' shows up if you buy online, or if someone guessed my rewards account number, because I keep my computer clean and scan it constantly for everything, and have never posted any information anywhere.. I cant call the rewards people til Monday to figure this out.. Do you think they will credit me with any of these rewards, or am I screwed?

So has anyone else had this happen, or did i win the unlucky lottery again? lol
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Last Edited by tenderidol December 12, 2011 at 06:47 PM
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m124
12-02-2010 at 12:00 PM.
12-02-2010 at 12:00 PM.
Quote from kingraph :
Maybe we can work together to find these crooks. When I can canceled my account last time, my reward was used "online". I asked the rep if she can tell me where it was used and she said the order number was 9208664320 and it was shipped to New Jersey, but couldn't give me more information than that. However, you can check your order here:

http://www.staples.com/office/sup...istoryList

but you need the ZIP code. Unfortunately there are about 750 codes to check (see attached file). However, I figure I can narrow my search by looking at the cities and nearby cities in NJ where anyone's rewards were stolen.

Either this person purchased a stolen check or stole them themselves. Either way, I thought I'd put the information out there. Figure including the SDers in my search is better than me alone. I'm hoping the information will have a name/address/phone that will help start the search for these crooks.
My stolen check order went to Corona, NY. I do not know the order number, but maybe you can start with the zip codes around this city, if it is close to NJ.

Of course, all of this would be pointless if the people using these codes were buyers and not the actual thieves. And the more I think about it, the more it makes sense to be that way because if you were the thief, would you use a stolen code on an online order going to your house?
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Last edited by m124 December 2, 2010 at 12:03 PM.
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kingraph
12-02-2010 at 12:06 PM.
12-02-2010 at 12:06 PM.
Quote from m124 :
My stolen check order went to Corona, NY. I do not know the order number, but maybe you can start with the zip codes around this city, if it is close to NJ.

Of course, all of this would be pointless if the people using these codes were buyers and not the actual thieves. And the more I think about it, the more it makes sense to be that way because if you were the thief, would you use a stolen code on an online order going to your house?
Even if they were the buyers, at least we may found out who the sellers are by asking where they purchased the rewards.

Maybe the thief never figured someone could track their order online -- I'm not sure if the rep was supposed to give me that information.
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m124
12-02-2010 at 12:09 PM.
12-02-2010 at 12:09 PM.
Quote from kingraph :
Even if they were the buyers, at least we may found out who the sellers are by asking where they purchased the rewards.

Maybe the thief never figured someone could track their order online -- I'm not sure if the rep was supposed to give me that information.
I agree, but if they are buyers, there are likely to be different buyers between your order and mine and very little chances to find your NJ zip code based on my information, or anyone else's for that matter.
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Joined Dec 2009
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kingraph
12-02-2010 at 12:13 PM.
12-02-2010 at 12:13 PM.
I guess you're right. Oh well, maybe 750 won't take as long to check as I thought -- I just checked all the "A" post offices. Smilie
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The2AMBearArms
12-02-2010 at 02:18 PM.
12-02-2010 at 02:18 PM.
Quote from tenderidol :
Damn it! Add me to the list as well. 3 checks were stolen (all used in N.Y. - that seems to be the pattern). I contacted Staples, and they are sending "courtesy coupons" for the stolen checks and opened a new rewards account for me. The CSR was very familiar with the issue and among the possible ways for them to steal rewards checks, he did say that they figured out Staples' algorithm. I had force myself not to say that it doesn't really take that long to figure out the damn pattern if you manage to get someone's rewards number.

This is definitely taking the fun out of using rewards, especially trying to stack them for a big purchase, but there isn't any solution out there.
I had one stolen last month. Part of the problem is that Staples stupidly prints the rewards number on the statements sent out in the mail, in the address field, so who knows, maybe one of these crooks has an insider at the postal service? You wouldn't even know it because he doesn't have to open the envelope to get the number!

And to be honest, you really can't blame the buyers of these stolen checks either. People have been selling store credit, like gift cards, at a discount for many years. I'm sure almost no one who bought them had any reason to know they were stolen.
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Last edited by The2AMBearArms December 2, 2010 at 02:21 PM.
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The2AMBearArms
12-02-2010 at 02:27 PM.
12-02-2010 at 02:27 PM.
Then again, there's something else weird going on. Most people don't recycle anywhere near the 10 or 20 limit. But all the stolen checks seem to be either $20 or $40 for premiere. How do the thieves who steal the rewards numbers know who is recycling the full limit each month? That leads me to think that the thief works for Staples itself in some capacity.
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nintendoangie
12-03-2010 at 12:34 AM.
12-03-2010 at 12:34 AM.
Quote from m124 :
My stolen check order went to Corona, NY. I do not know the order number, but maybe you can start with the zip codes around this city, if it is close to NJ.

Of course, all of this would be pointless if the people using these codes were buyers and not the actual thieves. And the more I think about it, the more it makes sense to be that way because if you were the thief, would you use a stolen code on an online order going to your house?
The thief/thieves are the ones using these in-store, no? Of course the buyers could be doing this too.

The one eBay seller selling boatloads of these is located in NY, I believe. That's an eyebrow-raiser considering you keep hearing everyone in this thread mentioning them being used in NY.

Staples should just send gift cards out like OD and OM. That would end this crap.
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Joined Feb 2007
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m124
12-03-2010 at 07:13 AM.
12-03-2010 at 07:13 AM.
Quote from nintendoangie :
Staples should just send gift cards out like OD and OM. That would end this crap.
I bet they would not know how to create a gift card with expiration date.
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noungning
12-03-2010 at 08:13 AM.
12-03-2010 at 08:13 AM.
giftcards get stolen too. there was an issue with walgreen's giftcards shake head
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The2AMBearArms
12-03-2010 at 08:38 AM.
12-03-2010 at 08:38 AM.
I just went to a Staples and used one of my rewards. They actually asked to see the rewards card to verify that it was mine. Good. If they all start doing this, it would at least be harder to steal them.
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tenderidol
12-03-2010 at 11:11 AM.
12-03-2010 at 11:11 AM.
Quote from The2AMBearArms :
I just went to a Staples and used one of my rewards. They actually asked to see the rewards card to verify that it was mine. Good. If they all start doing this, it would at least be harder to steal them.
Even though it's a good step, still doesn't do anything for the codes that are used online.

Quote from m124 :
I bet they would not know how to create a gift card with expiration date.
Sad but true!
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Last edited by tenderidol December 3, 2010 at 11:12 AM.
Joined Nov 2010
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The2AMBearArms
12-03-2010 at 12:27 PM.
12-03-2010 at 12:27 PM.
Quote from tenderidol :


Sad but true!
It's not just that. Many states don't allow gift cards to expire, so it'd be an administrative nightmare for Staples to have a system that took into account where a card was issued and what not. And I think the new federal law places sharp restrictions on the ability of merchants to have their gift cards expire. Plus, rewards come off pre-tax so we end up saving a substantial amount of money this way. It shouldn't be that difficult for them to come up with a system that isn't so easily cracked.
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nintendoangie
12-03-2010 at 12:33 PM.
12-03-2010 at 12:33 PM.
Quote from noungning :
giftcards get stolen too. there was an issue with walgreen's giftcards shake head
I'll take my chances. That was a freak instance. The current system is the closest thing to total failure, really.
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noungning
12-03-2010 at 01:09 PM.
12-03-2010 at 01:09 PM.
Quote from nintendoangie :
I'll take my chances. That was a freak instance. The current system is the closest thing to total failure, really.
LMAO I'm not talking about me, I didn't have the GC, there's a thread in the drugstores section talking about this very issue... Same for CVS. If they can steal credit cards, they can steal reward certs, and giftcards... Smilie
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Joined Jul 2005
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nintendoangie
12-03-2010 at 01:13 PM.
12-03-2010 at 01:13 PM.
Quote from noungning :
LMAO I'm not talking about me, I didn't have the GC, there's a thread in the drugstores section talking about this very issue... Same for CVS. If they can steal credit cards, they can steal reward certs, and giftcards... Smilie
You misunderstood me. I'm well aware of the thread(s). My point was this. A toddler can steal Staples Rewards checks. Stealing gift cards can't be that easy. And so far it's only been the drugstores, like you mentioned.
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