The Grocery Scam

As told by "Grapesofwrath"...

I have heard this story so many times, although the first time I completely fell for it. The way it goes is like this...

This friend of my cousin is in the grocery store. An older woman keeps following her around and staring at her. It started to creep her out, because everywhere she went the old woman kept following her and staring at her until she could no longer stand it. She stops her cart in the middle of the aisle and asks the old lady: "Why do you keep staring at me?"

The Grocery Scam While this may or may not be an actual scam perpetrated by con artists, we know for sure it has a pedigree as an urban legend. Folks have been telling variants of the same story on three different continents for at least a decade. The basic premise – creating a ruse to stick someone else with the tab for groceries or a meal at a restaurant – is even older, and has shown up in comedy routines and film scripts over the years. Further reading: Brunvand, J.H. "Curses! Broiled Again!" W.W. Norton: 1989 Checkout Rout - UL Reference Pages

The old lady apologizes and says, "You look so much like my daughter who died just a few months ago that I couldn't help staring at you. I loved her so much and I never had a chance to say good-bye before she passed away. That's the biggest regret of my life. I didn't make it to the hospital in time to say good-bye."

At this point, my cousin's friend starts to feel sorry for the weeping old lady and apologizes for being harsh in confronting her like that. The old lady says it's okay and asks her to continue shopping with her just like she used to do with her own daughter. When they get to the cashier, the old lady goes in line first and tells my cousin's friend to do her a big favor that would ease her grieving. The favor is to say "Good-bye, Mom. I love you" when she leaves.

Well, the cashier rings all of the old lady's purchases, then the old lady leans in and says something to the cashier that my cousin's friend didn't hear. The old lady then turns around, waves and says good-bye, to which my cousin's friend replies helpfully, "Good-bye, Mom. I love you." The old lady sweetly smiles and walks away.

Then, when my cousin's friend got to the cashier, her purchases were added up and the amount given to her was way higher than expected. When she questioned the cashier about the discrepancy, she was told that her "mother" (the old lady) told the cashier that "her daughter" standing behind her was paying for all her purchases. By the time she had explained what happened and they went into the parking lot, the old lady was already pulling away in her car, laughing.

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