Great Day in the Neighborhood! NOT!

[Mr 5 0]

Originally posted by 1969Mach1

Anyone help me on this situation who knows what is the worst that can happen to me? I don't even care if I get fired right now. I just want out of this messy situation.

Sorry to learn of your troubles. I don't know Canadian law or the details of this situation so I can't offer any specific advice but apparently the assumption is that you and the other guy set up a fraud operation. Friends with fake or stolen credit cards buy tons of stuff, you wink at them, approve the sales and split the stuff or sell it and split the money later, claiming ignorance when it hits the fan. You can understand why this could look fishy to your employer and the police.

I would guess that your personal liability will rest on what kind of ID you required and what kind of record you made of the ID the thieves gave for these big purchases. If it's on file and you followed normal procedures you should be O.K. If you got sloppy and didn't verify everything correctly, you could have a problem. Your employer and the police will be looking for a connection between you and the buyers with the fake/stolen credit cards. If there is one, you're toast, if not, you can probably skate but even so, your job is probably in jeopardy unless you are really well-liked and a valuable employee with a perfect record. It's a 'trust issue'.

Assuming you're perfectly innocent here I would think that once everything has been checked out, you'll be O.K., legally. Thieves make purchases with stolen or fake credit cards all the time, unfortunately, and low-level store employees are not held liable for the losses nor should they be, as long as all normal verification procedures were followed. Don't be too defensive but don't let yourself be bullied, either. If you did nothing wrong, say so and don't let anyone involved make you feel guilty for what some low-life thieves did. You're as much a 'victim' as the store. Remind them of that and be sure that your employment record is cleared of any negative remarks concerning this incident. If not, getting another job could be tough.

You have to look out for your interests here and I wish you well in doing so. I only regret that I can't offer more help at this time. Keep us informed as to what's happening with this. Best of luck to you.