US barcode scam could be repeated here using internet

BARCODE software that allowed an Irish couple to run a million-dollar scam in the US can be downloaded by anyone from the internet.

But the authority that regulates barcodes in Ireland warned anyone tempted to repeat the racket here would face retailers using increasingly sophisticated methods to beat fraud.

Anthony Davenport, aged 59, his girlfriend Linda Broderick, aged 50, both named by the US Justice Department as Irish nationals, and their partner in crime, John Patrick Hay, aged 58, believed to be from Scotland, are awaiting sentencing in California after admitting running the scam.

The trio created barcodes on a home computer, printed them on sticky labels and placed them over barcodes on products at the Home Depot chain of DIY and home furnishings stores across the US. The fake barcodes came up as a cheaper price when scanned, but one of the three would return the item with the real barcode exposed and get the full original price back in a credit note, which they would subsequently sell for cash.

They bought mainly expensive light fittings and taps and repeated the trick hundreds of times at stores in 23 states over a three-year period. They were rumbled last summer by an employee in California, who recognised one of the group from a previous visit.

In court earlier this year all three denied charges of “wire fraud”, as the offence was termed, but last week admitted offences involving goods worth in excess of $500,000.

They have also been forced to forfeit $600,000 in bank accounts and the trailer van they lived in as they were deemed to be proceeds from their crimes, and, as part of their guilty plea, they have agreed to pay compensation of $400,000.

They are in jail awaiting a sentencing hearing on September 15 and are expected to be fined and deported.

EAN Ireland, the retailers organisation which issues and co-ordinates the uses of barcodes here, said the kind of technology used by the three was available worldwide through free computer applications from the internet.

"It’s a very open system designed to be used as widely as possible by all manufacturers and retailers anywhere in the world so it’s not a security measure in itself,” said marketing manager, Maria Svejdar.

The three caught in the US copied the barcodes of cheaper versions of the products they bought and exchanged but Ms Svejdar said retailers were aware of the risks of omitting distinguishing details from their data bases.

“You won’t scan in a drill and see it come up on screen simply as a drill and a price. It will have a brand name, a model type and a price and the checkout operator should be sufficiently familiar with their stock to know if that matches the product they are scanning,” he said.