The Business of Fake ATM receipts

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Ever wanted to impress your friends with money you don't actually have? Look no further!

We, as humans, are driven by the desire to explain the world around us. When we do not understand, we ask questions. Fortunately, for many of the questions we ask, we have created answers. These answers do very little to satiate our thirst for knowledge, however. While it may be true that every question has an answer, it is more true that every question creates more questions, and with this, a vicious circle. We often find that the way things should happen (based on our answers, our laws, things we hold to be truths, etc.) are much different than the way things actually happen. Welcome to Earth.


To further validate this “truth,” if you will, we can examine the market in fake ATM receipts. At customreceipts.com, customers are able to purchase ATM receipts in which all of the information can be customized to fit their own personal “needs”. The alterable information includes card number, customer name, amount of cash dispensed, and current account balance. Customreceipts is even generous enough to offer a variety of membership options; customers may choose a membership from as long as a one-year supply or as short as a one-month supply.


At first glance, customreceipts.com may seem amateur, but their popularity is not as limited as one may think. Customreceipts has been featured on Maxim Radio as well as being the subject of a blog entry on marginalrevolution.com. However, the question still remains, “Why in the hell would anyone want a fake ATM receipt?”, that is, “Why would one spend money in an attempt to pretend they have more money? Wouldn’t that person actually have more money if they chose not to purchase a fake ATM receipt supply?”


Of course, these are the ideas we might expect from the rational buyer. The way things should happen are often different than the way they actually happen. Although many may consider people purchasing fake ATM receipts unexplainable, the truth is, the answer is quite explainable and rather unflattering, we love to boast. We love to tell people about our worthy accomplishments, we love to drive our luxury cars down the street, and, in fact, we love to do anything we can to brag without actually bragging. Fake ATM receipts are no exception to the rule. Customreceipts even provides guidance for use of their products: “Trying to impress that hottie at the bar? Money talks. Hand out your number on the back of one of our fake ATM receipts. They’re a player’s dream come true.”


Even though this product is obviously a “player’s dream come true,” it is not hard to develop a sense of skepticism. For example, imagine you are the “hottie in the bar”, a person that you are moderately interested in has given you his phone number, on the back of an ATM receipt? Although your eyes may light up like a Christmas tree when you see the $1 million dollar account balance, it is hard to deny how strange it is that this person could not come up with any alternative to giving you a financial document with so much personal information. After knowing this person for five minutes, you now know his first and last name, credit card number, bank account balance, and what bank he uses. However, you may find it even stranger when you call this “player” only to find that he is the newest employee at Jack in the Box, drives a 1995 Honda Accord, and lives in his mother’s basement.


Customreceipts, in all of its glory, may seem trivial to most. It is intriguing, however, that there is a market for products in which people spend money to pretend they have more money. Perhaps fake ATM receipts are “every player’s dream” and maybe there is a way to give a total stranger a copy of your ATM receipt in a subtle way. After all, “money talks”, but if someone gave me their ATM receipt, it would be yelling in my ear.

Until next time, Free your mind.

Links:
http://www.customreceipts.com


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