ATTENTION: Federal Crime for Lying about Military Service

I think I heard about a bill that makes it a federal crime to lie about military service. I don't remember the exacts of it, so if anyone knows about the bill I'm refering to, feel free to post about it.

Anyways, lying about your identity in order to get discounts is considered fraud. In another post, one individual said he pretended to be a Drake university professor. That was MORE than crossing the line. Another person said he used the option that said he was a federal employee in order to get the provided promotion. That is also majorly crossing the line.

What's next? Pretending you work for the military in order to get more discounts? How unethical and illegal will some of you people stoop to? Also, the argument that since Dell allows the expliot, it is ok, is outrageous. It is NOT fine!

Explioting and saying you are a student at whatever university while you are not is FRAUD. Saying you are a prospective student to expliot the deal is also not ok.

To the individual who pretended to be a professor or the other guy who pretended to be a federal employee, that is OUTRAGEOUS. Tomorrow is the Fourth of July. To those that explioted for a better and cheaper laptop, I ask you was it worth it? Was it worth getting a better laptop, one that you did not need? You didn't need all of the fancy upgrades. You could have legally purchaced from Dell a less desirable system, could you not?

Anyone who plans to or has explioted the military discount site, and has no affiliation with the military, sickens me.

 

talk about flaming...

geez.

Go arrest everyone

 

No flaming involved here. It is fraud, and I'm tired of reading threads on 'how do I get this discount even though I'm not a ????'

 

HenryMan, you already started another thread on this topic. No one's suggested lying about military service, and related to Dell discounts, I haven't seen anyone suggest of breaking any laws as far as I know. So if you don't like people saying they're a prospective student or whatever, then don't do it, and stop spamming the forums about it.

 

Why is it that people always feel compelled to write the word "fraud" in all capital letters? Is it trendy or something?

 

to be blatantly honest, it's fraud if you defend big business. I'm sure people up there in Dell expects stuff like this to be exploited and I'm sure it is in their financial statements as incurred losses. no need to burn the village for a couple of perpetrators, but to be honest, unless you're jealous of their intelligence in getting good deals, why should you care?

 

Even if the "good deals" involves cheating the system? It's just morally wrong to do so, getting the benefits a soldier or a federal employee may receive towards a person that is neither.

 

and you guys think, honestly, dell gives discounts to these federal employees and soldiers out of the goodness of their hearts? they do it for tax reasons. i think morality is a very tricky street to walk on and most of the people cheat dell by lying that they are students, nobody is saying anything about being a soldier. being a federal employee on the other hand, is not immoral in my standards.

 

If you're so disinclined as to buy from Dell, then don't. We can argue about the "morality of corporations" as large as Dell, but frankly, you can argue the opposite side that they have a right to control their own companie, and henceforth, their products' prices as according to the market system we live in.

It's still wrong to pretend you're something you're not.

 

uh, i don't think anything is wrong. if you read carefully, i think you should take advantage of whatever Dell does not catch. and for the record, i am a college student and i took full advantage of the student system. if another person came along an pretended to be a student as well, all the power to him. and this has nothing to do with controlling prices, or controlling their own company. it's something that is not MORALLY wrong because this has nothing to do with morals. you're not stealing from anyone and guess what, if you buy a system under federal employee and dell goes and asks for a tax relief based on your buy, who is the real loser here?

 

There are worse things happening, customers trying to get a good deal for a purchase is not a crime. If you are able to get the discount, why the hell not? They put it up there, they made it easy to get, and it'd be stupid not to. Hey, my parents used to tell people at buffets I was 11 when I was really 14 to get the child buffet. So we took advantage of the deal available only to younger kids!! Boo hoo. Like they really care... or know? Or will do anything about it?

 

I wonder where our favorite fraudster is? You know who I'm referring to. He recommended getting a 3 or 4 year Complete Care warranty; then watch until your model disappears from the Dell outlet after your notebook gets discontinued, then "accidentally" destroy your notebook to get the new model. And he actually went on to defend this course of action as not immoral.

 

haha that's the craziest idea i have ever heard. won't they just build another one for you? i know hp was offering to do that with my 4 year old laptop when all I had broken was a friggn dvd-drive.

 

I think that most people are in agreement that the 2 cases that you specifically mention are wrong, those people are lying about their identity, hence identity fraud. Trying to get the Drake University discount is also fraud and most people would not do it. However many would and most don't really care that they do. Although this is fraud,they fail to make it obvious what they mean by prospective student so it shows carelessness and/or lack of communication skills.

The way that Dell is set up it is just too easy to cheat, and it seems to me that they really don't care. If Dell doesn't care, although it's still morally wrong, why should the consumer.

My best guess is that if no one was cheating the system Dell would have sold fewer laptops, this got A LOT more people interested in Dells laptops. This started a little buzz, albeit on online forums, that got more people excited about the m1330. I'm sure it convinced many to buy dell. I would also guess that Dell didn't even lose all that much more than they would have because the real Drake University students may have approached the quota of the coupon/deal/glitch themselves and dell probably would not have noticed it.
Obviously no can tell the future, but i think Dell may have actually came out with benefits from people "cheating the system".

Yes lying about who you are is absolutely wrong, and yes lying about what you are going to do isn't right, but you are arguing a different point than most people.


Most/all of this post is based on limited knowledge on both the deal itself(i didn't want a 13" anyway) and the business end of things. If anything is wrong please correct me.
*I finished writing this about 30 minutes after i began due to dinner(yes it was good if anyone wanted to know ) so most posts in front of me were not considered.

 

When my parents tired to do that, I yelled at them for it because I felt it was morally wrong.

 

This thread is so full of crap.

For every system you buy at retail, I'll buy two with an illegitimate student discount.

 

haha sorry azntfl's comment is hilarious.

 

Who could that be? That does sound pretty darned unethical.

 

I seriously doubt that, you'll probably just get one that is twice as powerful.

 

i was so about to ask if you were azn, lol.

I've tried that trick a few times when I was younger, but it only saved a little bit of money since it was at the movie theaters. I love those machines where you can order your tickets from if you don't want to order from in the line. I call those the super discount booths. You can say w/e you want but $9 for an adult ticket is too expensive =p.

 

At the same price as one at retail .

 

At MOST...

 

I agree- to me, there's a world of difference between taking advantage of a prospective student offer (I joked about being a professor btw but did not claim such when ordering !) vs claiming to have served our God and country in the military for pete's sakes. I'm sorry but I don't put soldiers and prospective Drake students on the same level !!!! I can tell that to you (OP) morals are black and white but to most people, there are some shades of gray....I certainly am not losing sleep over getting a great Dell deal as they are a dime a dozen. It wasn't so much a student discount but a pricing error we took advantage of.

 

So the whole point of this thread is to express the way you feel about fraud? okay... so what are you going to do about it? Or are you just here to tell us something that goes on EVERYWHERE, not only at Dell but on the entire planet. If people want to illegally buy a computer let em. It's their problem and they'll get back what they deserve. But to get what you want, you sometimes have to buck the system

 

Yes, claiming to be part of Military Service is a federal crime.
However, claiming to be a student for student discounts is not a federal crime. Sure it is fraudulence but there's a distinctive difference between the two.

You simply can't place them on the same scale.
The prior is by far a more severe crime as compared to the latter.
And there are some people who would even go to the point of claiming to be the 'Drake Professor', which also sickens me as to the point of how far people would stoop.

So then, enough of this senseless bickering.
This thread has already become pretty much useless and has served to some as a medium for flaming and condemnation.

 

You're all going to hell!

 

For every finger you have pointing at us, you got three pointing back at you

 

That was me LOL! Pretty good gimmick, eh? I'm sure you'll find a great deal of comfort knowing my laptop is still in production This is so sweet, I should make about $500 selling that laptop. Thinkpad here I come! Hooray!

OMFG did you just type "friggn"??? MODS LETS PERMABAN THIS GUY. What language!! I got a serious infraction for saying the word "frickin'" in a post. Good to know moonangel isn't abusing her nerdly internet powers today

 

You must be talking about me

It's kind of funny, you do realize that I'm from Drake right? I knew it was going to get shut down if I told people of what I knew, and it did get shut down.

You think it's fair that other students get a $1164 price for a fully loaded M1330, yet others have to pay full price for it? Just because they can't afford to pay to get into a private/big unversity? Half the people probably don't believe me when I say this, and I don't really care.

So guess what, I decided to open my mouth about Drake, at the sake of being called a con artist (like I've had been called SOOOO many times on here before for posting similar tactics) to let others know about a deal that could mean a lot to them.

so shut up, I'll let everyone know, if I come across something like this again, I will let you all know about it.

 

Is it fair that some people are born taller than others? No. Does that mean it justifiable for the shorter people to take a two-by-four to the knees of the taller people to even it out? Dell isn't doing anything illegal, lying about your school status is. No one has a right to a discount on a computer. Following your logic it would be better if everyone paid full price because that would be "fair".

 

CO-SIGNED

I hereby nominate GTO for post of the year award for helping so many ppl getting the dream laptop they otherwise wouldn't be able to afford.

 

Well first of all this is backwards from the situation at hand. He isn't trying to knock down the tall people, but bring up the short. Not everyone was blessed with the "height" Sirius was, he just wanted to share the wealth.
It's the same as my short friend being given HGH(who is now ~6'1") right?

 

According to your logic, students from Idaho State University are born with a handicap compared to students from Drake? And that's the reason Drake students get a better discount? So ISU students shouldn't take hammers to Drake students brains?

We're not talking about differences here, and that's what you don't seem to get.

 

aaay I live in Idaho!
But really, what's the big deal, you honestly think Dell is losing money from this....just chat with a Dell Rep and watch them knock the price down and give you next day shipping just to sell you a notebook

 

FrozenDarkness, Sirius, and Kimnicho are my heroes haha

Would anyone like cheese with their 'whine'???

As I stated before in another thread, I did work for Dell Direct Store, and Dell does do some pretty sneaky things. When given the opportunity to outwit them, why not take advantage of it? If Dell is training kiosk reps to sell 2,000 dollar systems to 80 year old Grandpa Bob, and exploiting those who do not know about Dell coupons, or Smart Values, or computers in general, then I say they should suffer. If it was plain incompetence that caused a Drake pricing error then that's their fault for hiring douchebags. I say let smart-shoppers be rewarded for their shopping prudence.

Another thought...
So, once I graduate from college, is it no longer okay to use my student ID to buy cheaper movie tickets???? Or getting an Apple iPod for 30 bucks cheaper or whatever it is now??

If this was such a big disadvantage to Dell, they would err on the side of caution and require proof of identification. I mean military guys get their OWN EMAIL addresses that have their branch listed on it. They can easily verify that they're in the service that way. And both of my brothers are in the military and I honestly think they could care less about this .

So for the Members who are on this moralistic witchhunt, ask yourself, have you ever downloaded an mp3 without paying for it?

I say pleeeaaase, Dell sells to the world, a few slickdealers and nbr people are not going to cause the demise of dell. But I guess that's not your point and the overarching theme of this post is "have you no shame?" - I guess I have none.

I am a student. I'm not cheating FAFSA. I pay my taxes. Give me a break, oh wait, there was one, that Drake deal!

 

FAFSA, cheapskates barely gave me half the grant money I had hoped for.....

 

That sucks! at least you got half though =)

 

yeah, but when my expected contribution is 1800, and I need 27k, you kinda hope for more than 6.5k that they gave out

wow, I'm totally off topic now

 

I ordered my dell through military EPP ...but I am in the military. If you don't have the balls to get a round shot at you... don't pretend to be someone that does. Plain and Simple.

SGT Eric Reese
US ARMY INFANTRY

 

Hmmm - do you think they also do special deals for the Chinese military?
Maybe I can find a friend to help me get a discount ;-)

 

I'm surprised and disappointed by the number of posters here who see no problem with taking advantage of deals they don't qualify for. And its not just pretending to be in the military that is a problem (2000ARMY covers that nicely). Taking advantage of the student discount goes along the same vein. Just because it's not a federal crime to take advantage of that deal when you don't qualify doesn't make it not wrong. You're still defrauding Dell and the students who really do qualify for that deal. Think of the students at Drake who missed out on their deal because of Sirius_GTO et al. spreading the news about how to get the deal without being qualified. I'd be pretty ticked off if I were considering buying one of those as a Drake student, the deal disappeared, and then I found the Drake thread while Googling on it.

I'm curious as to how many of you would pretend to be in the military if that site were just as easy to access as the Drake one, had, say, a 5% higher discount, and there were no federal penalties.

 

The philosophy of Me versus the philosophy of Us.

http://www.cents-off.com/faq.htm

It's not just 'bad' to pretend to be a student, and not really be... It's.. Illegal. In addition to being unethical.

The people who parrot the 'we're screwing the corporations' know nothing of screwing corporations... But it's nice to see that socialist ideals have become an excuse for people who'd rather not face their decisions...

In all honesty, it'd be more respectful to say, 'Yeah, I'm doing something illegal. Sure hope I don't get caught, but if I do, I'm being unlawful and unethical, so, I've made my choice."

The existentialist moment

 

Amen,bro. People nowdays just don't appreciate the good, old honesty any more.

 

I think I'm going to pretend I have cancer and I entered the "Make a wish" foundation and wanted a free laptop. Anyone see a problem here?

 

I would like to say I am surprised this is still going on but...

Disappointed? Yes I give that to you. Surprised? You need to meet more people.

 

I dont think many people see that as a problem any more. It depends on how low people can get to obtain what they want.

 

Wait, did someone say two-by-four to tall people's knees? What?

LOL! They're making a big production of it, handing out the cancer laptops on a stage, in front of an audience. You're all hunched over in a wheelchair until the moment the Dell executive presents you with your notebook and everyone claps, at which point you bolt from the wheelchair and sprint out of the building with your prize.

 

If you'd like a cheap Dell laptop then look on Ebay. The US seem to have great discounts and offers available when some of us over in Europe are left out in the cold.

 

I agree. Why are US consumers complaining when your electronics are already 1/2 the price we pay in the rest of the world. If anything, Dell is subsidising their losses from intense competition in the US by placing huge mark ups overseas. Now, that's NOT fair.
Some of our EPPs outside the US are equivalent to the periodic discounts Dell gives, so it doesn't actually feel like we've saved a ton when compared to the prices you see in the US. Yet, Americans who can afford expensive consumer electronics don't earn any less than their counterparts in the rest of the world.

 

It maybe best to do away with students deals and just lower prices a little lower across the board.

There are young families, elderly people or people on benefits or disability who might like a Dell but it may be out of their budget. Say if it somebody in this situation may want to take advantage of the benefits being offered it may not be right but i could understand why they are doing it. These people maybe worse of or maybe no better of financially than a student.