I once overheard two Home Depot employees talking about a guy walking around their parking lot. He was looking for cash receipts on the pavement. If he found one he would go in the store and pick up some item on the receipt and return it for cash.
My friend worked at Target Customer Service, and customers did that, too. They KNEW the customer was pulling a scam but at that time (the late ‘90s), Target had a policy to take any return for any reason, no questions asked.