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Chinese students discover loophole for free KFC, and the Colonel is displeased
Yahoo News ^ | Dennis Lee Fri, May 14, 2021

Posted on 05/14/2021 10:19:39 AM PDT by 11th_VA

In April of 2018, a 23-year-old university student in Shanghai whose last name is Xu found a loophole in KFC’s online ordering system. He discovered that he could pay for food using coupons in a KFC app, then he could get a refund of the very same coupons immediately if he used a different app. In other words, free food! At one of the most popular restaurants in China! But then he flew too close to the fried chicken sun, and things ended very poorly. Vice has the story.

After Xu discovered the KFC loophole, he ordered a lot of free KFC for himself and then started reselling the coupons online. He also shared the secret with four of his schoolmates, who took advantage. The shenanigans continued all the way through October of 2018. Xu himself got about $9,000 worth of free chicken, and his four friends each ordered between $1,400 and $7,300. That’s a lot of chicken.

Eventually, KFC caught on and took the students to court. The court ruled that the five had committed fraud and that they participated in criminal activities by taking advantage of the loopholes in the two apps. And—oh boy—they were all sentenced to prison for 15 to 30 months and had to pay fines ranging from $155 to $930. Yikes.

Some people on the internet have said that the sentences were too harsh, and that KFC’s own online design flaws are to blame, not the students. Loopholes like these aren’t unique to KFC or China. We reported earlier this year about students in Spain who managed to get free Domino’s pizza, but this is on a whole new level. I like KFC and all, but that is a hell of a price to pay for drumsticks.

(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Political Humor/Cartoons
KEYWORDS: coupons; pepsico; scam; vicesux; yahooooonews
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I saw a special on KFC founder - he actually killed someone in self defense once - tough cookie.
1 posted on 05/14/2021 10:19:39 AM PDT by 11th_VA
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To: 11th_VA

“He flew too close to the fried chicken sun”

You get a really nasty sunburn that way.


2 posted on 05/14/2021 10:22:42 AM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer”)
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To: blueunicorn6

In China, you eat General Tso’s chicken or you go hungry.


3 posted on 05/14/2021 10:25:04 AM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer”)
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To: 11th_VA

Chickity China, the Chinese chicken
You have a drumstick and your brain stops tickin’.


4 posted on 05/14/2021 10:26:10 AM PDT by Carpe Cerevisi
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To: blueunicorn6

I guess the fried chicken sun must be close to the Moon Pies.


5 posted on 05/14/2021 10:26:47 AM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer”)
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To: 11th_VA
they were all sentenced to prison for 15 to 30 months and had to pay fines ranging from $155 to $930. Yikes.

You could burn down a KFC here and not get that much of a prison sentence.

6 posted on 05/14/2021 10:28:08 AM PDT by KarlInOhio (Police should refuse duty at NBA venues. Let them wallow in their desired chaos without police.)
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To: blueunicorn6

Maybe that was the real story behind the Greek Myth.
Maybe Icarus created those big wax wings to fly out of Crete over to south Greece where the Minotaurs were known for their fried chicken!


7 posted on 05/14/2021 10:31:08 AM PDT by lee martell
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To: 11th_VA

George Harrison’s song.....

“Here comes the fried chicken sun
Do dooty do
Here comes the fried chicken sun
Do dooty do
Here comes the fried chicken sun with 11 secret herbs and spices and it’s alright”


8 posted on 05/14/2021 10:32:10 AM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer”)
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To: 11th_VA

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner


9 posted on 05/14/2021 10:32:54 AM PDT by Dacula
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cheat cheat never beat!


10 posted on 05/14/2021 10:33:03 AM PDT by Bob434
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To: 11th_VA

The students were lucky they were not in Saudi Arabia. Because they would have one of their hands chopped off for stealing.


11 posted on 05/14/2021 10:38:47 AM PDT by entropy12 (President Trump saved Millions of lives with his warp speed push for covid vaccines. Trump or Bust!!)
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To: 11th_VA

I always thought that a conscientious politician (any left?) would put a couple of people like these kids on his staff.

Then, when a bill was proposed, he’d tell ‘em “Find a loophole that can be exploited”. When it was being discussed, bring up the results so the loophole could be closed.

How many times have we heard the (sometimes phony) excuse “We didn’t mean it to be used that way.”


12 posted on 05/14/2021 10:40:44 AM PDT by Oatka
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To: 11th_VA
He also shared the secret with four of his schoolmates,

Reminds me of the 16 year old high school boys who brag about having sex with their history teacher.......They had a good thing going until they told their buddies. Loose lips sink ships........LOL!

13 posted on 05/14/2021 10:42:56 AM PDT by Hot Tabasco
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To: 11th_VA

In my university’s student union in the 1990s there was a fast food restaurant that had scratch off coupons for free food where ‘every card was a winner’ based on one scratching off something like the correct 3 and only 3 out of 9 squares.

Being a high traffic area, and the fact that there were only iirc 16 different types of cards printed, it was easy to collect enough failed coupons laying around and record the patterns and take note of minor print defects/variations.

Several fellow engineers and actuaries did this and could therefore scratch the correct boxes and make every card truly a winner. There was a lot of food won until the franchise got wise and started separating the top promo part from the bottom scratch off part.


14 posted on 05/14/2021 10:43:10 AM PDT by posterchild
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To: 11th_VA

The article isn’t very clear - on the face of it, they were following the operating procedures set up by KFC on the app.


15 posted on 05/14/2021 10:46:33 AM PDT by PGR88
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To: lee martell

Yep.

Daedalus says, “Hey Iccy! You want some chicken?”

And Iccy says, “Only if it’s KFC! I’d drop into the water for some KFC!”


16 posted on 05/14/2021 10:47:43 AM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer”)
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To: 11th_VA

17 posted on 05/14/2021 10:48:53 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: blueunicorn6

lol!


18 posted on 05/14/2021 10:50:49 AM PDT by lee martell
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To: 11th_VA
Some people on the internet have said that the sentences were too harsh, and that KFC’s own online design flaws are to blame, not the students.

A friend of mine used to be a chaplain at a juvenile detention facility in NYC. He said that most of the kids' concept of right and wrong was that something was wrong if you get caught. That's a severely-stunted moral sense, but the attitude here takes it a step further. It's not really that wrong even if you do get caught and, if you do get caught, blame someone else.

19 posted on 05/14/2021 10:50:58 AM PDT by Southside_Chicago_Republican (The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog. )
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To: 11th_VA

This is why blacks hate Asians.


20 posted on 05/14/2021 11:03:35 AM PDT by gundog (It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. )
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