Legal Definitions - yank-cheating

Yank-cheating refers to the illegal act of obtaining merchandise from a vending machine without paying for it, by exploiting a specific vulnerability in the machine's payment system.

This practice typically involves inserting paper currency into a vending machine, allowing the machine's internal sensors to register the payment, and then quickly withdrawing the currency before the transaction is fully processed and finalized. As a result, the individual retains their cash while still receiving the desired product unlawfully.

Here are a few examples to illustrate this concept:

• Imagine a person at a train station who wants a candy bar from a vending machine. They insert a $5 bill, and the machine's display briefly flashes to show "Credit: $5.00." Before the machine can fully accept the payment or dispense any change, the person quickly pulls the $5 bill back out of the slot. They then press the button for the candy bar, which drops into the collection tray.

  This is an example of yank-cheating because the individual obtained the candy bar without actually paying for it, by retrieving their $5 bill after the machine had initially recognized its value but before the transaction was complete.

• Consider an employee in an office breakroom who wishes to purchase a bottled water from the beverage machine. They insert a $10 bill, and the machine's screen momentarily indicates that it has registered the $10. Immediately, before the machine can process the payment or offer change, the employee swiftly extracts the $10 bill from the slot. They then select the bottled water, which dispenses.

  This scenario demonstrates yank-cheating as the employee acquired the bottled water while retaining their $10, by taking advantage of the brief period when the machine recognized the currency but had not yet finalized the payment.