Oregon Girl Scout Troops Were Victims Of Cookie Order Hoax
Portland, OR – Two Girl Scout troops in Portland, Oregon were prey to a $24,000 faux cookie order for 6,000 boxes.
When selling their trademark cookies, Girl Scouts turn in their orders in advance without accepting initial payment in good faith the buyer will honor the purchase when the product comes in.
Someone posing as a Hilsboro company employee ordered 6,000 boxes. However, the request was a fake.
Sympathetic locals, after hearing of the cruel hoax, came out in droves to the Girl Scouts headquarters and stood in line to buy up the excess product.
Hundreds of people waited an average of 30 minutes in line, and, on average, the group sold 1,000 boxes an hour according to KATU News.
Seasoned scouts and troop leaders were in awe of the response to their plight, many stating they’d never seen such long lines just to buy a box of cookies.
In an equally kind turn, the trickster has since apologized for the prank and will not be criminally charged with placing the fake order.
Founder Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low organized the first Girl Scout Troop of 18 girls on March 12, 1912, in Savannah, Georgia. Today, Girl Scouts of the USA has a membership of over 3.2 million girls and adults,= and nearly 59 million alumnae.
The message behind the organization is to empower girls with confidence and character.
The troops annually sell cookies in order to build life skills such as business ethics and money management. Distributing boxes of Thin Mints, Samoas, Peanut Butter Patties, Trefoils, and several other flavors allow the troop members to afford participating in summer camp and other group activities.
Girl Scout Cookies can only be purchased from scouts and only during cookie season. A council conducts only one cookie sale per year within a six to eight week period between January and April. Sales vary by community.
In an effort to build entrepreneurship and social skills in the girls who participate, the cookies are sold in person and not online.
Do you think the person who placed the order for cookies should have faced some type of criminal penalty?
