Automated sales suppression device
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An automated sales suppression device or zapper is a software program that falsifies the electronic records of point of sale (POS) systems for the purpose of tax evasion.
Most jurisdictions levy a sales tax or a value added tax on commercial transactions such as sales in stores or food served in a restaurant. These transactions are now most often recorded by a POS system rather than a mechanical cash register. The POS system records are generally not alterable by the operator and are used as the basis of tax assessments and audits by tax authorities.
Because POS systems are increasingly designed as general purpose computers (as of 2008, 85% worldwide were reported to run Microsoft Windows),[1] arbitrary software can be run on them. A "zapper" is a software program, often run untraceable from a USB flash drive, that accesses the POS system records and allows the owner of a business to alter the records so as to make it credibly appear that fewer transactions have occurred than has actually been the case.
The use of "zappers" reduces the tax burden on the business, which is generally proportional to the volume of the transactions. It also allows the business to withhold any sales tax or value-added tax that would be owed to the government for the suppressed transactions, and to keep this money for itself.