17 Outrageous Ways Drug Addict’s Make Money

I get mad when I think about this topic, but if I could get back all the money I spent on drugs, I could have a $300,000 house all paid for. Most addicts could say something similar. Addicts have no problem spending an entire day working some scam to get $50 so we could get high but we usually didn’t last more than a month at a regular job.

It fascinates me how I could get more than $100 a day to get high every single day during my drug use. I would go to any lengths to get my fix for the day, no matter who was affected. A person in the grips of addiction will come up with some wild and creative ways to get money. A friend of mine who is now 2 years clean and sober recently told me:

“Even when I was in the middle of one scam my brain would be thinking 3-4 scams down the road. It was like a switch had been turned on. Once I knew I was physically addicted and needed drugs everyday to avoid withdrawal, my brain would work 24/7 thinking of ways to lie, manipulate, and steal for more money, I couldn’t turn it off.”

I don’t like to admit the number of scams I pulled during my using days, but its a hard fact that I had to face when I got clean and sober. Many people got hurt because of my past lies and deceptions. I’m truly sorry for anyone I hurt during my addiction. I am going to use some personal stories in this article about the ways I got money. By no means am I condoning this behavior and I’m not bragging about how I got money. I intend to explain to everyone, specifically family and friends of those with addiction, how addicts come up with so much money all the time to keep getting high.

Here are 17 Outrageous Ways Drugs Addicts Make Money:

1. Boosting

This is arguably the most common way for addicts to get money. Boosting is stealing from stores and selling the stolen items either to pawn shops, other stores, or drug dealers. There is an entire underground world of boosting. Some addicts boost specific items based on what a certain pawnshop or vendor asks them for. Others go for high priced items. Many simply go for small items they can conceal that are worth a few bucks.

If you were every curious why your local grocery store locks up their shaving razors and blades this is why. Razor blades are a very common item for boosters to steal. They are small, easy to conceal, and have a reasonable high resale price.

Before many of the stores caught on, a booster could steal 10-15 packages of razor blades. Each of these packs retails for around $15. A pawn shop or bootleg grocery store would pay a booster roughly 50% of the retail price. The booster leaves with $70-$80 cash and the store owner will put those blades on his shelf and sells them for the normal price of $15 a pack.

Items you would never even think of can be a gold mine for boosters. There was a local meat market here in Rochester N.Y. that would pay boosters for packages of steak and fish. The boosters would go to the big-name places take ten filet’s of steak or haddock and go sell them to this guy for 50 cents on the dollar. I have to say the first time I saw a friend of mine with packages of haddock and tilapia falling out of his pants I starting laughing hysterically. Any item that has resale value in another store is worth money to boosters.

2. Selling SNAP Benefits (food stamps)

The vast majority of addicts are not doing well financially. Many of the addicts that do work regular jobs don’t make good money so they qualify for food stamps and all the addicts that don’t work at all qualify for benefits from the government. Here in NYS, a single person can get up to $200 a month in SNAP benefits (food stamps).

During the first week of the month when many of these benefits are available, addicts will take their benefit card to their drug dealers and sell them their card for 50 cents on the dollar. The addict is happy because they get $100 in drugs, and the dealer is happy because they get $200 in groceries for $100.

3. Stealing From Family and Friends

Addiction is a progressive disease. 99% of addicts don’t just start out injecting heroin for their first time, it gradually gets worse. When my addiction was at the beginning stages I would take $15-$20 from my dad’s wallet or my mom’s purse. Occasionally hey would know something was off, but it usually was only every few weeks so it wasn’t super noticeable. As my addiction got worse so did my stealing.

Soon I was stealing from my family almost daily, and taking more money each time. When they caught on and started locking up their valuables I looked for other things to steal from family and friends. Change jars, jewelry, and electronics are just a few things that usually go missing when you live with an addict. Check out this article: Why Do Addicts Steal From Loved Ones. 

4. Credit Card Scams

In the beginning stages of addiction, most addicts haven’t done much damage to their credit score yet. During this period they can still qualify and open numerous credit cards, run up the limit and never pay them back. Many stores offer in-store credit cards like Macy’s, kohls, and TJ Max. Addicts will open up an account go buy expensive jewelry, electronics, or clothing and sell it to pawn shops at discounted prices. This same principle applies to regular credit cards. Addicts will get the max credit limit and spend it all in a few days and never contact the company again.

One scam I used to do with my credit card and a few times with my dad’s card is going to the gas station and find people paying cash for their gas. I would offer to give them $40 in gas for $30 cash. But I had to do it all on one pump and try to get as many as I could in a row and quickly. If I swiped the card at 3 different pumps the company’s fraud detection would catch on and shut it down. I just used one pump and had people pull up and keep the same pump running.

There are numerous other credit-related scams addicts will get involved in. Many drug users will copy or skim credit card numbers at their jobs, and sell them to professional scammers who pay for the information.

5. Selling Medication

Just like with SNAP benefits, many addicts are on Medicaid so all of their healthcare is paid for or very cheap. Lots of addicts will go to the doctor and try to get prescriptions for any pills that have a street value. Many cocaine, meth, and alcohol users get prescriptions for painkillers and sell them for cash. Heroin addicts would also get these prescriptions, but we would end up taking the pills. Over the past 5-10 years with the opioid epidemic raging, many doctors, pharmacies, and states have cracked down on painkiller prescriptions. But there are many medicines still worth money on the street.

Benzodiazepines are worth lots of money on the streets. Many addicts will go to their doctor or therapist and say they have extreme anxiety and get prescribed benzodiazepines, then sell or trade them on the street.

Suboxone is a drug given to people to help them come off heroin or any Opioid based painkiller. Lots of addicts sell their suboxone to get money for dope. It’s very common for an addict to go to rehab and get clean using suboxone. When they get released from rehab they get a prescription for suboxone. If they have a relapse they will trade or sell their suboxone for drugs or cash. This is an awful thing to do because now the addict will have no suboxone to help with their withdrawal and cravings so they will have a far greater chance of relapsing again.

6. Petit Crimes (petit larceny, car theft, scams)

Along with boosting, addicts will commit many petit crimes. These may involve scamming someone on the street for money. Breaking into people’s cars and stealing radios, change, or any other item of value. Breaking into people’s sheds and garages stealing power tools, alcohol, or any items worth carrying. Going through the drive thru’s and circling back around saying they gave you the wrong change. Or just going to eat at a restaurant and skipping out on the bill so you have more money for drugs. These are just a few of the petit crimes addicts commit.

7. Major Crimes (robbery, burglary)

When an addict gets desperate enough and has burned all their bridges, often they will resort to any means necessary to get their fix. This typically involves serious crimes. Robbery and Bulgulary are the most common. For me it was burglary. All of my friends and family started locking up their valuables. I had been doing street scams for years and they were becoming less lucrative, so I started breaking into strangers’ houses.

This was very dangerous and wrong. I could have hurt someone or got shot by the homeowner. I got away with this for a little while until I got caught. When I got caught they charged me with every burglary I had done over the past few months. That landed me in prison for 3 1/2 years.

Many other addicts will “jack” (rob, steal) people on the street or rob drug dealers. Both of these are very dangerous and stupid as well. Robbing anybody is wrong but especially innocent people in the street. Robbing drug dealers is incredibly stupid. Every drug dealer I ever knew had some way to defend themselves, usually, this meant guns. Many addicts are willing to take this risk because of the high reward.

Bank Robberies

Robbing banks has long been associated with someone who is strung out. This stereotype we see in the movies is in my experience pretty accurate. When an addict is at their wit’s end what better place to get money for drugs than a bank.

Career drug users who have been in and out of jail know the law pretty well. They know that as long as you don’t show a weapon and don’t threaten violence a bank robbery can be dropped to a non-violent felony. This means they can rob a bank without violence and get a relatively mild sentence if they get caught. According to the FBI, it’s 3 times as likely for a bank robber to quietly display a note to a teller than it is for the perpetrators to use a weapon and take money by force. (Source)

8. Prostitution/Hooking

When an addict’s addiction starts to really progress and the addict has exhausted all their other scams, they usually turn to one of 2 places: crime or prostitution. Unfortunately, this is one of the most common ways female addicts get money when they need to feed their addiction. Some men do this as well, but mostly women. The reason it is more common for female addicts to turn to prostitution is that the majority of drug dealers are male, many of whom are willing to receive sexual favors in exchange for drugs. Once a drug dealer has had enough favors from someone and cuts them off the addict will usually start offering their services on the streets.

Websites like Backpage were really popular for addicts to advertise sex. I know dozens of female addicts who would offer their services on Backpage. They could make a few hundred dollars every evening and have enough money to get high through the night and into the morning. The female addicts I’ve spoken with explained to me that they felt so bad about what they were doing they had to be high to even complete the task. This cycle of misery, shame, guilt, sex, and addiction is awful and keeps a lot of addicts stuck.

Prostitution in the new millennium

With the advancement of technology, many prostitutes get paid through apps and payment services online. Many addicts would demand an amount upfront to make sure the guy is real, serious about meeting up, and to show he actually has the money. Once the guy sends $30-$40 the addict would take the money and never meet up.

Some addicts would also meet up with the “John” perform the sex act and while the man is in the bathroom or distracted the female would take his phone and try to get his financial information, or steal more money.

Hooking is arguably the most dangerous item on this list. I know many women who have been raped, abused, assaulted, and robbed, while they were meeting up with someone for sex.  Often a pimp or a madam gets involved. Not only do many pimps use violence and extortion to control their workers, but they also demand at least half the money.

Fetishes

Many Female addicts would see ad’s on Backpage and other sex sites for fetishes. Things like foot worship, domination, costume play, and role play are all common. Many addicts would figure out that they could do certain sexual fetishes to make money and they wouldn’t have to have sex with strangers.

I spoke with 2 female addicts who are both in recovery now. One of them advertised online for foot fetish and light domination. Guys would pay to suck on her toes and kiss her feet. She said this was her best way of making money when she was using drugs. She said, “I got paid to lay on a bed and have my toes kissed and licked.”

The second woman I spoke with said she would advertise online specifically for fetishes. She said the majority of them involved things that didn’t require her to have sex. Most of them would involve her being in control of the situation. She told me:

” I’m not proud of what I did to make money when I was using drugs, but when I think about it from a practical standpoint the fetishes were way better than regular hooking. I would make more money than just getting paid for regular sex. I could charge more for things that are “taboo”. Most of the fetishes that guys were into involved something they were scared to reveal to their wives or girlfriends and would go to great lengths to keep private, which meant they would pay me more to make sure I didn’t expose their secret.”

9. Sex Scams

Along with prostitution, many addicts will pull scams involving sex to get money. This saves them from actually having to perform the sex act. I know lots of male/female teams of addicts that would put an ad for sex online. The female would be in the motel room waiting, then the “John” (guy paying for sex) would show up. Once he’s in the room and naked the guy would pop out of the closet and the 2 addicts would rob the guy.

Another way they would do this is when the guy would pop out of the closet he would snap photos of the naked man. The addicts would demand money or they would put the photos up online.

10. Check Cashing Scams

This one is not that prevalent anymore because not that many people use paper checks anymore, but it still happens. An addict would steal checkbooks from their friends, family, or strangers and write themselves small amounts and go cash them. Just like everything on this list greed usually is the downfall of people. All the addicts that I know that got away with cashing a $90 or $100 check would always go back and raise the amount which would alert the banks.

11. Fraud

Fraud, in general, is huge with addicts. Many addicts have been in and out of the justice system. Most addicts know they will get a lot less time for non-violent crimes like credit card fraud, than violent crimes like robbery.

Some drug users try to defraud insurance companies by claiming car accidents, smashing their own bumper. Others get fake ID’s and take out loans or cash checks in other people’s names. Many addicts will lie to the government to defraud them into getting more EBT and Snap benefits (food stamps). Also, they will lie on their taxes and claim kids that aren’t theirs.

I know 2 drug users who had a landscaping company. They would regularly take money from customers upfront and not show back up to complete the work they were supposed to. These guys would occasionally complete a job for the money, and to keep their reputation somewhat intact for the next client. This didn’t last very long, but long enough for them to get paid for some big jobs and take off with the money.

12. Panhandling

Panhandling has become very popular with people in addiction. Many state and local governments have lessened the punishments and repercussions for panhandling, begging, and loitering. Because of this lots of addicts know they can sit at a busy street corner and make $20-$30 relatively quick and easy. Most of the time if a cop stops someone for panhandling they just tell them to leave. Typically the worst-case scenario results in an appearance ticket, which most addicts won’t show up for. When I lived in Baltimore, MD there were panhandlers everywhere. There were often fights between people because they both wanted to beg on the same busy street corner.

13. Relationships (Enablers, Co-dependent)

A person who is in the middle of addiction will lie, cheat, and deceive those closest to them for that next hit. Many addicts get in a relationship with someone they know will help fund their addiction. Sometimes the drug user will just beg and plead for more money. Other times they may play the guilt card, or just play the victim. Many loved ones don’t want to see their significant other sick or in pain so they give in and give them some money.

It’s fairly common for an addict to seek out someone with lower self-esteem (drug user or not) and the addict will play off that low self-esteem. A friend I spoke with who is now in recovery told me she would find guys with good jobs and money, but who weren’t “good looking”. She would swoop in, give them special attention, and they would fall for her. She said ” Some of my past boyfriends would be so happy to just have a pretty girl to show off to their families or friends. I used this as leverage to get money out of them daily.” She is now in recovery and has made amends to her past boyfriends.

14. Pawning Items

There has been a long-standing relationship between drug users and pawn shops. Many pawn shops are willing to look the other way if someone brings in items that are stolen. The pawn shop will either repackage the item or simply sell them online quickly and out of state.

I used to pawn my gold necklace my grandparents gave me all the time. I would pawn the necklace which was worth about $1000. The pawnshop would give me $300, I would go get high and on Friday, my payday, I would go back and pay $330 and get my necklace back. This went on until my addiction got really bad and I ended up selling my necklace for cash. To this day I still feel awful whenever I think about that day.

The other reason addicts love pawn shops is they will let you pawn anything of value. TVs, computers, phones, jewelry, power tools, artwork, bicycles, and even automobiles are a few things you can pawn. When we addicts are in the middle of addiction we are delusional. I would pawn stuff all the time and I genuinely believed I would be back a few days later to get the item. 9 times out of 10 I never had the money to go back and get it.

15. Selling/Middling Drugs

Any drug user in the center of addiction will seize the opportunity to make some extra money or get their drugs at a discount if they can. Many users will buy extra drugs and sell them for a higher price to help pay for their habit. This is especially true for users in rural and suburban areas. Most addicts don’t want to take a 20-30 minute ride to the ghetto if they don’t have to. Lots of addicts know this and use this to their advantage.

Drug addicts who have been using a long time will scare newer drug users and tell them they should never go to the bad neighboorhood to get their drugs, but if you give the long-time user money he/she will gladly get you some good stuff. Kinda ironic the addict is concerned for my safety in the bad neighboorhood but will gladly buy drugs and resell them to me.

Some drug users will sell drugs that they don’t use, in order to pay for their habit with a different drug. Lots of guys I used drugs with sold weed to pay for their oxycontin habit, or sold cocaine to pay for their heroin habit.

The cheapest drugs are usually in bad neighborhoods closest to cities. Users in a specific area will meet up and pool their money together to get more bang for their buck by buying more quantities. The person in charge of the deal always charges extra for having the “good connect” (knowing the drug dealer with the good cheap stuff). They will also just flat out lie about how much he’s being charged.

16. Scrapping

Scrapping is when people go through other people’s garbages searching for metals to bring to the scrap yard. Many items like old refrigerators, washers, dryers, and piping are worth money at the scrap yard. Most people aren’t going to take the time to lug a truck full of metal to the scrapyard for $30, but scrappers will.

Also, the scrap yard wants everything sorted properly before you get there. You would need to take the washer apart and separate each metal and throw out the plastic. Many people are not going to spend a night taking their old appliances apart for a few bucks.

Addicts In Baltimore tore down 130 street lights over a period of a few weeks, to scrap the poles for cash. (source)

17. Lawsuits

This one is more about having patience but still is common with addicts looking for a big payday. Drug users will go to the grocery store, pour water on the ground and walk back over the puddle a minute later and fall. They will demand some money from the manager to keep quiet (which never works), so they call law firms to sue the grocery store. Most of the time the security footage will show the scam, but occasionally stores will give gift cards or settle just to be done with it. 

When I was in jail I had a trustee job. This meant after each meal myself and 3 other inmates stayed out of our cell and cleaned up. Other inmates would routinely ask me to make a mess with the mop bucket or use a ton of water. They would say “Don’t put the wet floor signs out”. I never did this but other guys would. An inmate would come out of their cell slip and fall on the freshly mopped floor, pretend to be hurt, and file a lawsuit or claim against the jail. What makes these situations so bad is that so many people try to cheat the system that when someone does get hurt they are treated like a scammer.

Wasted Talent

Addicts come up with some crazy and ingenious ways to make money. It’s crazy to me some of the things I did to make money and how much time I wasted on scamming people. It is a sad and awful way to live but it’s a reality for many people. Some addicts live their entire lives working one scam after another until their addiction kills them. I wish I could harness all the energy that addicts use on a daily basis to get drug money and put it towards positive changes. So many of us addicts could run a fortune 500 company if we put our effort into positive choices.

If you suspect your loved one is stealing or committing crimes for drugs reach out to an addiction counselor, doctor, or another medical professional. Also reaching out to peer groups like AL-Anon or Nar-Anon can help give you guidance on how to handle the situation. Whether or not to call the police on your loved one is a personal choice. If you do get law enforcement involved don’t let the addict hold it against you. They made the decision to commit a crime not you.