Meh, that doesn't seem a huge risk. Lying to customer service isn't a life hack. It's unethical and a crime. Depending on the specifics, it could be mail fraud, a felony.

Maybe I'm naive, but I believe most adults are not actually willing to commit fraud in writing. And besides the risk of prosecution, most people like to think of themselves as honest people. It's hard to continue that narrative if you're proactively engaging in fraud.

I was wondering if this varies by country; both the expected extent to which one should game the system (e.g. prevalence of bribes) and actual ability of the authorities to prosecute people.

Ah, yeah, I bet you're right.

They are learning that very fast. See this : http://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-techno... . People were abusing their customer service and they killed the goose. Now the whole return for mobile phones also factors in your buying history and is evaluated on case by case basis.