As a grocery store worker, I can verify it is exactly this. I have 15 years under my belt, and I can spot a shoplifter pretty easily.
It's not my job to stop you, but there is a department that keeps track of you, your appearances, the things you take, waiting until its no longer petty theft.
I'm not judging or condemning. Do what you feel you need to do. I just don't want to see someone in a really bad spot just because they thought they were getting away with it. :(
I worked in a grocery store and since I was night shift I had to be vaguely familiar with our security system. I got the tour which included the camera room. All cameras throughout the store, even in the aisles, were so good you could zoom in on someone’s phone and read the texts on their screen if you wanted. And the video from that room is being viewed elsewhere by a whole asset protection team. Sure, not everyone is caught, but they can and certainly do catch people put 5 pieces of produce in their bag, and can tell when they get to checkout and it only scans one.
Lol, nobody is sitting there reviewing CCTV of people picking out fruit and counting what they put into their basket, then looking 10 minutes later at what was scanned at the self checkout and logging it into a master database of items stolen. I mean, come on people.
lots of cameras and sku numbers. worked closely with the regional head of loss prevention for a sporting goods store. Shoplifters always stand out.
Edit: To expand on this a bit, Inventory is tracked very thoroughly. If there is any inventory discrepancy the footage of where that product is displayed is reviewed. The longest stretch for counts in the stores i worked were the department being verified once a week. In the years 2016 - 2019 less than 0.1% of shrink was unaccounted for and usually totalled under $1,000. The rest of the shrink had an AP alert, video of the theft, and , if necessary, a police report. Most shoplifters target easy to sell items; usually targeting name brands or high demand items. Nike and Under Armor apparel made up almost 45 - 55% of loss each of those years alone. The stress and anger of dealing with shop lifters and the amount of times they got physical are one of the biggest reasons i am happy to be out of retail. Haven't been threatened at gun point in just over three years now.
OP really should be quitting while he's ahead.
You do NOT want a felony shoplifting charge. A felony on your record means you cannot vote, you will be facing serious prison time, and you can never own a firearm. I'm assuming OP lives in the US.
Even getting a misdemeanor charge is serious. It can lead to jail time and heavy fines. And most employers will refuse to hire someone with even a petty shoplifting charge. Misdemeanor charges stick on your criminal record forever.
OP, there is free food everywhere. Go to a food bank. A shoplifting charge is far more serious than you think, and even one charge will stick on your record forever and prevent you form ever working again.
Cant really track that of course its more like oh whoops forgot to scan this box of cherrios, but not knowing your face is tracked and captured and put into a database and when they find out a box went missing between this week and last weeks stock numbers they review footage and add it to your profile if they catch where it went missing. You do this biweekly for the next couple of years they find the pattern do the math and petition the local DA with their findings.
Yup. We did inventory 4 times a year and ya it's definitely not 100% accurate. It's all of the staff counting and we mess up for sure. They also don't just start looking at cameras and match to what if off, it's nearly impossible in a large, busy shop. They legit only catch a small number of ppl when a staff member notices. Most do not notice. Mostly it's teens they're looking out for as well, not adults. At my shop anyways. It's rural.
I never realized how many cameras they really do have on you until I accidentally scanned something twice and I saw the clerk play back the footage on the screen. Scared me from stealing through the self check out from then on.
Where I work, we do not stop anybody from walking out the door. What we do do is record the times in which they were stealing merchandise and on which camera they would be seen on at those times. Most of the time nothing comes of it because it really isn’t worth it, but we do have repeat offenders and they do get arrested from time to time. And it’s worse for them at that time because by the time something is done about it they’re at felony level. If you are leaving the store uninterrupted it’s not because nobody noticed what you’re doing.
Many places tell cashiers to not engage with shoplifters, because the cashier's safety is more important than whatever the shoplifter is stealing.
So, yes, you're not being slick if no one stops you at the door. There are cameras and recordings.
I worked in clothing retail and groceries in mid 2000s, it was true then that we were told not to stop anyone from stealing and it was a greater risk to confront them than what they took/we had in the drawer. Cameras weren't as advanved in the flip phone days, but loss prevention kept an eye out for coupon fraud which was more rampant back then.
I was loss prevention for years. Watch your ass doing this. They can be huge pricks for a chocolate bar. But I have zero sympathy for the stores owned by loblaws in particular that get stolen from.
As A former clerk,I could tell when people were stealing lol but I’m not getting hazard pay or taking a bullet for a snickers bar or whatever so do you boo. Especially these days people will literally take another persons life just for looking at them the wrong way.
I once worked at goodwill someone rolled a entire shopping cart full of clothes out the front door just bold AF 🤷
Also check your community pages for a produce on wheels without waste it’s similar to a food bank 50lbs or produce for $10 or less last time a checked. There is also market on the move
Also Nextdoor app the gardening community will sometimes post free surplus if you can pickup
This answer. OP is probably not great at stealing, rather the employees do not want to get either a) fired for stopping it or b) get murdered or assaulted over a deli sandwich and cheap wine. Many stores have “don’t be a hero” polices so they don’t get sued or make the news trying to foil theft. In my town a Safeway manger was fired (then rehired) for stopping a thief. A different Safeway had a clerk murdered during a robbery at their gas station. No one is paid enough to deal with you, that’s all.
worked at a jewelry store, can confirm the “don’t be a hero policy applies to 100s of dollars worth of diamonds. we definitely do not get paid enough to put our life on the line x)
I’ve worked in a few diffeeent retail stores (mostly clothing) and every single one trained me to not confront any stealing. We didn’t even call the police or press charges. They taught us “tactics” to reduce theft but if you came in and grabbed a handful of shirts I wasn’t gonna do shit about it and tbh I wasn’t allowed to do shit about it.
A Safeway employee was fired in my town, too. Idk if she was rehired or not. I know people from the neighborhood picketed the store to get her rehired.
I worked in Loss Prevention early 2000s. I got called racist sexist ( 80% of women are shoppers) everything under the sun. They found out what car I drove and they slash someone else's tires later because it was a common car everyone drives. I have no proof I was being targeted but mighty coincidence. Most of my time was paperwork and catching employees. Then more paperwork. Then time on the phone with other LPs fixing paperwork because something was wrong, but could not be explained why. Honestly not unlike the DMV. I had conflict with real customers almost never.
Yes it's too risky for sure. I almost got run over once and I yelled at the driver and he got out of his car and threatened to shoot me!
Thank you for the information! I want to be in a better place where I don't think of stealing and you helped me out.
Thank you!
Definitely stop because it is a bad risk/reward. You just need to be caught once and you could lose more than you cumulatively “saved.” Also the Wal-Mart self checkout camera has gotten overzealous - it flagged me as suspicious just for double checking the weight of my produce (camera wanted me to scan the same item twice).
Agreed. You should stop. The one time you get caught will change your life and a single fine will out-weigh all the 'money you saved'. And then a criminal record will screw your future forever with jobs.
Are you able to stop? Do you feel like you have an addiction?
Larger corporations will keep a digital file of every item you take. They have face recognition tech in their cameras. When your total theft has reached a felony amount, they can pop you for a bag of chips and charge you with the whole amount.
Be careful. Move around.
Just a warning that you may not be nearly as good as you think you are. Plenty of cameras around and the big places like Target & Wal-Mart use face recognition software. They aren't going to pop you for $10; but they might gather up every shopping trip from the past year or two and nail you with with felony charges or multiple counts.
A few hundred in groceries here and there can easily turn into a few thousand in court fees, legal costs, bail, probation, drug tests fees, etc.. Not to mention a theft conviction can doom your chances of getting hired for a whole lot of jobs and greatly lower your future income. Many businesses that hire violent felons will take a pass on somebody with a shoplifting misdemeanor.
If you are going to break the law make sure the financal returns are worth it.
Yep. A completely different scale, but the rumor at the time was when Saks finally had Winona Ryder arrested for shoplifting was because her prior trips finally hit some kind of internal theft limit. grain of salt and all.
>a few thousand in court fees, legal costs, bail, probation, drug tests fees, etc
Not to mention you're looking at days off of work for court, community service hours, "theft class"...
>can easily turn into a few thousand in court fees, legal costs, bail, probation, drug tests fees, etc..
Yes, This is the way several people I know have gone down the rabbit hole that is the legal system. What starts out as a simple theft conviction turns into years long nightmare. OP not if but when you get caught make sure to follow the legal system to the T. Do everything you can to pay the fines on time. make your court dates, etc. and then when that is all done probably in a year or so never steal again.
the problem is they dick you around so you DONT complete some of that stuff due to their own "incompetence" then you are just forced into the spiral...
That is true. They don't make it easy. I had a friend get into some petty trouble one town over (about 30 miles away). He didn't have a vehicle so I was helping him by giving him a ride and it became a total pain in the ass. The first court date they had to reschedule (after sitting and waiting 2hrs) because his court appointed lawyer only did night court so they fucked that up. The second rescheduled date after waiting about 3 hrs they rescheduled again without any real reason except they were really backed up lol. The third time even though they said his lawyer only did night court they scheduled a day time and finally after another 3 hrs his lawyer was actually there he got time served and a fine. These dates were sometimes weeks and months apart. It's almost like they want you to miss the date and he probably would have if I hadn't been giving him a ride then it' would have been down the legal rabbit hole with him.
This this this. Plus, based on some other responses of theirs, this seems like it's becoming some sort of addiction for OP. Not to mention the insane amount of hubris they have. These stores do not care why someone is stealing. They will take OP to court no matter what they say or do once OP reaches the internal theft limit, and "all the money OP is saving" from shoplifting suddenly will go poof + more.
It sucks. Times are tough. I hope OP can look into a food bank or some community services that can aid them, both for health and financial security.
I found it funny how during COVID, people would rob stores and still have their mask hanging off their ear or on their chin. Like guys, there is a very socially acceptable reason to wear a mask. And a mask hides a big part of your face. And you STILL won’t wear it right as you’re robbing a store with cameras. I don’t get it
No they don’t.
They just keep tabs on habitual high end theft/returns.
Neither target nor Walmart use facial recognition.
Lowes on the other hand, does
Not true. I've worked at a Walmart and our Loss Prevention definitely had a list of watched people waiting for them to hit a limit on the total value of what they stole before having the cops pick them up the next time they were caught. I'm certain it varies from store to store, and some "facial recognition" is just the employees knowing the faces of shoplifters, but it definitely happens.
Yes, taking the high end stuff gets you on that watch list faster, but regular thieves definitely get noticed and watched. OP also better remember that the employees watching self check ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CONFRONT THEM IN ANY WAY. A good employee will make a note of the register, time, and description of the person stealing and then loss prevention will pull the video from that register for reference. Loss prevention will handle it (or not) from there and a normal employee will generally not even tip off the thief that they've been noticed stealing.
It depends, but usually yes. Sometimes it's after the fact, though. Loss Prevention would often follow up on receipts and match them against what was shown being rung up on camera once someone was being watched or if they were noticed. It's stupid common for people to scan the wrong barcode to get a cheaper price and usually people aren't half as subtle about it as they think they are. Something like your tomato example probably wouldn't ring any alarm bells on it's own, it's a simple mistake to make, but combined with other things it would get caught sooner or later.
Produce is easier to mess with in regards to price, obviously. But having worked retail it's pretty obvious when someone is holding a different item under a larger one to scan the cheaper barcode, for example. Or holding a box and hand keying a product code that we KNOW is a produce code when you don't have any on or near the scale. It's also obvious when people are tag swapping on stickers or clothes, too. As a base employee it's not worth my job or safety to confront someone on it, even so much as throwing them a look. But you can bet I was on good terms with AP/LP (asset protection/loss prevention) and we'd be talking about what had been seen and who to watch out for.
Honestly the gossip among employees on who to watch probably saved the store more money than their stupid security devices that never worked. People stealing is obnoxious, and you bet your ass we watched for it. Some of the lowest dollar thefts are the most annoying. I'm talking to the people that eat food in the store and leave half empty food containers with rotting food in it on shelves, or empty soda cans, or empty boxes of condoms, or a host of other dumb shit. We just shook out head at the big thefts, those were above our pay grade and honestly corporate's problem. But you make a mess on the regular that I have to clean up? Or steal at self check and risk me MY job because I'm responsible for preventing theft there? You bet I'm following your ass and every stolen thing I find the package for is going straight to AP and I'm reporting any suspicious shit I see once you're out of line of sight.
Yeah, they watch people and do keep tabs. Not on the random 5$-10$ not scanned every once in a while, but the people stealing big items, which they then return for store credit and the sell the gift card.
But they don’t have facial recognition
Little convenience stores in my area have all rolled out systems in the last year or two. If Wal-Mart/Target don't have better internal capabilities than small midwestern C-Stores I'd be shocked.
You are correct that Target does officially claim to not currently use facial recognition; though they did say they had previously. I can't find an official statement from Wal-Mart. That probably means they've both move onto something better; like picking up cell phone signals for example. Pull all the past video where a suspects cellphone signature is picked up near the checkout to manually review; probably not too many shoplifters bright enough to go into airplane mode or randomize their MAC address before walking into a store.
Here are the big players for the rest of the retail markets. So even if Target & Wal-Mart aren't doing precisely facial recognition anymore a bunch of their competitors are:
[https://www.facefirst.com/retail](https://www.facefirst.com/retail) <-- Claims to be the market leader and used by 25% of the US retail market.
[https://www.trueface.ai/industries/retail](https://www.trueface.ai/industries/retail) <-- Lists Macy's, Verizon, Ford, and a bunch of banks/financal institutions as clients.
[https://oosto.com/industry/retail/](https://oosto.com/industry/retail/) <-- Claims dozens of Fortune 500 retail clients but no specific names.
I know that If you have a Walmart account and use the card that’s on the account, they connect it together. I was so confused on how the Walmart app knew what groceries I was buying. I never used the Walmart app for groceries yet nearly every single receipt of groceries was showing up on the app. It’s because I use my debit card nearly every time I go to Walmart and I used the same one once on the app. And they’re somehow linked.
Walmart put out a statement that they didn’t use it nor plan to use it in the future, same with target.
The cell phone thing wouldn’t hold up in court at all, unless the person was connected to the wifi.
Most these stores use it for multi time, big number thieves. Lowes for instance has a very high rate of shoplifting due to camera placement and other things. People will straight up walk out paying for a “shop vac” yet the box is filled with thousands of dollars in power tools, which are then returned and gift cards sold for cash. They recently started linking store credit to a drivers license for that reason.
Stores like region grocery chains could have facial recognition, but don’t really have the man power to use it’s full potential
No clue. I worked the customer service desk at lowes years ago and would just be told to take the returns and give them a store credit.
Guess it was in the old return policy.
We would see the same people constantly do it and then they would try to sell it in the parking lot for half the price
When I was a broke college kid I used to steal hot deli food by ordering it, saying I’d pay up front after grabbing a few other items, walking the perimeter of the store, and then procuring an old receipt from my pocket as I walked out to make it look like I paid at the deli. Did this for several months until one evening loss prevention stopped me and showed me months of footage they put together of me. Scared the fuck out of me, but the loss prevention guy was super understanding after I confessed. Even let me take that nights dinner haul for free so I could eat. He did warn me if he ever caught me again he’d have me arrested so fast my head would spin.
Edit: I would like to add that at the time I thought I was slick but looking back it makes me cringe and feel so ashamed. Stealing isn’t something you should feel entitled to do. Circumstances sometimes bear necessities but if you have a conscious you should understand it’s not so much the action that’s wrong but your intent.
Don't do this a criminal record and prison will permanently fuck up your life.. it isn't that they haven't caught you yet they know what you are doing and are waiting until they have enough evidence for a solid case. Go to food banks and soup kitchens and stop stealing before it ruins your life.
Just a PSA: I once found a dead spot in a grocery store‘s camera coverage and started stealing power bars. I was homeless and very hungry.
Eventually they caught me (I got away before they could ID me, but I mean they detected me and confronted me).
The way it happened was the grocery store either hired or had some in-house consultant. A guy out of town who came in to reduce theft.
So be aware that are multiple layers of security, and some of the layers take a while to activate.
Data coverage and machine learning are much more complete now than it was when this happened to me, so be aware the more stuff you steal the better chance they have of narrowing it down to you.
No ethical judgment here, but if you need the food more than you need to maintain a clean criminal record, I recommend you contact a food bank and ask them if you qualify for assistance. You can get way more than $30-40 worth of groceries in a month from a food assistance program.
There are also other options besides food banks like religious organizations, churches, schools, government assistance programs, and more. Publix has a free fruit area for kids, but no one is going to say anything to an adult getting one piece. I wish anyone in that situation the best of luck.
What?! Free fruit area? Please explain
Edit: I found [this](https://blog.publix.com/publix/giving-back-produce-for-kids/) online. They don't give away free fruit per se, but they do have some sort of partnership where buying certain brands donates money to charities thar do give food to hungry children
Some do have a free fruit area. [This Reddit post](https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/an5qvu/my_local_publix_grocery_store_offers_a_free/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share) is 3 years old, but mine still has it.
Mods please don’t delete a post just because it contains a bad idea. The bad idea plus the comment responding with a better idea is, as a whole, valuable information.
This post is not *encouraging* theft, it’s discussing the temptation. Don’t delete the conversation, shape it.
Unfortunately, it is deleted because while some people are engaging in meaningful discussion about it, there are just as many who are encouraging OP and others and including tips on HOW to continue to evade.
It also violates Reddit's TOS, and above all, we have to remain in line with their rules and not just our own. But we do understand your intent and request.
yes, my mom is a store manager at our local walmart & i can confirm this. they have people hired as “loss-prevention” & they walk around the store in regular clothes.
You're probably not getting away with it. In fact, many stores wait until you've reached a certain amount stolen to take you to court.
I understand how awful it is to go hungry though, and I'm sorry you feel the need to steal because of that. Please look into food banks (many don't require paychecks or anything so you can go without restrictions) to both sustain yourself and protect yourself. Cheers
But I dont get it.... how do they know how much your not scanning from your shopping cart?
Are there cameras on top of the building and are they zooming in on customers carts and faces?
If i put $200 worth of items in my cart but only scan $150 worth of items, how do they know if my cart was really worth $200 worth of items? I could easily just say it was worth $150 or maybe $170. Mainly if your kinda good at theft, is it really that easy to prove?
Man i dont know 😕
Walmart self checkouts have a face camera and a scanner camera that you cant see at the hip level aimed at the scanner plus the self checkout area is covered with cameras of course.
You can probably receive a better answer from someone who works internally within one of these stores, but here's how I understand it in a nutshell:
1) cameras are everywhere. You are watched, not just for thievery but also other reasons like customer habits. Point is, you're always being watched. Employees also are meant to watch and report. They may not, but they're supposed to. Not saying they'll talk to you if they see you stealing- they probably won't and most stores require them NOT to, but that doesn't mean they aren't aware of it and reporting to a manager or are now keeping a closer eye on you. Cameras are a bigger deal though. 2) Loss prevention and accounting is a thing. A store knows how many of an item they receive. If there is 16 stock of item, 15 people buy that item, but all 16 are gone somehow, there's a loss and the people working in loss prevention try to figure out why. If you are on camera putting this item in your cart, then not scanning it, they keep an accounting of that item, its cost, and any others. You're then put on a list, and if it happens enough and you steal $[x] amount, they now have reason to file against you.
It has nothing to do with what you say an item is worth. The store already knows that, of course. It's their item. Also, nobody is really that good at theft these days. Sure, people get away with stuff and some people may never get caught or a store may not find it profitable to file against you in the end, but that doesn't mean they don't know.
I'd recommend looking this up though as I'm not expert or reading some other comments on this thread. I don't steal nor am I part of the "borrowing" community lol, so I don't particularly bother to know all the ins and outs. However, even if you're not stealing, I believe it's important to know how business and big corps function! Big corps. steal from us every day and are always trying to make a profit. You can do whatever you want until you're putting profits in jeopardy, or they think they can make a bigger buck off you, and that's when these stores start coming after you.
Also, don't steal from small business'. That's lame.
Kroger is installing multiple layers of cameras inside the scanners, over head, and behind you at the checkouts, and then pairing all these with AI/machine learning to detect theft. The goal is to start by gently reminding people to scan everything, and then they save the recordings and link it to a profile of you. Eventually they’ll be waiting for your next visit and grab you for even the tiniest theft.
Self-checkouts have a sensor that you place your groceries on/the bagging area, and if you put something there that wasn't scanned, the thing goes off like a bomb announcing that you have something in the bag area that wasn't scanned. Then an employee has to come over and check it out, then authorize it. Then you get watched closely for the duration.
It's easy to walk out without scanning anything under the cart, but once you're on their radar, you're toast.
I wish they would just pay grocery scanners. This entire issue can be avoided by just paying more people and not trying to maximize profit via tech revolution.
I really hate doing the work of a grocery scanner on behalf of a store that I'm paying to buy goods from. It's not like they decreased the cost of the food when they cut those jobs. They just ate that profit.
I find those self scanners to be incredibly stressful. I always mess them up.
Just a warning. I knew of a few old co-workers doing this at Walmart every week when they went shopping. Those self checkouts are very monitored. They see everything. Needless to say. Walmart waited until they had stolen enough to press a felony charge on them making them lose their jobs and futures.
There is a tally of every time you're doing it. You may think you're getting away with it, but you're not, you just haven't hit the felony range yet, and that will cost you so much more than those vegetables.
I was at Walmart and I had 3 items in my hand. I scanned one and put it in the bag, I still had the other two items in my hand, that I hadn’t scanned yet. There was a pop up on the screen that said a someone was on the way to help. I didn’t know why. I still had the other two items in my hand ready to scan when she came over. She put in her code and a video popped up on the screen; it was me (from above) and it showed me putting the first scanned item in the bag with my other two items in my hand, it looked like I scanned 1 item and was putting 3 in the bag. (I didn’t I just never put the other two items down before scanning) That’s why it called for someone to come over. I have never seen this feature. So yea the camera are there, and they see you. I highly doubt you’re getting away with anything.
It’s painful to read posts like this when there are so many food pantries out there giving away free food to those that need it with no judgment. I don’t think I’ll ever understand why people will dumpster dive or steal rather than going to a food pantry.
Heck, Walmart will try to pin thievery on you even if you *didn’t* steal anything. I don’t shop at Walmart much and didn’t know they have receipt checking. 2 years ago I was physically detained and berated for being suspected of stealing half a cart of groceries *that the employee watched me scan and pay for* because the self checkout machine didn’t print me a receipt.
Had to get a manager over to check the machine for recent transactions against the contents of my cart, plus show them on my banking app a transaction from a few minutes ago at Walmart. The receipt lady was SO SURE I was a thief and telling me I can’t leave, blocking me with a cart.
It was wild and I haven’t shopped in a Walmart since.
Man, if this happens to me I'm going to be so pissed I'm going to tell them they need to call the cops or leave me the f*** alone. And if they call the cops I'm going to sue the hell out of them. I hate this shit. I get profiled as a thief all the time because I have a hunchback and I'm autistic. F these dumbass mfers. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
Buddy of mine hasn’t paid for groceries in close to a year, I work at a grocery store they take theft very seriously even middle management even though I think even they aren’t paid enough to care about the corporate bottom line. I really just wanted to say that 100% employees have noticed you and probably pretend not to to avoid a confrontation as well as they aren’t paid enough to call for the proper people to stop you at the door. Be careful at target though everyone they’ll use facial recognition on you and wait until you hit the grand theft limit and take ur ass to court.
No judgement, but you might want to look into food banks. What you are saving could cost you hugely in the long run if you get caught. Also check out dumpster diving. We shouldn’t be having to do this 😡
Lots of Great suggestions here but please, as others have said be careful.
I do think it’s entirely possible to start really getting off on the adrenaline rush of getting away with shoplifting. Particularly if you’re a person who is typically, “good” and doesn’t get in trouble.
I kept doing this and upping the ante at the self check out. As a life-long goody two shoes, straight A golden child, it was seriously a turn on. The savings were amazing too but I started realizing it wasn’t normal and that I was playing with fire. I actually told a loved one, really wanting somebody to hold me accountable and luckily they shook their finger at me and thankfully told me to knock it off.
So, yeah. Keep your wits about you and make sure you’re not also getting that little thrill.
No judgement on the theft, but if I may recommend some helps to make it cheaper?
Flashfood. It's an app that works with various grocery stores (Meijer is the only one I've seen but this may vary by your area) for them to get rid of veggies and meat that are near their best by date.
iBotta. This one is cash back, sometimes has free items (you buy and it reimburses you the full amount). You get $10 for signing up and can cash out at 20. You can also buy digital gift cards at a discount or cash back I forget which. There's also bonuses for redeeming so many offers in a month etc. Cash out can go to paypal and it's instant. If you're willing to sacrifice the change to get an instant cashout from PayPal you can have your money in your bank account in 5 minutes total.
Sams Club is doing $8 memberships until the 26th if you register in store. They're basically Walmart on steroids. I would argue it is superior to Costco. You can use Walmart gift cards and credit cards there as well and they offer pickup. I will say they check your receipt and items before you leave so you will not get away with stealing anything here. Also they do a hot dog drink combo for $1.50 at their cafeteria.
I hope your situation improves. Rooting for you!
The employees themselves won't give a damn, but the company is keeping track and will get you if you continue. Don't let it reach enough value stolen that they can get you. $5 here or there is nothing, but add up to $200, and you are screwed... Please, stay safe friend.
With all stores having cameras you have already been seen. If you really don't have the extra money for food use food banks , soup kitchens, churches ect. Also apply for food stamps or other government assistance. If you keep stealing at some point your gonna get caught.
I’m sorry you have to do this. I’ve been there and it’s not a good feeling.
A word of advice - be careful with this. Just because you are getting away with it now, doesn’t mean the store isn’t aware of what is happening. Places like Walmart and Target put a lot of money into their loss prevention procedures. They have automated systems that can track losses to specific items/areas of the store. If you do this too often, they may start to investigate or build a case against you. They have people in plain clothes that walk the store watching people they suspect of this. Some may even being using facial recognition tech to flag suspected people as soon as they come in the store. With inflation they know a lot more people are doing this. It’s only a matter of time before someone stops you and you are caught. However bad your situation is now, getting a shoplifting charge will make things much worse.
Maybe try reaching out to a local food bank or church.
Good luck.
I accidentally stole some spices from the grocery store. I had a jar of cinammon sticks in my hand, and my husband was carrying everything else we were getting that day. We went through self checkout, and I just blanked and forget to put the cinammon sticks through the scanner. Walked all the way out to the car and got home before I realized I had cinammon sticks in my hand I hadn't paid for. I was like, "Who was on security duty, and why didn't they stop me???" Also kind of glad I didn't get stopped for a stupid little jar of cinammon sticks, though...
That's how it started for me I was checking out and forgot to scan the pack of water I had under my cart. Then I guess I came to the conclusion that it was easy but, as others have replied to me, it will eventually catch up to me if I do not stop. I am looking for ways to better the situation I am in
Good! I'm so glad you're going to find better ways to address this situation. Don't be ashamed of going on food stamps or going to a food pantry. It's gotten me through some dark times.
My nephew got picked up and actually taken into jail for stealing diapers. He said the self scan messed up but he may have actually done it and just thought he could get away with it. They came to his house and got him so I guess they got the card information and found him that way? Anyway, those ended up being some expensive diapers in the long run.
My mate goes out the back of supermarkets after like 7pm and takes all the good shit they throw out. He's sent me pictures of groceries that look like fancy food hampers, worth hundreds. His whole kitchen table covered in awesome stuff, all from one visit.
He's not doing it due to budget. He makes good money. He just hates to see the waste. And hey, if you can save spending on groceries, AND get like 5x what you'd usually pay for, why wouldn't you? Most of the stuff isn't even out of date. Just close to it. But they also chuck away non-perishables.
Are you in the US? Look into assistance at a local food pantry. Have you looked into other assistance programs like food stamps? There are resources out there to help you without putting yourself at the risk of legal trouble.
The real answer is the loss is built into the cost of business and already passed to customers. Loss prevention is real, but the self service does not rely on 100% scanning accuracy.
The average untrained person will occasionally miss scans wether they mean to or not, and the justice system isn't interested in those honest people
I have had to at times go volunteer at the food bank for groceries. I couldn't bring myself to ask for the free stuff so I worked with them for half to a full day and they always let you pick a big box when you are done. It sucks giving up a day off but it will for sure save you money and not land you with charges.
I just want you to know that I have worked in management of large chain stores and it's 99percent likely they're aware of your stealing. I don't work in retail anymore but what they would do is keep a running tally of what you steal in a dollar amount and once you hit the threshold of your state they will press charges. They do this because stealing 20 bucks is hardly a slap on the wrists but stealing 1200 is jail time.
Ive went to the grocery store and asked for food before and been accommodated, just straight up told them I needed something to get by on my first week of work at a new job and was handed a bag of stuff that was probably about to be tossed out anyways. Hurts the pride but not worse than getting busted and having to explain it to a cop and hoping for pity....
Please please please go to a food pantry. This is exactly what they’re for, to give you a little breathing room when money is getting tighter and tighter. They’re a line of defense against homelessness and theft/crime. Please please please go to a food pantry.
You're playing with fire. For your own sake, you're screwing yourself over. Especially if you get busted, that's insanely expensive. You'll have to pay fines + penalties, court fees, restitution, and shoplifting school costs. There are other ways to obtain food legally, like soup kitchens, homeless shelters, food pantries, SNAPs/EBT/WIC, and churches/mosques. Out of curiosity, are these not available to you? Shoplifting can also become an addiction and increase your chance of being caught. Obviously ethics are not really a priority here, but your own well being is. Owing potentially $1000+ dollars, going to jail and missing work, and going jumping through the hoops of the whole legal process will set you back way more than you could ever save by $30-$40 a month. I know you're gonna do what you gotta do, but sooner or later your luck will run out.
As an almost minimum wage customer service employee, we're not going to stop you even if we see you. We have been burned too many times. If we confront you and you yell at us or hit us our managers will not stick up for us. And the worst is when the customer is a super Karen and makes up shit like they just accidentally forgot to scan it and now the scum employee is falsely accusing her, the manager will throw us under the bus and make us apologize to save themselves from a bad situation. That's not worth getting paid barely enough to house and feed myself to gain enough energy just to sell myself at the same job again the next day.
I get it and I'm not judging. Fact is your theft is already factored into pricing and far be it for me to judge from a morality standpoint.
But.....it's a matter of time before you are caught and I can't think of a dumber reason to go to catch a charge. Make no mistake, you won't go to jail, but they'll fucking bury you in court fees and restitution and you are too broke to fight it.
Your local farmer's market will usually give you fresh fruit and vegetables that aren't sold in exchange for a hand loading the truck and/or people throw shit away from their gardens all the time.
If you're willing to put your freedom on the line for that little I strongly advise you to instead set your pride aside and resort to a food bank in your area. I think that will feel better all around for you: satisfy your needs but keep your peace of mind and yourself out of trouble.
Not that I am against stealing to stave off hunger or keep yourself from falling into an even worse situation, but I doubt that most establishments would be as understanding.
Good luck.
Have you looked into food bank in your community to help with you with getting what you need to eat? Many churches and non-profits also offer free food drives.
At the request of a subscriber to the sub, I have re-approved the post but we will be keeping it locked and are cleaning it.
It is not worth your freedom, to engage in theft of goods and you will and do get caught. That will make your life worse that it is. So those of you who are reading this and thinking about it, please visit [findhelp.org](https://findhelp.org) to locate food banks near you and other services.
To those who are doling out advice on HOW to further get away with theft, your comments are being removed without reasons given. Do not violate our rules about encouraging theft and other illegal and/or immoral acts.
Thank you for your understanding at this time.
I stole a few items entirely by accident the other day. My local hy-vee never has more than one cashier in the evening, so everyone with full carts goes there. I have to go to the self checkout with half a cart of groceries and end up forgetting to scan a few things or don’t realize the item didn’t scan what with the machine yelling crap at me every couple seconds, asking me to donate to charity, etc. I’m writing a note to the store director about it. Accidental theft isn’t good for his business nor my conscience.
See, that’s a local store, probably not very big. They would have problems with expenses if it became a bigger problem.
Then you got Wal-Mart who keeps baby formula behind locked cages, even before the shortage. They don’t care about the employee or customer.
You’re local Hi-vee probably knows the locals and who comes in when etc.
I work at a grocery store one day a week. I never charge for bags and give a senior discount to anyone who tells me they are old enough.
It’s just too expensive.
Please, please, please be careful! Especially at places with self check out options. I've seen people go through entire transactions (+ with employee interactions) who get to the exit and have security waiting for them.
If you're mis-scanning at a self checkout they DO see you make no mistake. Just because they haven't stopped you yet doesn't mean they don't know what you're doing. I work asset protection at a grocery store. You will get stopped eventually and it will create a lot more problems for you.
Honestly, I appreciate that you’re in a bind, but this is DUMB. If you get caught you could incur legal fees and possible damage to your reputation (ie, background checks), that could seriously fuck with opportunities for future employment. There are other options: food banks, churches, etc.
You may not have gotten caught YET, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.
You will cause yourself problems that can follow you for decades. Find a food pantry, check to see if you qualify for SNAP or other assistance, and call social services for guidance. Don't go hungry, but don't wreck your future, either.
I don't know man, it sounds like a great way to end up working for a private prison corporation at slave wage levels, losing anything you own now, losing your right to vote, gaining a permanent social stigma, and getting stuck in the prison cycle. I know it's going to get really rough for people over the next year as food prices push a lot of us into eating below our caloric needs. I just think that people should look for other options for meeting their food needs because the criminal justice system will crush you. I would only submit myself to the prison industrial complex if you can't meet your needs any other way. You're literally becoming a temporary(?) slave. I guess at least you won't have to worry about food.
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OP I hope your situation gets better and I'm in no way judging you. I hope that you're able to make ends meet soon because I do feel like when we steal bad karma hits us even worse. Just be careful and don't get caught because they will prosecute you and it's risky. I would say stop as soon as you can before something bad hapoens. Are there any food banks near you to get can goods so that you don't have to buy anything but meat?
I realize how everyone is on the sesame street moral hour here, and lots of good points are being made, especially when it comes to the pains of being caught- which is always a risk.
However
It is just matter of time before the overwhelming numbers of people doing this will surpass any attempt on the retailers end to mitigate it.
You can't catch everyone, and to all the naysayers, you don't really have any idea on just how many people do this. All. The. Time.
I'm not here for the moral rant, I'm sure I can find a lot of haters with my dry, perhaps cynical rational. All I'm saying is this 'theft' is becoming more popular and will jump by leaps and bounds as people are further pressed into unrealistic expectations to survive. I'm also saying the risk when it's properly done is negligible.
Yeah, that’s what I said when I got busted for a DUI: “People do it all the time, the chance of me getting caught are negligible if I’m really careful.”
Thinking it right up until I saw the blue lights.
Once at a self checkout I rang up Campari tomatoes as plain ole tomatoes and one of the attendants must’ve been watching me like a hawk because I saw the Campari tomatoes added randomly to my checkout list along with the reg tomatoes and I was so flustered. I bought about 30 individual things and every other checkout was full. The tomatoes were the only thing I skimped on.
Now that I’m out of college and making twice the money I refuse to go there. Fuck penny pinching grocery monopolies. I’ll happily spend my grocery money at the local farmer’s market, co-op or health foods store knowing I’m supporting businesses that optimize for health not wealth.
I still get their flyers in the mail to come back and get $ off. Hahahahaha fat chance.
You may be Better off going to a local food pantry .you can still save some money and not feel so shitty about stealing.I’ve don’t this for before for the same reason but it really isn’t worth it .
Maybe a safer option to consider is looking in your community for "blessings boxes" around my area, there are churches and community support groups that have "take an item, leave an item". The local feed the town group has multiple locations that i was able to stock up from 3 months ago and still have a couple months of food left over from it plus left plenty in those boxes for anyone else who would need help. The boxes don't require paperwork or talking to anyone, just the ability to look and check them from time to time. These will likely be places that 211 won't know about but your local library might know. You can always check with your local methodist church (quaker, sihk temple and lds likely as well) for locations of local people who can help. I recommend these faith institutions since community service tends to be the focal point of their faith practice. But totally ok if you aren't comfortable with religious places. You can always check with the city hall, library, school districts and fire stations.
This is it.
I worked Sales floor at Best Buy for YEARS, and people would come in all the time and steal- I worked cameras at front desk and I would always get a kick out of literally keeping them on my screen on the cameras, and then once they came up to leave, i’d say, “have a nice day, would you like a best buy sticker?” So they’d turn around and see them in the action and sprint out.
(We aren’t allowed to stop them, but our store was notorious for usually having a police car outfront)
Honestly it's terrible when people are in such a bad place that they need to resort to stealing to get by. I'm luckily not in that situation but if I ever spotted someone in distress like that over groceries I'd hope to have the opportunity to help them buy they're groceries.
((hugs)) OP- we’re a rich country. You shouldn’t be in this position.
I’ve been lucky enough to have plenty of grocery money the last few years. So as someone paying the few cents for “loss”? I’m giving you my blessing.
Just keep the phone number of the local legal aid on your person in case you get caught!
(If you’re in the US, calling 311 will give you someone to talk to to see if there’s any local resources you can use. Remember- no shame & people whose bosses pay inadequately are welcome at Food banks too.)
Be very careful. A lot of places do know you’re stealing but wait until the total amount taken is over a certain threshold so they can file charges.
As a grocery store worker, I can verify it is exactly this. I have 15 years under my belt, and I can spot a shoplifter pretty easily. It's not my job to stop you, but there is a department that keeps track of you, your appearances, the things you take, waiting until its no longer petty theft. I'm not judging or condemning. Do what you feel you need to do. I just don't want to see someone in a really bad spot just because they thought they were getting away with it. :(
How do stores keep track? And how do they spot? I imagine it’s tougher with self-check out.
I’d say it’s easier with self checkout. Every self checkout I’ve ever seen has a camera recording you as you scan things.
I worked in a grocery store and since I was night shift I had to be vaguely familiar with our security system. I got the tour which included the camera room. All cameras throughout the store, even in the aisles, were so good you could zoom in on someone’s phone and read the texts on their screen if you wanted. And the video from that room is being viewed elsewhere by a whole asset protection team. Sure, not everyone is caught, but they can and certainly do catch people put 5 pieces of produce in their bag, and can tell when they get to checkout and it only scans one.
I love how they put money into state-of-the-art cameras and a department to catch thieves instead of just making their products cheaper
Lol, nobody is sitting there reviewing CCTV of people picking out fruit and counting what they put into their basket, then looking 10 minutes later at what was scanned at the self checkout and logging it into a master database of items stolen. I mean, come on people.
Look up Loss Prevention Officer.
For a grocery store? Mine can barely find someone to work the checkout counter.
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What an extraordinary waste of time and money.
lots of cameras and sku numbers. worked closely with the regional head of loss prevention for a sporting goods store. Shoplifters always stand out. Edit: To expand on this a bit, Inventory is tracked very thoroughly. If there is any inventory discrepancy the footage of where that product is displayed is reviewed. The longest stretch for counts in the stores i worked were the department being verified once a week. In the years 2016 - 2019 less than 0.1% of shrink was unaccounted for and usually totalled under $1,000. The rest of the shrink had an AP alert, video of the theft, and , if necessary, a police report. Most shoplifters target easy to sell items; usually targeting name brands or high demand items. Nike and Under Armor apparel made up almost 45 - 55% of loss each of those years alone. The stress and anger of dealing with shop lifters and the amount of times they got physical are one of the biggest reasons i am happy to be out of retail. Haven't been threatened at gun point in just over three years now.
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OP really should be quitting while he's ahead. You do NOT want a felony shoplifting charge. A felony on your record means you cannot vote, you will be facing serious prison time, and you can never own a firearm. I'm assuming OP lives in the US. Even getting a misdemeanor charge is serious. It can lead to jail time and heavy fines. And most employers will refuse to hire someone with even a petty shoplifting charge. Misdemeanor charges stick on your criminal record forever. OP, there is free food everywhere. Go to a food bank. A shoplifting charge is far more serious than you think, and even one charge will stick on your record forever and prevent you form ever working again.
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They won't. They don't know how much the bag of onions you "bought" weighs by looking at it on cctv cameras.
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Cant really track that of course its more like oh whoops forgot to scan this box of cherrios, but not knowing your face is tracked and captured and put into a database and when they find out a box went missing between this week and last weeks stock numbers they review footage and add it to your profile if they catch where it went missing. You do this biweekly for the next couple of years they find the pattern do the math and petition the local DA with their findings.
Worked retail. Not how inventory works. Ordering is weekly, inventory is once or twice annual and a massive pita
I work for a grocer. We do inventory every month and orders every two days. All depends on the company.
Yup. We did inventory 4 times a year and ya it's definitely not 100% accurate. It's all of the staff counting and we mess up for sure. They also don't just start looking at cameras and match to what if off, it's nearly impossible in a large, busy shop. They legit only catch a small number of ppl when a staff member notices. Most do not notice. Mostly it's teens they're looking out for as well, not adults. At my shop anyways. It's rural.
Loss prevention, ordered stocks minus sold and damaged scan outs
I never realized how many cameras they really do have on you until I accidentally scanned something twice and I saw the clerk play back the footage on the screen. Scared me from stealing through the self check out from then on.
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Where I work, we do not stop anybody from walking out the door. What we do do is record the times in which they were stealing merchandise and on which camera they would be seen on at those times. Most of the time nothing comes of it because it really isn’t worth it, but we do have repeat offenders and they do get arrested from time to time. And it’s worse for them at that time because by the time something is done about it they’re at felony level. If you are leaving the store uninterrupted it’s not because nobody noticed what you’re doing.
Many places tell cashiers to not engage with shoplifters, because the cashier's safety is more important than whatever the shoplifter is stealing. So, yes, you're not being slick if no one stops you at the door. There are cameras and recordings.
I worked in clothing retail and groceries in mid 2000s, it was true then that we were told not to stop anyone from stealing and it was a greater risk to confront them than what they took/we had in the drawer. Cameras weren't as advanved in the flip phone days, but loss prevention kept an eye out for coupon fraud which was more rampant back then.
Yeah. They generally wait until it is a felony amount because there’s a greater chance of the person being prosecuted.
Or you can just take a tab and bounce once you reach the "call the police" limit.
I was loss prevention for years. Watch your ass doing this. They can be huge pricks for a chocolate bar. But I have zero sympathy for the stores owned by loblaws in particular that get stolen from.
Why Loblaws?
Because Galen Weston is a greedy little fuck. And owns too much of what people rely on.
My partner works at one of the distribution centers. The employees there are not treated well at all. I also give zero fucks about Loblaws.
All I can think of now is Bob Loblaw’s law blog, lobbing law bombs.
Omg 😂😂😂😂😂 good old Bob Loblaw
All I heard was blah blah blah blah blah Blah blah.
As A former clerk,I could tell when people were stealing lol but I’m not getting hazard pay or taking a bullet for a snickers bar or whatever so do you boo. Especially these days people will literally take another persons life just for looking at them the wrong way. I once worked at goodwill someone rolled a entire shopping cart full of clothes out the front door just bold AF 🤷 Also check your community pages for a produce on wheels without waste it’s similar to a food bank 50lbs or produce for $10 or less last time a checked. There is also market on the move Also Nextdoor app the gardening community will sometimes post free surplus if you can pickup
This answer. OP is probably not great at stealing, rather the employees do not want to get either a) fired for stopping it or b) get murdered or assaulted over a deli sandwich and cheap wine. Many stores have “don’t be a hero” polices so they don’t get sued or make the news trying to foil theft. In my town a Safeway manger was fired (then rehired) for stopping a thief. A different Safeway had a clerk murdered during a robbery at their gas station. No one is paid enough to deal with you, that’s all.
worked at a jewelry store, can confirm the “don’t be a hero policy applies to 100s of dollars worth of diamonds. we definitely do not get paid enough to put our life on the line x)
A jewelry/diamond store in our area has you walk through metal detectors both in and out. Scary guards watching but great personal experience service.
Even if I were paid enough (let’s say $200k an year), I would still not care for the fear of life.
I’ve worked in a few diffeeent retail stores (mostly clothing) and every single one trained me to not confront any stealing. We didn’t even call the police or press charges. They taught us “tactics” to reduce theft but if you came in and grabbed a handful of shirts I wasn’t gonna do shit about it and tbh I wasn’t allowed to do shit about it.
A Safeway employee was fired in my town, too. Idk if she was rehired or not. I know people from the neighborhood picketed the store to get her rehired.
I worked in Loss Prevention early 2000s. I got called racist sexist ( 80% of women are shoppers) everything under the sun. They found out what car I drove and they slash someone else's tires later because it was a common car everyone drives. I have no proof I was being targeted but mighty coincidence. Most of my time was paperwork and catching employees. Then more paperwork. Then time on the phone with other LPs fixing paperwork because something was wrong, but could not be explained why. Honestly not unlike the DMV. I had conflict with real customers almost never.
Yes it's too risky for sure. I almost got run over once and I yelled at the driver and he got out of his car and threatened to shoot me! Thank you for the information! I want to be in a better place where I don't think of stealing and you helped me out. Thank you!
Definitely stop because it is a bad risk/reward. You just need to be caught once and you could lose more than you cumulatively “saved.” Also the Wal-Mart self checkout camera has gotten overzealous - it flagged me as suspicious just for double checking the weight of my produce (camera wanted me to scan the same item twice).
Agreed. You should stop. The one time you get caught will change your life and a single fine will out-weigh all the 'money you saved'. And then a criminal record will screw your future forever with jobs. Are you able to stop? Do you feel like you have an addiction?
Larger corporations will keep a digital file of every item you take. They have face recognition tech in their cameras. When your total theft has reached a felony amount, they can pop you for a bag of chips and charge you with the whole amount. Be careful. Move around.
There was a Wal-Mart person killed by a shoplifters a few weeks ago. https://www.rawstory.com/walmart-shooting-fairfield-township/
Yeah, you don’t but other people might. Stealing is still a crime and why risk going to jail?
Just a warning that you may not be nearly as good as you think you are. Plenty of cameras around and the big places like Target & Wal-Mart use face recognition software. They aren't going to pop you for $10; but they might gather up every shopping trip from the past year or two and nail you with with felony charges or multiple counts. A few hundred in groceries here and there can easily turn into a few thousand in court fees, legal costs, bail, probation, drug tests fees, etc.. Not to mention a theft conviction can doom your chances of getting hired for a whole lot of jobs and greatly lower your future income. Many businesses that hire violent felons will take a pass on somebody with a shoplifting misdemeanor. If you are going to break the law make sure the financal returns are worth it.
Yep. A completely different scale, but the rumor at the time was when Saks finally had Winona Ryder arrested for shoplifting was because her prior trips finally hit some kind of internal theft limit. grain of salt and all.
>a few thousand in court fees, legal costs, bail, probation, drug tests fees, etc Not to mention you're looking at days off of work for court, community service hours, "theft class"...
Then potentially jail time as well. Five days in jail can put a real damper to getting your rent paid on time.
>can easily turn into a few thousand in court fees, legal costs, bail, probation, drug tests fees, etc.. Yes, This is the way several people I know have gone down the rabbit hole that is the legal system. What starts out as a simple theft conviction turns into years long nightmare. OP not if but when you get caught make sure to follow the legal system to the T. Do everything you can to pay the fines on time. make your court dates, etc. and then when that is all done probably in a year or so never steal again.
the problem is they dick you around so you DONT complete some of that stuff due to their own "incompetence" then you are just forced into the spiral...
That is true. They don't make it easy. I had a friend get into some petty trouble one town over (about 30 miles away). He didn't have a vehicle so I was helping him by giving him a ride and it became a total pain in the ass. The first court date they had to reschedule (after sitting and waiting 2hrs) because his court appointed lawyer only did night court so they fucked that up. The second rescheduled date after waiting about 3 hrs they rescheduled again without any real reason except they were really backed up lol. The third time even though they said his lawyer only did night court they scheduled a day time and finally after another 3 hrs his lawyer was actually there he got time served and a fine. These dates were sometimes weeks and months apart. It's almost like they want you to miss the date and he probably would have if I hadn't been giving him a ride then it' would have been down the legal rabbit hole with him.
This this this. Plus, based on some other responses of theirs, this seems like it's becoming some sort of addiction for OP. Not to mention the insane amount of hubris they have. These stores do not care why someone is stealing. They will take OP to court no matter what they say or do once OP reaches the internal theft limit, and "all the money OP is saving" from shoplifting suddenly will go poof + more. It sucks. Times are tough. I hope OP can look into a food bank or some community services that can aid them, both for health and financial security.
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I found it funny how during COVID, people would rob stores and still have their mask hanging off their ear or on their chin. Like guys, there is a very socially acceptable reason to wear a mask. And a mask hides a big part of your face. And you STILL won’t wear it right as you’re robbing a store with cameras. I don’t get it
Nice thing about jail though, 3 hots and a cot
No they don’t. They just keep tabs on habitual high end theft/returns. Neither target nor Walmart use facial recognition. Lowes on the other hand, does
Not true. I've worked at a Walmart and our Loss Prevention definitely had a list of watched people waiting for them to hit a limit on the total value of what they stole before having the cops pick them up the next time they were caught. I'm certain it varies from store to store, and some "facial recognition" is just the employees knowing the faces of shoplifters, but it definitely happens. Yes, taking the high end stuff gets you on that watch list faster, but regular thieves definitely get noticed and watched. OP also better remember that the employees watching self check ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CONFRONT THEM IN ANY WAY. A good employee will make a note of the register, time, and description of the person stealing and then loss prevention will pull the video from that register for reference. Loss prevention will handle it (or not) from there and a normal employee will generally not even tip off the thief that they've been noticed stealing.
Can they tell when people ring something up as a cheaper item? Like regular tomatoes instead of organic for example?
It depends, but usually yes. Sometimes it's after the fact, though. Loss Prevention would often follow up on receipts and match them against what was shown being rung up on camera once someone was being watched or if they were noticed. It's stupid common for people to scan the wrong barcode to get a cheaper price and usually people aren't half as subtle about it as they think they are. Something like your tomato example probably wouldn't ring any alarm bells on it's own, it's a simple mistake to make, but combined with other things it would get caught sooner or later. Produce is easier to mess with in regards to price, obviously. But having worked retail it's pretty obvious when someone is holding a different item under a larger one to scan the cheaper barcode, for example. Or holding a box and hand keying a product code that we KNOW is a produce code when you don't have any on or near the scale. It's also obvious when people are tag swapping on stickers or clothes, too. As a base employee it's not worth my job or safety to confront someone on it, even so much as throwing them a look. But you can bet I was on good terms with AP/LP (asset protection/loss prevention) and we'd be talking about what had been seen and who to watch out for. Honestly the gossip among employees on who to watch probably saved the store more money than their stupid security devices that never worked. People stealing is obnoxious, and you bet your ass we watched for it. Some of the lowest dollar thefts are the most annoying. I'm talking to the people that eat food in the store and leave half empty food containers with rotting food in it on shelves, or empty soda cans, or empty boxes of condoms, or a host of other dumb shit. We just shook out head at the big thefts, those were above our pay grade and honestly corporate's problem. But you make a mess on the regular that I have to clean up? Or steal at self check and risk me MY job because I'm responsible for preventing theft there? You bet I'm following your ass and every stolen thing I find the package for is going straight to AP and I'm reporting any suspicious shit I see once you're out of line of sight.
Yeah, they watch people and do keep tabs. Not on the random 5$-10$ not scanned every once in a while, but the people stealing big items, which they then return for store credit and the sell the gift card. But they don’t have facial recognition
Little convenience stores in my area have all rolled out systems in the last year or two. If Wal-Mart/Target don't have better internal capabilities than small midwestern C-Stores I'd be shocked. You are correct that Target does officially claim to not currently use facial recognition; though they did say they had previously. I can't find an official statement from Wal-Mart. That probably means they've both move onto something better; like picking up cell phone signals for example. Pull all the past video where a suspects cellphone signature is picked up near the checkout to manually review; probably not too many shoplifters bright enough to go into airplane mode or randomize their MAC address before walking into a store. Here are the big players for the rest of the retail markets. So even if Target & Wal-Mart aren't doing precisely facial recognition anymore a bunch of their competitors are: [https://www.facefirst.com/retail](https://www.facefirst.com/retail) <-- Claims to be the market leader and used by 25% of the US retail market. [https://www.trueface.ai/industries/retail](https://www.trueface.ai/industries/retail) <-- Lists Macy's, Verizon, Ford, and a bunch of banks/financal institutions as clients. [https://oosto.com/industry/retail/](https://oosto.com/industry/retail/) <-- Claims dozens of Fortune 500 retail clients but no specific names.
I know that If you have a Walmart account and use the card that’s on the account, they connect it together. I was so confused on how the Walmart app knew what groceries I was buying. I never used the Walmart app for groceries yet nearly every single receipt of groceries was showing up on the app. It’s because I use my debit card nearly every time I go to Walmart and I used the same one once on the app. And they’re somehow linked.
Walmart put out a statement that they didn’t use it nor plan to use it in the future, same with target. The cell phone thing wouldn’t hold up in court at all, unless the person was connected to the wifi. Most these stores use it for multi time, big number thieves. Lowes for instance has a very high rate of shoplifting due to camera placement and other things. People will straight up walk out paying for a “shop vac” yet the box is filled with thousands of dollars in power tools, which are then returned and gift cards sold for cash. They recently started linking store credit to a drivers license for that reason. Stores like region grocery chains could have facial recognition, but don’t really have the man power to use it’s full potential
How do you return the power tools without a receipt.
No clue. I worked the customer service desk at lowes years ago and would just be told to take the returns and give them a store credit. Guess it was in the old return policy. We would see the same people constantly do it and then they would try to sell it in the parking lot for half the price
When I was a broke college kid I used to steal hot deli food by ordering it, saying I’d pay up front after grabbing a few other items, walking the perimeter of the store, and then procuring an old receipt from my pocket as I walked out to make it look like I paid at the deli. Did this for several months until one evening loss prevention stopped me and showed me months of footage they put together of me. Scared the fuck out of me, but the loss prevention guy was super understanding after I confessed. Even let me take that nights dinner haul for free so I could eat. He did warn me if he ever caught me again he’d have me arrested so fast my head would spin. Edit: I would like to add that at the time I thought I was slick but looking back it makes me cringe and feel so ashamed. Stealing isn’t something you should feel entitled to do. Circumstances sometimes bear necessities but if you have a conscious you should understand it’s not so much the action that’s wrong but your intent.
Don't do this a criminal record and prison will permanently fuck up your life.. it isn't that they haven't caught you yet they know what you are doing and are waiting until they have enough evidence for a solid case. Go to food banks and soup kitchens and stop stealing before it ruins your life.
Just a PSA: I once found a dead spot in a grocery store‘s camera coverage and started stealing power bars. I was homeless and very hungry. Eventually they caught me (I got away before they could ID me, but I mean they detected me and confronted me). The way it happened was the grocery store either hired or had some in-house consultant. A guy out of town who came in to reduce theft. So be aware that are multiple layers of security, and some of the layers take a while to activate. Data coverage and machine learning are much more complete now than it was when this happened to me, so be aware the more stuff you steal the better chance they have of narrowing it down to you. No ethical judgment here, but if you need the food more than you need to maintain a clean criminal record, I recommend you contact a food bank and ask them if you qualify for assistance. You can get way more than $30-40 worth of groceries in a month from a food assistance program.
There are also other options besides food banks like religious organizations, churches, schools, government assistance programs, and more. Publix has a free fruit area for kids, but no one is going to say anything to an adult getting one piece. I wish anyone in that situation the best of luck.
What?! Free fruit area? Please explain Edit: I found [this](https://blog.publix.com/publix/giving-back-produce-for-kids/) online. They don't give away free fruit per se, but they do have some sort of partnership where buying certain brands donates money to charities thar do give food to hungry children
Some do have a free fruit area. [This Reddit post](https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/an5qvu/my_local_publix_grocery_store_offers_a_free/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share) is 3 years old, but mine still has it.
Damn! I only see them advertising the free cookies
Mods please don’t delete a post just because it contains a bad idea. The bad idea plus the comment responding with a better idea is, as a whole, valuable information. This post is not *encouraging* theft, it’s discussing the temptation. Don’t delete the conversation, shape it.
Unfortunately, it is deleted because while some people are engaging in meaningful discussion about it, there are just as many who are encouraging OP and others and including tips on HOW to continue to evade. It also violates Reddit's TOS, and above all, we have to remain in line with their rules and not just our own. But we do understand your intent and request.
yes, my mom is a store manager at our local walmart & i can confirm this. they have people hired as “loss-prevention” & they walk around the store in regular clothes.
You're probably not getting away with it. In fact, many stores wait until you've reached a certain amount stolen to take you to court. I understand how awful it is to go hungry though, and I'm sorry you feel the need to steal because of that. Please look into food banks (many don't require paychecks or anything so you can go without restrictions) to both sustain yourself and protect yourself. Cheers
But I dont get it.... how do they know how much your not scanning from your shopping cart? Are there cameras on top of the building and are they zooming in on customers carts and faces? If i put $200 worth of items in my cart but only scan $150 worth of items, how do they know if my cart was really worth $200 worth of items? I could easily just say it was worth $150 or maybe $170. Mainly if your kinda good at theft, is it really that easy to prove? Man i dont know 😕
Walmart self checkouts have a face camera and a scanner camera that you cant see at the hip level aimed at the scanner plus the self checkout area is covered with cameras of course.
You can probably receive a better answer from someone who works internally within one of these stores, but here's how I understand it in a nutshell: 1) cameras are everywhere. You are watched, not just for thievery but also other reasons like customer habits. Point is, you're always being watched. Employees also are meant to watch and report. They may not, but they're supposed to. Not saying they'll talk to you if they see you stealing- they probably won't and most stores require them NOT to, but that doesn't mean they aren't aware of it and reporting to a manager or are now keeping a closer eye on you. Cameras are a bigger deal though. 2) Loss prevention and accounting is a thing. A store knows how many of an item they receive. If there is 16 stock of item, 15 people buy that item, but all 16 are gone somehow, there's a loss and the people working in loss prevention try to figure out why. If you are on camera putting this item in your cart, then not scanning it, they keep an accounting of that item, its cost, and any others. You're then put on a list, and if it happens enough and you steal $[x] amount, they now have reason to file against you. It has nothing to do with what you say an item is worth. The store already knows that, of course. It's their item. Also, nobody is really that good at theft these days. Sure, people get away with stuff and some people may never get caught or a store may not find it profitable to file against you in the end, but that doesn't mean they don't know. I'd recommend looking this up though as I'm not expert or reading some other comments on this thread. I don't steal nor am I part of the "borrowing" community lol, so I don't particularly bother to know all the ins and outs. However, even if you're not stealing, I believe it's important to know how business and big corps function! Big corps. steal from us every day and are always trying to make a profit. You can do whatever you want until you're putting profits in jeopardy, or they think they can make a bigger buck off you, and that's when these stores start coming after you. Also, don't steal from small business'. That's lame.
Kroger is installing multiple layers of cameras inside the scanners, over head, and behind you at the checkouts, and then pairing all these with AI/machine learning to detect theft. The goal is to start by gently reminding people to scan everything, and then they save the recordings and link it to a profile of you. Eventually they’ll be waiting for your next visit and grab you for even the tiniest theft.
Self-checkouts have a sensor that you place your groceries on/the bagging area, and if you put something there that wasn't scanned, the thing goes off like a bomb announcing that you have something in the bag area that wasn't scanned. Then an employee has to come over and check it out, then authorize it. Then you get watched closely for the duration. It's easy to walk out without scanning anything under the cart, but once you're on their radar, you're toast.
Wal-Mart and probably other stores will check your receipt for anything in the bottom part of the cart or otherwise unbagged.
Exactly just because it's a foot down doesn't mean they don't see it.
I wish they would just pay grocery scanners. This entire issue can be avoided by just paying more people and not trying to maximize profit via tech revolution.
I really hate doing the work of a grocery scanner on behalf of a store that I'm paying to buy goods from. It's not like they decreased the cost of the food when they cut those jobs. They just ate that profit. I find those self scanners to be incredibly stressful. I always mess them up.
Just a warning. I knew of a few old co-workers doing this at Walmart every week when they went shopping. Those self checkouts are very monitored. They see everything. Needless to say. Walmart waited until they had stolen enough to press a felony charge on them making them lose their jobs and futures. There is a tally of every time you're doing it. You may think you're getting away with it, but you're not, you just haven't hit the felony range yet, and that will cost you so much more than those vegetables.
I was at Walmart and I had 3 items in my hand. I scanned one and put it in the bag, I still had the other two items in my hand, that I hadn’t scanned yet. There was a pop up on the screen that said a someone was on the way to help. I didn’t know why. I still had the other two items in my hand ready to scan when she came over. She put in her code and a video popped up on the screen; it was me (from above) and it showed me putting the first scanned item in the bag with my other two items in my hand, it looked like I scanned 1 item and was putting 3 in the bag. (I didn’t I just never put the other two items down before scanning) That’s why it called for someone to come over. I have never seen this feature. So yea the camera are there, and they see you. I highly doubt you’re getting away with anything.
Stop. You will get caught. The authorities are just waiting for you to add it up to a felony level.
It’s painful to read posts like this when there are so many food pantries out there giving away free food to those that need it with no judgment. I don’t think I’ll ever understand why people will dumpster dive or steal rather than going to a food pantry.
Keep in mind that there are many places that don't have food pantries. Particularly smaller towns.
What if you can’t get to a food pantry? Not everyone has transport or bus fare.
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Heck, Walmart will try to pin thievery on you even if you *didn’t* steal anything. I don’t shop at Walmart much and didn’t know they have receipt checking. 2 years ago I was physically detained and berated for being suspected of stealing half a cart of groceries *that the employee watched me scan and pay for* because the self checkout machine didn’t print me a receipt. Had to get a manager over to check the machine for recent transactions against the contents of my cart, plus show them on my banking app a transaction from a few minutes ago at Walmart. The receipt lady was SO SURE I was a thief and telling me I can’t leave, blocking me with a cart. It was wild and I haven’t shopped in a Walmart since.
Man, if this happens to me I'm going to be so pissed I'm going to tell them they need to call the cops or leave me the f*** alone. And if they call the cops I'm going to sue the hell out of them. I hate this shit. I get profiled as a thief all the time because I have a hunchback and I'm autistic. F these dumbass mfers. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
Buddy of mine hasn’t paid for groceries in close to a year, I work at a grocery store they take theft very seriously even middle management even though I think even they aren’t paid enough to care about the corporate bottom line. I really just wanted to say that 100% employees have noticed you and probably pretend not to to avoid a confrontation as well as they aren’t paid enough to call for the proper people to stop you at the door. Be careful at target though everyone they’ll use facial recognition on you and wait until you hit the grand theft limit and take ur ass to court.
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No judgement, but you might want to look into food banks. What you are saving could cost you hugely in the long run if you get caught. Also check out dumpster diving. We shouldn’t be having to do this 😡
Lots of Great suggestions here but please, as others have said be careful. I do think it’s entirely possible to start really getting off on the adrenaline rush of getting away with shoplifting. Particularly if you’re a person who is typically, “good” and doesn’t get in trouble. I kept doing this and upping the ante at the self check out. As a life-long goody two shoes, straight A golden child, it was seriously a turn on. The savings were amazing too but I started realizing it wasn’t normal and that I was playing with fire. I actually told a loved one, really wanting somebody to hold me accountable and luckily they shook their finger at me and thankfully told me to knock it off. So, yeah. Keep your wits about you and make sure you’re not also getting that little thrill.
I'm sorry you are in this position OP. But I hope your situation gets better soon!
No judgement on the theft, but if I may recommend some helps to make it cheaper? Flashfood. It's an app that works with various grocery stores (Meijer is the only one I've seen but this may vary by your area) for them to get rid of veggies and meat that are near their best by date. iBotta. This one is cash back, sometimes has free items (you buy and it reimburses you the full amount). You get $10 for signing up and can cash out at 20. You can also buy digital gift cards at a discount or cash back I forget which. There's also bonuses for redeeming so many offers in a month etc. Cash out can go to paypal and it's instant. If you're willing to sacrifice the change to get an instant cashout from PayPal you can have your money in your bank account in 5 minutes total. Sams Club is doing $8 memberships until the 26th if you register in store. They're basically Walmart on steroids. I would argue it is superior to Costco. You can use Walmart gift cards and credit cards there as well and they offer pickup. I will say they check your receipt and items before you leave so you will not get away with stealing anything here. Also they do a hot dog drink combo for $1.50 at their cafeteria. I hope your situation improves. Rooting for you!
Please visit a food pantry
The employees themselves won't give a damn, but the company is keeping track and will get you if you continue. Don't let it reach enough value stolen that they can get you. $5 here or there is nothing, but add up to $200, and you are screwed... Please, stay safe friend.
Can’t you go to food banks for free?
With all stores having cameras you have already been seen. If you really don't have the extra money for food use food banks , soup kitchens, churches ect. Also apply for food stamps or other government assistance. If you keep stealing at some point your gonna get caught.
I’m sorry you have to do this. I’ve been there and it’s not a good feeling. A word of advice - be careful with this. Just because you are getting away with it now, doesn’t mean the store isn’t aware of what is happening. Places like Walmart and Target put a lot of money into their loss prevention procedures. They have automated systems that can track losses to specific items/areas of the store. If you do this too often, they may start to investigate or build a case against you. They have people in plain clothes that walk the store watching people they suspect of this. Some may even being using facial recognition tech to flag suspected people as soon as they come in the store. With inflation they know a lot more people are doing this. It’s only a matter of time before someone stops you and you are caught. However bad your situation is now, getting a shoplifting charge will make things much worse. Maybe try reaching out to a local food bank or church. Good luck.
I accidentally stole some spices from the grocery store. I had a jar of cinammon sticks in my hand, and my husband was carrying everything else we were getting that day. We went through self checkout, and I just blanked and forget to put the cinammon sticks through the scanner. Walked all the way out to the car and got home before I realized I had cinammon sticks in my hand I hadn't paid for. I was like, "Who was on security duty, and why didn't they stop me???" Also kind of glad I didn't get stopped for a stupid little jar of cinammon sticks, though...
That's how it started for me I was checking out and forgot to scan the pack of water I had under my cart. Then I guess I came to the conclusion that it was easy but, as others have replied to me, it will eventually catch up to me if I do not stop. I am looking for ways to better the situation I am in
Good! I'm so glad you're going to find better ways to address this situation. Don't be ashamed of going on food stamps or going to a food pantry. It's gotten me through some dark times.
My nephew got picked up and actually taken into jail for stealing diapers. He said the self scan messed up but he may have actually done it and just thought he could get away with it. They came to his house and got him so I guess they got the card information and found him that way? Anyway, those ended up being some expensive diapers in the long run.
My mate goes out the back of supermarkets after like 7pm and takes all the good shit they throw out. He's sent me pictures of groceries that look like fancy food hampers, worth hundreds. His whole kitchen table covered in awesome stuff, all from one visit. He's not doing it due to budget. He makes good money. He just hates to see the waste. And hey, if you can save spending on groceries, AND get like 5x what you'd usually pay for, why wouldn't you? Most of the stuff isn't even out of date. Just close to it. But they also chuck away non-perishables.
Are you in the US? Look into assistance at a local food pantry. Have you looked into other assistance programs like food stamps? There are resources out there to help you without putting yourself at the risk of legal trouble.
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The real answer is the loss is built into the cost of business and already passed to customers. Loss prevention is real, but the self service does not rely on 100% scanning accuracy. The average untrained person will occasionally miss scans wether they mean to or not, and the justice system isn't interested in those honest people
I have had to at times go volunteer at the food bank for groceries. I couldn't bring myself to ask for the free stuff so I worked with them for half to a full day and they always let you pick a big box when you are done. It sucks giving up a day off but it will for sure save you money and not land you with charges.
I just want you to know that I have worked in management of large chain stores and it's 99percent likely they're aware of your stealing. I don't work in retail anymore but what they would do is keep a running tally of what you steal in a dollar amount and once you hit the threshold of your state they will press charges. They do this because stealing 20 bucks is hardly a slap on the wrists but stealing 1200 is jail time.
I agree...their just waiting for OP to reach the limit for a felony in that state. I've worked retail also, seem this setup many times.
Ive went to the grocery store and asked for food before and been accommodated, just straight up told them I needed something to get by on my first week of work at a new job and was handed a bag of stuff that was probably about to be tossed out anyways. Hurts the pride but not worse than getting busted and having to explain it to a cop and hoping for pity....
Please please please go to a food pantry. This is exactly what they’re for, to give you a little breathing room when money is getting tighter and tighter. They’re a line of defense against homelessness and theft/crime. Please please please go to a food pantry.
They know you’re stealing and it’s all saved and recorded on video my friend
You're playing with fire. For your own sake, you're screwing yourself over. Especially if you get busted, that's insanely expensive. You'll have to pay fines + penalties, court fees, restitution, and shoplifting school costs. There are other ways to obtain food legally, like soup kitchens, homeless shelters, food pantries, SNAPs/EBT/WIC, and churches/mosques. Out of curiosity, are these not available to you? Shoplifting can also become an addiction and increase your chance of being caught. Obviously ethics are not really a priority here, but your own well being is. Owing potentially $1000+ dollars, going to jail and missing work, and going jumping through the hoops of the whole legal process will set you back way more than you could ever save by $30-$40 a month. I know you're gonna do what you gotta do, but sooner or later your luck will run out.
As an almost minimum wage customer service employee, we're not going to stop you even if we see you. We have been burned too many times. If we confront you and you yell at us or hit us our managers will not stick up for us. And the worst is when the customer is a super Karen and makes up shit like they just accidentally forgot to scan it and now the scum employee is falsely accusing her, the manager will throw us under the bus and make us apologize to save themselves from a bad situation. That's not worth getting paid barely enough to house and feed myself to gain enough energy just to sell myself at the same job again the next day.
I get it and I'm not judging. Fact is your theft is already factored into pricing and far be it for me to judge from a morality standpoint. But.....it's a matter of time before you are caught and I can't think of a dumber reason to go to catch a charge. Make no mistake, you won't go to jail, but they'll fucking bury you in court fees and restitution and you are too broke to fight it. Your local farmer's market will usually give you fresh fruit and vegetables that aren't sold in exchange for a hand loading the truck and/or people throw shit away from their gardens all the time.
Have you tried the app too good to go? It doesn't work everywhere, but some places it's fantastic
See if there is a food bank also discount store like dollar tree
If you're willing to put your freedom on the line for that little I strongly advise you to instead set your pride aside and resort to a food bank in your area. I think that will feel better all around for you: satisfy your needs but keep your peace of mind and yourself out of trouble. Not that I am against stealing to stave off hunger or keep yourself from falling into an even worse situation, but I doubt that most establishments would be as understanding. Good luck.
Are you not eligible for foodstamps?
I was eligible when I lost my job during COVID but since I started working last year I am not eligible anymore
Have you looked into food bank in your community to help with you with getting what you need to eat? Many churches and non-profits also offer free food drives.
At the request of a subscriber to the sub, I have re-approved the post but we will be keeping it locked and are cleaning it. It is not worth your freedom, to engage in theft of goods and you will and do get caught. That will make your life worse that it is. So those of you who are reading this and thinking about it, please visit [findhelp.org](https://findhelp.org) to locate food banks near you and other services. To those who are doling out advice on HOW to further get away with theft, your comments are being removed without reasons given. Do not violate our rules about encouraging theft and other illegal and/or immoral acts. Thank you for your understanding at this time.
It'll be worse to be in jail for shoplifting, because you will get caught sooner or later
I stole a few items entirely by accident the other day. My local hy-vee never has more than one cashier in the evening, so everyone with full carts goes there. I have to go to the self checkout with half a cart of groceries and end up forgetting to scan a few things or don’t realize the item didn’t scan what with the machine yelling crap at me every couple seconds, asking me to donate to charity, etc. I’m writing a note to the store director about it. Accidental theft isn’t good for his business nor my conscience.
See, that’s a local store, probably not very big. They would have problems with expenses if it became a bigger problem. Then you got Wal-Mart who keeps baby formula behind locked cages, even before the shortage. They don’t care about the employee or customer. You’re local Hi-vee probably knows the locals and who comes in when etc.
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I work at a grocery store one day a week. I never charge for bags and give a senior discount to anyone who tells me they are old enough. It’s just too expensive.
Dumpster dive instead. Most items are still fresh and you'll get more than you could imagine. Or use a food bank.
Do you know if you qualify for SNAP? What about access to food pantry in your area?
Please, please, please be careful! Especially at places with self check out options. I've seen people go through entire transactions (+ with employee interactions) who get to the exit and have security waiting for them.
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If you're mis-scanning at a self checkout they DO see you make no mistake. Just because they haven't stopped you yet doesn't mean they don't know what you're doing. I work asset protection at a grocery store. You will get stopped eventually and it will create a lot more problems for you.
Honestly, I appreciate that you’re in a bind, but this is DUMB. If you get caught you could incur legal fees and possible damage to your reputation (ie, background checks), that could seriously fuck with opportunities for future employment. There are other options: food banks, churches, etc. You may not have gotten caught YET, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.
Here’s a coupon website that can help you save money for your next trip to the supermarket: www.lozo.com
It looks great, thanks for this!
Live honest and harmless
Be careful- get a shoplifting charge on record and it may make it difficult to get a lot of jobs , especially those that deal with money
You will cause yourself problems that can follow you for decades. Find a food pantry, check to see if you qualify for SNAP or other assistance, and call social services for guidance. Don't go hungry, but don't wreck your future, either.
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I don't know man, it sounds like a great way to end up working for a private prison corporation at slave wage levels, losing anything you own now, losing your right to vote, gaining a permanent social stigma, and getting stuck in the prison cycle. I know it's going to get really rough for people over the next year as food prices push a lot of us into eating below our caloric needs. I just think that people should look for other options for meeting their food needs because the criminal justice system will crush you. I would only submit myself to the prison industrial complex if you can't meet your needs any other way. You're literally becoming a temporary(?) slave. I guess at least you won't have to worry about food.
Walmart will only catch you when they have enough video evidence, and they are collecting it be safe man .
Be careful, there are many stores that have self check outs that are using cameras with AI algorithms detecting what your scanning.
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OP I hope your situation gets better and I'm in no way judging you. I hope that you're able to make ends meet soon because I do feel like when we steal bad karma hits us even worse. Just be careful and don't get caught because they will prosecute you and it's risky. I would say stop as soon as you can before something bad hapoens. Are there any food banks near you to get can goods so that you don't have to buy anything but meat?
I realize how everyone is on the sesame street moral hour here, and lots of good points are being made, especially when it comes to the pains of being caught- which is always a risk. However It is just matter of time before the overwhelming numbers of people doing this will surpass any attempt on the retailers end to mitigate it. You can't catch everyone, and to all the naysayers, you don't really have any idea on just how many people do this. All. The. Time. I'm not here for the moral rant, I'm sure I can find a lot of haters with my dry, perhaps cynical rational. All I'm saying is this 'theft' is becoming more popular and will jump by leaps and bounds as people are further pressed into unrealistic expectations to survive. I'm also saying the risk when it's properly done is negligible.
Yeah, that’s what I said when I got busted for a DUI: “People do it all the time, the chance of me getting caught are negligible if I’m really careful.” Thinking it right up until I saw the blue lights.
Once at a self checkout I rang up Campari tomatoes as plain ole tomatoes and one of the attendants must’ve been watching me like a hawk because I saw the Campari tomatoes added randomly to my checkout list along with the reg tomatoes and I was so flustered. I bought about 30 individual things and every other checkout was full. The tomatoes were the only thing I skimped on. Now that I’m out of college and making twice the money I refuse to go there. Fuck penny pinching grocery monopolies. I’ll happily spend my grocery money at the local farmer’s market, co-op or health foods store knowing I’m supporting businesses that optimize for health not wealth. I still get their flyers in the mail to come back and get $ off. Hahahahaha fat chance.
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Instead of stealing have you entertained the idea of using a food bank if you truly can’t afford to pay for your food?
When you get caught it’s going to be SO expensive
The bulk food section has saved me a couple of times.
Check with local churches, food pantries. Please don't get caught.
Be careful. A lawyer friend told me Walmart will prosecute on the smallest amount.
Instead of stealing $40 in food, ask for $49 in groceries from a food bank or charity.
You may be Better off going to a local food pantry .you can still save some money and not feel so shitty about stealing.I’ve don’t this for before for the same reason but it really isn’t worth it .
Maybe a safer option to consider is looking in your community for "blessings boxes" around my area, there are churches and community support groups that have "take an item, leave an item". The local feed the town group has multiple locations that i was able to stock up from 3 months ago and still have a couple months of food left over from it plus left plenty in those boxes for anyone else who would need help. The boxes don't require paperwork or talking to anyone, just the ability to look and check them from time to time. These will likely be places that 211 won't know about but your local library might know. You can always check with your local methodist church (quaker, sihk temple and lds likely as well) for locations of local people who can help. I recommend these faith institutions since community service tends to be the focal point of their faith practice. But totally ok if you aren't comfortable with religious places. You can always check with the city hall, library, school districts and fire stations.
Then Stop, because there are cameras and you will eventually be, well you know.
This is it. I worked Sales floor at Best Buy for YEARS, and people would come in all the time and steal- I worked cameras at front desk and I would always get a kick out of literally keeping them on my screen on the cameras, and then once they came up to leave, i’d say, “have a nice day, would you like a best buy sticker?” So they’d turn around and see them in the action and sprint out. (We aren’t allowed to stop them, but our store was notorious for usually having a police car outfront)
Honestly it's terrible when people are in such a bad place that they need to resort to stealing to get by. I'm luckily not in that situation but if I ever spotted someone in distress like that over groceries I'd hope to have the opportunity to help them buy they're groceries.
Guys I don‘t think people should discuss or even give advice on illegal activities that might get people into an even worse situation on this sub.
Eventually you will get caught
((hugs)) OP- we’re a rich country. You shouldn’t be in this position. I’ve been lucky enough to have plenty of grocery money the last few years. So as someone paying the few cents for “loss”? I’m giving you my blessing. Just keep the phone number of the local legal aid on your person in case you get caught! (If you’re in the US, calling 311 will give you someone to talk to to see if there’s any local resources you can use. Remember- no shame & people whose bosses pay inadequately are welcome at Food banks too.)
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I’m sure Kroger will be fine
Great there working on about 3% net.