Please post your best tip for shoplifting.
I worked at target for a bit and if I suspected someone was trying to steal something, especially from the baby section I’d find something else to do in another section, that way I wouldn’t get fired and they wouldn’t get caught. It was especially fun when I got called to backup cashiering and then I would sometimes end up checking them out and I’d pull some “mistake” so I could discount stuff further, always felt good at the end of those days. Another one was I would accidentally forget to scan some items that wouldn’t trigger the doors (or a lot of times the doors were broken) and especially if they were paying with SNAP or WIC I would pull random discounts up
At Target? pretty much anything that’s not spider wrapped, in electronics, or just other general hot commodities. It’s hard to be specific because it’s always kinda changing but (depending on your target ofc) if you can play it cool and only have like one thing that’s free you can usually just be like “oh my bad must’ve missed that” and then pay for it. Be careful if you do steal from Target though because they do have a forensics lab and they go through the security cameras and keep a binder full of frequent shoplifters and they will call the police if you walk in and are in the binder
so basically of all the places to shoplift target might not be the best, I wish they were dumber but they full on arrest people and have plainclothes security walking around
It looks like Target is one of the chains that tracks shoplifters until their cumulative theft praxis qualifies as a felony. Unbelievably scummy.
https://losspreventionmedia.com/employees-claim-retailer-waits-to-arrest-shoplifters/
:Care-Comrade: They told us to prioritize speed over everything while cashiering and so I just kinda ran with it. Not always but if you say that you think an item was <20% cheaper than the price that rings up they won’t check they’ll just go with your word but if the lines aren’t like super long they’ll probably walkie someone to check. Pretty much everyone got a discount of some kind unless they were a prick to me/obviously a chud (maga hats)
In Soviet Russia, citizens can barely make it to the end of the month without stealing food from stores.
MaxD’s Tips For Successful Supermarket Skullduggery
It’s much easier to shoplift when you go through the check out and make some purchases. Trying to walk around a store and then straight out again without a purchase is suspicious as fuck to the little piggies who work in loss prevention.
Dress nice or at least not like “the kind of person who shoplifts.” Business casual is ideal since it’s boring and not going to draw attention while projecting enough of an aura of affluence to avoid the attention of LP.
Obviously small and expensive is what you want to target: pay for things that are bulky and cheap while pocketing that tasty little bottle of sake or what have you. DO NOT be like my dumbass friend who tried to walk out with a giant loaf of sourdough under his jacket and got shook down for $200 by LP so they wouldn’t call the cops.
If you are targeting something that is often shoplifted like deodorant or baby formula, put it in your basket or cart and only later transfer it when you are in an aisle that attracts less attention like cleaning supplies or something.
The most important bit of advice is this: stay loose and groovy. For the love of Marx, don’t act all sketchy by looking around/checking over your shoulder, that’s a sure way to attract unwanted attention. Work on your roleplaying: you are just like any other yuppie in there with no cares about the ever-increasing cost of food and personal hygiene items.
If at all possible be white or south east asian, the more one looks like the type of person LP is profiling for the more scrutiny you’ll receive. Don’t think however that this is only possible for those whose appearance is less likely to attract unwanted attention. The most gifted shoplifter I ever knew was a black guy who had a decent job and possessed an abundance of confidence, which is the most important thing for any rogue to possess. What you definitely do not want to have is the opposite of that: an aura of desperation. They can smell it.
I have a trick I call The Straight Arrow. Here it goes.
Amongst a shopping trip where you are legitimately purchasing most of the items, you grab some ludicrously overpriced thing like toothbrush replacement heads or shaving blades. Don’t put it in your jacket, which is too conspicuous. Put it in the cart.
At checkout, grab something cheap like a soda or candy. Do NOT buy it, just keep it in your cart in a visible place. Scan your items at the robot scanner, leaving the the small, expensive item somewhere at the bottom of the cart. At some point, subtly place a bag over the small but expensive item. After you pay, volunteer to go up to the nearest clerk and tell them you changed your mind about the soda/candy and you are handing it back. Put on your best face.
This disarms any employee who thinks that just maybe they saw you cover up those razor blades. “Look, they could have totally had a free Coke but they returned it. I didn’t see what I thought. This person is a straight arrow!” If there is a nosy shopper behind you who’d love to tattle, they see you having a discussion with the clerk after paying and handing something back. To them, it looks like you are being honest and taking care of the thing they maybe thought you were trying to get away with.
This trick has never once failed me. Caveat, tho: I’m white.
Buy something to throw off suspicion. Wear baggy clothes. Take stuff out of boxes if you can, either in the bathrooms or in clothes racks that aren’t as parallel as the regular isles. Asking an employee a question also makes you seem less suspicious. Steal a little at a time from a lot of different stores. I’ve never stolen anything much bigger than my fist, so idk how hard it must be to steal food items. If you’re in a target with a Starbucks close to the starbucks’s closing time, it’s worth asking them if they’d be willing to give you the sandwiches and pastries they’re throwing away, or at least ask them to dump them in a trashcan that isn’t behind the counter (they’re wrapped individually). Bring a purse and slip stuff in there.
Is it better to buy some stuff normally while lifting a few things, or just walk about? I’m concerned that if cameras catch you lifting something, if you pay with a card you could get caught.
Literally snatch and grab. Know what you’re looking for, go in and beeline for it, get out of camerasight before hiding it, then beeline right out.
Amateurs are obvs when they spend like 10 minutes loafing around one area, or spending a lot of browsing without grabbing anything. That and they meerkat like crazy.
Thats a good point. In my experience I don’t believe AP has a lot of access to cashier records, maybe at the end of the night after the store has closed, but at a big box retailer there are thousands of transactions a day, and AP won’t have your name unless you’ve already been caught. I worked at Target, I doubt the registers even take note of names. But buying even just one thing (perhaps with cash to be on the safe side) to go through the check out section of the store, gives you more credibility than just walking about and then walking out.
I did that at a Target once, scanned a regular razor and instead of a beard trimmer. Didn’t set off the “unexpected item” thing so I just paid for the razor and walked out. It set off the alarm, but it was also super busy and I walked out with like 5 other people and didn’t stop to be frisked.
