This self-checkout shoplifting trick revealed is even more sneaky than the common “switcheroo” theft tactic.
As self-checkout becomes more prevalent in large stores like Walmart and Target, retailers are losing more money due to theft.
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“Theft is a problem, more than ever,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon told CNBC in December.
McMillon warned that if the problem is not addressed, “prices will go up or stores will close.”
One of the most common tactics thieves use in self-checkout is the “switcher.”
The term has been around since at least 2018, when The Atlantic reported it, along with shoplifting terms like “banana trick” and “pass around.”
“The switcheroo” is when a shopper peels off a sticker from the cheaper one and sticks it over the barcode of the more expensive one.
In December, police arrested two shoplifters who allegedly implemented new theft tactics at Walmart.
According to the Altoona Mirror, the alleged thieves Tammy Koch, 37, and John Cesser, 21, reportedly loaded their shopping carts, walked through a self-checkout and left the store.
However, thanks to anti-theft cart technology, it’s pretty hard to get your shopping cart out of the store.
If a cart containing stolen goods is stolen across the boundary, the cart’s wheels will immediately lock, preventing further movement of the cart.
This happened in Ohio to a man who allegedly pushed a shopping cart filled with stolen wrapped meat and suitcases out of a Walmart.
Two other thieves allegedly stole from Walmart by tricking cashiers into saying they had already paid for a cart full of goods using multiple credit cards.
A Texas man, whom police called a “magician,” stole money from a Walmart cashier, saying he gave them wrong change after hiding some of the returned money.
“There’s been a lot of theft at my store,” a Walmart employee in Washington told Insider.
“If companies actually visited at the store level and talked to actual employees dealing with theft, they might understand how to fix the problem.
“They’re turning stores into more self-checkouts with fewer employees, which is where most thefts happen,” an employee said.
The US Sun reached out to Walmart for comment, but did not hear back by the time the article was published.
