It’s the definition of small-time crime: a thief who was apparently in a hurry to get some free frosty snacks allegedly walked off with the frequent-customer stamp at a California shaved ice stand. He also grabbed some cash from the tip jar while he was at it. The owners put their faith in the power of public shaming and posted the surveillance video on their Facebook page.

Counterfeit loyalty cards could have resulted in a big loss for the business, after all. Not honoring cards that belong to customers who earned their stamps the honest way would be unfair. Fortunately, the public-shaming route worked: customers identified the culprit by his large tattoo. He returned the “lost” stamp, but not the cash.

It’s great that this crime was solved, but we’re not super comfortable with their methods: what if customers identified the wrong man, and the shop named an innocent customer on their Facebook page?

Alleged Thief Returns Stamp After Social-Media Shaming [CBS Sacramento]

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