While we know that common items like detergent, pregnancy tests, weight loss pills, and diapers, and even baby formula can be popular with shoplifters, stores in Hawaii are facing a new trend in thievery: Cans of Spam are flying off shelves as folks with sticky fingers try to make a quick buck. [More]
shoplifting
Feds Break Up $20M Shoplifting Ring That Stole Clothing From Coast To Coast
By 9.7.17
Federal authorities say they’ve arrested more than a dozen people and broken up a massive shoplifting network that trafficked in some $20 million in apparel and other items stolen from stores all over the country and then sold in Mexico. [More]
Two Men Simply Walk Out Of Walmart After Scooping Up 5 TVs
By 8.7.17
Two men in Pennsylvania were able to slip into the stock area of a Walmart store at lunchtime last Tuesday, walking out with five large flat-panel televisions. How? They didn’t disguise themselves as store employees, and were caught on camera, but no one stopped them. Now police are looking for help identifying them. [More]
People Stealing Stuff From Stores Reaches All-Time High
By 6.22.17 — Updated: 6.27.17
Retailers are spending less on loss prevention, and maybe that’s not such a good idea. In 2016, the rate of “shrinkage,” or inventory that goes missing for any reason, increased to 1.44% of all sales, or a total of almost $48.9 billion. [More]
Shoplifters’ 10 Favorite Things To Steal During The Holidays
By 11.1.16
In the shopping rush of the holiday season, it’s always wise to keep in mind that not everyone is in the giving mood: shoplifters do a lot of damage during this busy time of year, and there are certain things they like stealing better than others. [More]
Self-Service Checkouts Turn Us Into Shoplifters Unless We See Ourselves On Screen
By 8.10.16
Let’s face it, shoppers: self-checkout is a common feature, and generally expanding to more retailers. It’s a global phenomenon, which is why researchers in Britain audited transactions to find out the “shrinkage” rate at self-checkouts in several countries, and how to keep the rate lower. Their goal: to keep people from sneaking items into their bags, but without having to pay security guards or watch shoppers closely. [More]
Do You Have A Constitutional Right To Shop At Home Depot?
By 8.5.16
It’s not uncommon for a retailer to ban shoplifters from ever stepping foot on the premises again. However, a California man convicted of stealing from a Home Depot says that being barred from going back to the store — or any other Depot in the state — is a violation of his rights. [More]
Walmart Employees Charged With Manslaughter In February Death Of Shoplifting Suspect
By 8.3.16
How seriously should retailers take loss prevention? Back in February, a Florida man in his 60s filled a cart with DVDs in the wee hours of the morning, What was different from most incidents was that store employees chased him and pinned him to the ground until police arrived. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital, and police are done investigating the incident, charging the three employees who chased and restrained him with manslaughter. [More]
Walmart Trying To Cut Back On Calls To Cops By Offering Small-Time Shoplifters Chance To Reform
By 6.24.16
Police who work near any large retail store are probably all too familiar with responding to calls for shoppers caught trying to make off with a pack of socks or a pilfered Pepsi. A test program at Walmart aims to reduce these nuisance calls by giving small-time shoplifters a second chance. [More]
Alleged Shoplifter Gets Caught, Guzzles Flea Medicine
By 4.18.16
A man at a Menards store in Michigan was caught carrying 19 boxes of K9 Advantix, a flea and tick preventive medication for dogs, past all of the cash registers, and security staff swooped in. Security staff accused him of shoplifting and contacted the police, but the suspect decided that he would rather go to the hospital instead. [More]
Multi-Tasking Shoplifting Suspect Left 11-Year Old He Was Watching Behind At Walmart
By 3.25.16
There simply aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done that you need to, right? Maybe that’s why a man who was keeping an eye on an acquaintance’s 11-year-old brought the boy with him to a Pennsylvania Walmart to pick up some tools. Police say that he walked out of the store without paying for the tools, leaving the boy behind. [More]
Woman Accused Of Shoplifting At Walmart Flashed Security Staff, Then Bit Them
By 3.16.16
A woman who set off the security sensors at the Walmart in Blackman Township, MI in the wee hours of Monday morning wanted to show employees that she had nothing to hide. Police say that’s why she pulled her shirt up and her pants down to show that she had no merchandise concealed under her clothing. However, there was the matter of the cart full of merchandise that she pushed into the foyer. [More]
Police, IGA Seek Man Who Stuffed $200 Worth Of Ribeyes Down Pants
By 3.9.16
Our fans know that Consumerist is the place to find stories about important issues facing consumers, and also the latest news about people stuffing packages of meat down their pants. Law enforcement and the local IGA grocery store are looking for a man who stuffed $200 worth of ribeyes in his pants and hoodie last Friday while grocery shopping. [More]
Thief Dons Walmart Smock, Steals Four Flat Screen TVs
By 2.22.16
In September, an alleged thief posing as a Walmart employee walked into a Dallas-area store, grabbed four big screen TVs, and simply walked out the way he came. That theft apparently worked so well, another shoplifter pulled the same stunt in Virginia. [More]
Police: Would-Be Macy’s Thief Pepper Sprayed, Bit Worker So Accomplice Could Get Away
By 2.12.16
Sure, Consumerist has covered many a story of a thief who tries to get away from store employees by biting into arms and occasionally chomping off the odd finger. We’ve also heard several tales of would-be thieves and bad customers using pepper spray to get their way. But an alleged shoplifting duo recently combined the two tactics while attempting to steal from a Pennsylvania Macy’s. [More]
NYC In Need Of A Dairy Hero As Rash Of Ice Cream Pint Thefts Threatens City’s Häagen-Dazs Supply
By 2.12.16
Go into your freezer, grab that pint of Häagen-Dazs and hold it tight, New Yorkers: someone out there is targeting high-end ice cream in a series of thefts that may or may not be indicative of a dairy shoplifting ring. [More]
Police Investigating Death During Walmart Shoplifting Incident
By 2.11.16
Early on Sunday morning, a 62-year-old man piled DVDs worth $380.74 in a shopping cart at a Florida Walmart and headed for the door. When he couldn’t produce a receipt for the greeter, he ran out the door, and employees followed him. He collapsed and was resuscitated, but died in the hospital 12 hours later. [More]
Would-Be Macy’s Burglar Pulls Ploy From ‘Home Alone 2’ Handbook
By 1.29.16
The things that work in the movies, don’t always – or almost never – result in the same outcome in real life. Just ask a would-be thief in Oregon who tried to pull a Home Alone 2 ploy to rob a local department store. [More]
