Hide your toes, hide your feet — there are people out there willing to pose as podiatry students in order to get a peep at your de-socked digits… and then trying to get a taste of them. A Walmart customer in North Carolina told police she had a very unsettling encounter with a man who convinced her to remove her socks and shoes at the store.

Police have arrested a suspect and charged him with assault after the woman claimed that he sucked her toes at Walmart, reports WSOCTV.com.

As for how he wheedled her into removing her footwear, the woman said she was in the shoe department at the big box store when the man talked her into trying on a couple pairs.

He claimed to be a podiatrist student, because everyone knows when you happen to meet a podiatrist, it’s only polite to show him or her your feet. Things got weird though when the victim said he took her foot and put it into his mouth to suck her toes.

Police say he attempted the same move at another Walmart a few miles away, but this time spun a story of conducting a survey on the feet of different races and nationalities, reports the Associated Press (link has autoplay video). That time, however, the intended victim left the scene when he asked her to take off her socks.

Just a reminder — you don’t have to take your shoes off for everyone who asks, and you should certainly keep your socks on. It’s the only way to stay safe.

VIDEO: Man arrested, accused of sucking woman’s toes at Walmart [WSOCTV.com]
Toe sucker sought after Walmart incident [Associated Press]

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