Here at Consumerist, we aim to bring you the freshest coverage of people stuffing store merchandise down their pants to steal it. While for some reason the most common item that ends up down shoppers’ trousers is packages of meat, other items ranging from a chainsaw to puppies using this method, police are looking for a man who was caught on camera stuffing two brass statues down his pants at an antique store. [More]
shoplifting
Judge Backtracks On Walmart Shoplifter’s Lifetime Ban From All U.S. Stores
By 7.29.15
Earlier this week a Walmart shoplifter said she likely wouldn’t follow a court order barring her from stepping inside any of the retailer’s thousands of locations. Turns out, that might not have been such a brazen statement after all, as the judge who handed down the lifetime ban clarified that he didn’t really mean to prevent the woman from entering all stores. [More]
Shoplifter Says Lifetime Ban From Walmart Won’t Stop Her From Shopping There
By 7.27.15
Much like there are people driving with suspended or revoked licenses, not everyone banned from life from entering a Walmart abides by that order. But most of these folks don’t go around brazenly telling reporters that they intend to violate a court order. [More]
Suspected Shoplifter Runs From Security, Dies After Jumping Off Ledge
By 7.17.15
A woman at a mall in Providence, RI was suspected of shoplifting, and she ran away from security guards who were pursuing her. She might have thought she was escaping through the parking garage, jumping over a railing to escape the building. What she didn’t know is that the first level of the parking garage isn’t on the ground. [More]
Shoplifting Suspect Bites Target Security Officer On The Arm
By 7.9.15
Retail security officers, maybe you should consider a series of rabies shots. A few weeks ago, we shared the story of an alleged Macy’s shoplifter who chomped on a police officer who showed up to intervene. Now police in the Denver suburb of Aurora are looking for a woman who was suspected of shoplifting, and chomped on the forearm of a Target employee while making her escape. [More]
Two Women Steal Merchandise Worth $7,000 In 1-Minute Sunglass Heist
By 6.19.15
How long does it take to scoop up $7,000 worth of merchandise from a Sunglass Hut store while employees aren’t looking? According to this surveillance video released by the police in San Francisco, about just over a minute. Two suspects working together were in and out of the store in that amount of time, slipping pricey merchandise into their tote bags and then zipping out the door before employees could stop them. [More]
Walmart Cracking Down On Theft Because It Doesn’t Want To Lose Billions Of Dollars A Year
By 6.5.15
When something is costing billions of dollars a year in lost revenue, you’re probably going to start paying attention and try to stop the leakage. That’s why Walmart is addressing a big problem at its 4,555 stores in the U.S. — shoplifting and other forms of “unknown shrinkage” that is causing the company to lose about $3 billion per year. [More]
Police Seek Man Who Ran Out Of Kohl’s Store With Sneakers Stuffed Down Pants
By 4.27.15
Here at Consumerist, we’re fascinated with the various things that shoplifters have removed from stores by shoving them down their pants. We’ve seen people accused of using this method to steal meat, seafood, puppies, more meat, more seafood, and a chainsaw. Police in New Jersey seek a man who shoved three pair of women’s sneakers down his pants at a Kohl’s store. [NJ.com] [More]
Police Seek Woman Who Stuffed $1,140 In Electronics Inside Her Skirt
By 4.24.15
A dress with a flowing full skirt is a great fashion choice for a hot day, so the woman who walked into a RadioShack in Florida dressed that way back in February didn’t really stand out. No one really noticed the full skirt of her floral dress…not even when she and her shopping companion began cramming electronics under the skirt, into some kind of criminal crinoline with pockets. [More]
Shoplifter Hiding In Grocery Store Ceiling After Allegedly Stealing $8 Worth Of Stuff Prompts SWAT Response
By 4.9.15
The natural instinct to flee when caught kicked into overload for one suspected shoplifter, who police say crawled into a supermarket’s ceiling after getting busted with $8.50 in stolen goods. Her urge for a refuge took a seven-hour police effort, complete with a SWAT team response and store evacuation. [More]
Suspected Walmart Shoplifter Kicks Through Ceiling, Tunnels Out Via Air Ducts
By 3.20.15
We never imagined that the world’s greatest criminal masterminds would bother to shop-lift from Walmart. Yet a suspected shoplifter at a store in Alabama made an escape from the store worthy of a terrible spy movie. He was captured on surveillance camera climbing up into the ceiling, navigating air ducts, and then kicking his way down through the ceiling near the store exit. [More]
Shoplifter Arrested After Shoving Steak Down His Pants
By 3.17.15
A 53-year-old man in Arkansas was arrested last week for shoplifting. His crime was one that has long fascinated us here at Consumerist: he is accused of trying to steal steaks from a Food Giant grocery store by shoving them down his pants. While this might seem like a logical and delicious enough crime, it’s also kind of a noticeable one. Also, no one will want to eat the meat. [More]
Police Officer Chases Shoplifting Suspect Into River, Then Rescues Him
By 3.11.15
Back in July, we shared the tragic story of a man being pursued for shoplifting from a mall in Maryland who hid in a drainage pond and drowned. A shoplifter in New Hampshire was saved from a similar fate by a police officer who is also a veteran of the Marines…but she was also the officer who pursued him to the river. [More]
News Flash: Someone Will Probably Notice If You Try To Wheel A Jewelry Case Out Of Kmart
By 3.9.15
While we’ve heard of suspected shoplifters obscuring pilfered items on their person in unique ways in an attempt at subterfuge, police in Kingsport, TN say one woman accused of trying to steal from a local Kmart cut right to the chase in her effort, as she allegedly attempted to wheel an entire jewelry case out of the store. [More]
Walmart Manager Says He Was Fired After Stopping Alleged Shoplifter
By 2.5.15
For several years now, Consumerist has reported on variety of stories where a former Walmart employee says they were fired either stopping a shoplifter or defending themselves in an altercation with customers. The latest such incident involves the manager of an Alabama Walmart who claims he was dismissed after stopping an alleged repeat offender from shoplifting again. [More]
Shoplifting Suspect Calls 9-1-1 On Walmart Security Guards Following Him Around
By 1.29.15
It must have been very unnerving for a man in Georgia when he noticed that two tough-looking men were following him around as he left Walmart. They caught up with him, claiming to be security guards from the store, and brought him back to Walmart. Police say that the suspect thought they were “thugs” and pulled a knife on the men, then called 9-1-1. [More]
Scammers Manipulate Lowe’s Receipt-Checking Policy To Steal $80,000 In Tools
By 1.26.15
Many consumers don’t like it when stores check their receipts on the way out of the building, claiming it treats all shoppers like shoplifting suspects. But a trio of scammers had no problem showing their receipt at Lowe’s, running a multi-state shoplifting/return scheme for several months. [More]
Video Shows 78-Year-Old Walmart Worker Injuring Hip Trying To Check Shoplifter’s Receipt
By 12.23.14
While we certainly understand and appreciate the idea of employing older Americans as greeters at Walmart, we cringe every time we come across a story of another elderly worker injured after being put in the position of trying to prevent shoplifting. [More]
