Is there a thriving black market for Levi’s jeans? If there is, then a group of thieves from Georgia have quite a haul to add to it after pilfering $11,000 worth of the pants from JCPenney. [More]
theft
Tipster Earns Free Chick-Fil-A For A Year After Spotting Stolen 24-Foot Inflatable Cow
By 9.13.16
Sometimes it pays to be observant: like when you’re crossing the street against the light or you happen to spot a giant inflatable cow far from its home. [More]
Former QVC Employee Pleads Guilty To Stealing $1.5M From The Shopping Channel
By 9.13.16
A man who used to work as a lighting designer for QVC treated himself to a bit of a shopping spree on the company’s dime, pleading guilty to stealing about $1.5 million from his former employers. [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]
Walmart Shoplifter Uses Scooter To Fight Off Employee, Make Getaway
By 7.26.16
Those electric scooters at Walmart aren’t just for shopping. They can also apparently be used to shoplift, shake off store employees, and make a clean, if slow, getaway.
[More]
Mystery Thieves Drive Off With 78,500 Bottles Of Beer
By 6.22.16
The people who stole almost 3,300 cases of beer from a craft brewery in Atlanta either set out to re-sell the brews, or were out to have an amazing party. Either way, the company, SweetWater Brewing Co., has turned to the public for help, asking stores and consumers to watch for the missing brew, which shady characters might be trying to sell. [More]
Police: Thief Dressed Like Apple Employee Walks Out Of NYC Store With 19 iPhones
By 6.10.16
In the movies, thieves are always donning clever, complicated disguises to skulk about and commit foul deeds. But it turns out, you don’t even need a fake mustache and a fedora to go undetected if you have the right shirt on. [More]
Macy’s Worker Tricked Alarm Company Into Helping Him Steal $69K Worth Of Perfume
By 6.8.16
A man hired to keep thieves from stealing from a New York Macy’s was allegedly doing the pilfering himself, making off with more than $69,000 worth of perfume. [More]
Delta Flight Attendant Charged With Sneaking 1,500 Mini Liquor Bottles To Sell On Craigslist
By 5.13.16
According to the police in Memphis, TN, when a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines left work, she would sometimes pick up some mini liquor bottles from the plane and bring them home. Taking a few bottles every day really adds up, and ultimately she has been charged with taking 1,500 bottles –– not to drink, but to sell on Craigslist. [More]
Man Accused Of Hacking United Airlines Website, Stealing Travel Vouchers
By 5.11.16
There are a few ways you can earn travel vouchers that let you fly on the cheap or for free, but slipping in the back door and stealing them could also earn you a trip to court. That’s the lesson playing out right now in Utah, where officials charged a man with a slew of crimes including theft after he allegedly hacked United Airlines and boosted unredeemed vouchers. [More]
Walmart’s Experiment Is Over: Greeters Are Returning For Good
By 5.4.16
For a while, Walmart tried a bold staffing experiment: they reassigned employees serving as greeters, a position that serves as both a friendly face and a theft deterrent. Instead of standing at the door, former greeters were to help guide customers to the checkouts, or help them find items in the aisles. That experiment began four years ago, and Walmart brought some greeters back about a year ago. Today Walmart announced that greeters will return to their rightful place in all stores. [More]
Man Hops On A Plane To Turn Himself In On Charge Of Stealing A TV 27 Years Ago
By 4.12.16
There are responsible citizens, and then there’s a guy from Florida who flew to Connecticut to voluntarily turn himself in after he received a warrant for his arrest on charges that he stole a TV in 1989. [More]
Police: Mother-Daughter Duo Stole $28K In Target Merchandise Through Return Scheme
By 4.7.16
When you think of someone stealing merchandise from a big box retailer you probably first think of smaller items that could easily be concealed in purses or on your person. But that certainly wasn’t the case for a mother-daughter duo accused of making away with bed sets, ottomans, chairs, and other items through a return scam at several California Target stores. [More]
Scammers Allegedly Rent Chevy Suburban From Enterprise, Sell It On Craigslist For $30K
By 3.29.16
Every day, across the country, there are plenty of commercial transactions that take place in fast-food parking lots, and which originated on Craigslist, which are entirely legitimate. This was not one of them. Two man put together a strange and clever scheme: they flew to Nashville, rented a Chevrolet Suburban worth $60,000, put a fake plate on it, and forged documents saying that it didn’t belong to Enterprise. Then they listed it for sale on Craigslist. [More]
Federal Prosecutors Accuse Toys ‘R’ Us Employee Of Stealing $2 Million From Accounts For Truckers
By 3.23.16
Here’s how eCash for truck drivers at Toys ‘R’ Us was supposed to work. Authorized employees would load the cash on drivers’ debit cards, and the drivers would use that money for things like meals, lodging, and repairs to their vehicles. Employees other than drivers are not supposed to load up a debit card with company money, then withdraw cash at an ATM. Yet one man is accused of doing exactly that, taking out $1.89 million over a period of almost three years. [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]
Former Brink’s Worker Accused Of Stealing $200,000 In Quarters
By 3.8.16
When you think of the company Brink’s, you probably imagine their employees protecting money from bank robbers, bad guys, and other ne’er-do-wells. But according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, one former Brink’s Company employee is on the other side of the equation, after allegedly stealing almost $200,000 worth of quarters while on the job. [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]
