Walmart shopper tricked into new anti-theft measure after skipping self-checkout and leaving store with armful of merchandise
Police are searching for a shoplifter who left a Walmart with a basket full of items despite intensive anti-theft measures, police said.
An unknown man managed to bypass Walmart’s tight security measures and stole several items from the store.
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The West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office is searching for the shoplifter and asking locals in the Louisiana area for help.
Police posted a description of the unknown man on their website Facebook site.
The suspect is said to have been wearing a light blue Levi’s T-shirt, dark blue shorts and white tennis shoes at the time of the crime.
When he entered the Walmart in Port Allen, he placed the items in a basket and went to the self-checkout.
He only scanned a few items and then left the store with stolen goods, police said.
The suspect was quickly picked up by a white Dodge Charger with an unknown license plate.
Because the thief acted quickly, he was able to bypass one of Walmart’s anti-theft measures.
A former Walmart employee explained on TikTok that the company has special tools to catch theft at self-checkouts.
“First things first: If you’ve been to Walmart, you’ve probably been to those self-checkouts,” says Athenia (@obeygoddess), said in her video.
“What you didn’t know is that Walmart associates who work in the self-checkout area carry around devices called TC devices.”
She continued: “With these TC devices we can see everything you buy, how much your total purchase is and how much each item costs.”
If an employee suspects someone is stealing, they can use the TC device to pause the customer’s self-checkout machine, making it appear as if the machine is frozen.
Measures like these have become necessary as shoplifting continues to be rampant.
Walmart boss Doug McMillon warned CNBC of price increases and store closures if things continue like this.