Walmart shoppers are scrambling over self-checkout fears after rumors of “hundreds of arrests” and closures surfaced amid theft spikes

RUMOR OF ‘Hundreds of arrests and closures’ has Walmart shoppers freaking out over self-checkout fears after spike in thefts.

Vincent Briatore (@VincentBriatore2) has more than 17,000 followers on TikTok, where he comments on messages.

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In some of his videos, Vincent shared accounts of Walmart CEO Doug McMillon announcing significant changes at the retailer due to historically high theft rates.

Walmart has closed at least 160 stores in recent years, and McMillon reported that the company has lost more than $3 billion to theft.

Vincent responded to another TikToker who claimed Walmart made $152 billion in 2022.

However, Vincent said that number is sales, not profit.

“Just stores in the United States make about $1.1 billion in profit a year, the number 153 is sales,” he said.

“There’s a difference between sales and profits — sales is all the money that’s come in.

“Profit is what’s left after you’ve paid for all and the cost of goods sold.”

Vincent added that Walmart gets a lot of criticism because “no one wants to sell the cheap stuff and cater to this demographic.

In another video, Vincent warns shoppers using self-checkout kiosks, saying that Walmart and other stores “don’t mess around.”

“Hundreds of people [are] being arrested nationwide, and I don’t just speak in the store,” he said.

“I’m talking about a knock on your door in the middle of the night and they arrest you.

In October it was reported that the retail giant would start cracking down on text messages and arresting customers who stole products.

Vincent received more than 11,000 comments from customers who were frustrated with the changes.

“Seems like hiring cashiers and shutting down self-checkouts might be easier,” one person wrote.

“So if you screw up at the self-checkout, where yours [sic] If you actually pay, you will be locked up,” another person wrote. “So if you mess up at the self checkout where your actual payment will be blocked???”

A third person recommended that buyers hire a lawyer if they were arrested.

“You come out every time.”