___est shoplifting story

[Becks]

Dirty deeds done with sheets!!

*ducks the rotten veg and trash*

I'm ashamed of myself for not thinking of that, myself.

I bow down before you.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Last night we caught some kids coming into the store and stealing tracfones. I think they got about 8 of them (this was the second time they came into the store to steal the tracfones). I bet they were going to turn around and sell the tracfones.

My store has a limit of three phones per customer, strictly enforced. Cashiers are not to ring up a second transaction if somebody wants more than 3, and they are to watch out for kids, relatives, or friends trying to help somebody purchase more than 3.

I wonder what the deal is with those tracfones that there is a limit on them.

[Seanette]

Last night we caught some kids coming into the store and stealing tracfones. I think they got about 8 of them (this was the second time they came into the store to steal the tracfones). I bet they were going to turn around and sell the tracfones.

My store has a limit of three phones per customer, strictly enforced. Cashiers are not to ring up a second transaction if somebody wants more than 3, and they are to watch out for kids, relatives, or friends trying to help somebody purchase more than 3.

I wonder what the deal is with those tracfones that there is a limit on them.

What I can't figure out is why anyone would WANT a TracFone. Their "customer service" is an atrocity (six calls in three days just to get a basic feature like voicemail working is NOT acceptable!), which is why I switched to Virgin Mobile (and have been very happy with them).

[lazyguy]

They may be trying to limit them because they can be used as disposable cellphones. For drug dealers and ppl like that, because they are near impossible to trace.

[Jet]

We actually had a bulletin posted behind our wireless counter for people who trying to large purchase virgin mobile phones. We were actually supposed to take down the customers information and then contact the FBI.

[blas]

The "disposable" cell phones and such should be monitored because of that very reason....drug dealers/illegal activities, and yes, they are hard to track. Not only that, but people on the run can use them to get in contact with the people that they trust not to nark on them.

How do I know this? No, I've never been in that kind of trouble. Remember the girl at the gas station, Miss "I don't wannnnna", who always called in sick, who had the bf and the baby, who offered her foodstamp card to a friend if she could have $20 cash for a bag of weed? Her boyfriend became very hot with the cops, and he was on the run. Their appartment was nearby the gas station, and I'd never seen such patrol around the neighborhood. I bet ANYTHING he got one of those phones to stay in touch with her. She wouldn't talk, though. Someone eventually ratted him out, because he was caught at a friend's house.

[huckster]

I worked for a store called Fetlas back in the day. The only way to explain this store is that it was founded for men buying ammunition that forgot their anniversary. They sell everything from guns, cammo, leather, gym shoes, to dish drain covers (beer too!).
We were given a reward for catching shoplifters, which were a common occurance. I worked in clothing and would see 100 pound girls walk into a dressing room and leave 50 pounds heavier. Back then, I only made 4.75 an hour and could care less what they took.
Then one day, I see this kid about 12 or so eye balling some candle holders right by the counter. He totally saw me watching him, but was so ballsy, stole some little piece of crap insence holder. I alerted my coworker and we watched him try to hit the doors.
"Security", which was some 60 year old guy that could run fast, followed him to the car. Next thing we know, his mom is running into the store screaming at her kid.
They decided not to press charges, but that kid had some welts on his ass and I made $50. It was a good night all around.

[Chugach_PropHead]

I worked for a store called Fetlas back in the day. The only way to explain this store is that it was founded for men buying ammunition that forgot their anniversary. They sell everything from guns, cammo, leather, gym shoes, to dish drain covers (beer too!).

I've been to this store! But only once. Since that one time I've never been able to successfully find my way back. Its in Chesterton or Gary right? Or, at least somewhere in northwestern Indiana... Your description of it though is SO right on the mark. I just wish there was a cool Fetlas up here in Ye Frozen Northe...

[SuperDan]

I worked for a store called Fetlas back in the day. The only way to explain this store is that it was founded for men buying ammunition that forgot their anniversary. They sell everything from guns, cammo, leather, gym shoes, to dish drain covers (beer too!).

Ah yes, Fetlas Trading Post in Valparaiso. The only shopping establishment I've ever been in where I could walk down an aisle and see ammunition on my left and breakfast cereal on my right.

[cpux]

My store had a really major theft that IMO was largely the store's fault.

It happened during overnight. At the time, The Chronicles of Narnia had just come out on DVD. For whatever reason, someone up top thought a grocery store could sell 300 copies. The genius management at my store thought it would be a good idea to stick all 300 DVDs, each priced at $20, on a table not 20 clear feet from the exit.

So, when the overnight cashier was doing returns (since nobody else will do them), somebody loaded up a cart of all the Narnia DVDs he could and sped out the door. He got away with about 250 of them, a total loss of $5,000.

A few weeks later, the store got a lockable case for all new DVDs.

[Kogarashi]

I only have one shoplifting story, really, and it's more annoying than anything (all my other SL stories are largely forgettable, or very brief).

I was coming back from one of my breaks while working as a register-slave at Wal-Mart one summer, and was approached by a CSM in Layaway (for those who don't know, this area is in the back of the store, and is usually where employee access to the breakroom is as well; at least in most Wal-Mart stores). The CSM told me that there was someone suspicious currently wandering around in shoes who had just been stopped from entering the Layaway restrooms with merchandise (a big no-no at Wal-Mart). She asked me to follow the customer (a teenage/college-age girl) and keep an eye on her. Well, I'm not usually LP, but the LP guys were already on it and having a hard time keeping an eye on her, so I guess they needed all the help they could get. I followed the girl around as she slowly snaked her way to the front end, but was unable to stop her from entering the front end restrooms with her handful of gum, pens, and other small multi-packed goods. I walked in, but she quickly occupied the handicapped stall at the end of the restroom, where I could hear plastic unwrapping. I went out and told the CSM, who waited with me until the girl left. Then the CSM asked me to go check the stall. Sure enough, the product wrappers were there, in the sanitary napkin disposal. I grabbed those for the CSM, but I don't know if anything came of it since we didn't have eyewitness proof that she unwrapped the packages. ::sigh:: One of those days I wished my testimony that she had those specific items when she went in and didn't have them (visible) when she came out would actually count for something.

[Rocko]

I wasn't a witness to this, but my coworker was.

At my work we sell these CO2-powered BB guns where when you pull the trigger the slide goes back just like a real gun. We sell them for $69.99. We almost never sell them because every asshole who comes into my department cuts them off of the LOCKED peghook where they are kept then cuts open the packaging.

So a coworker is walking one of the aisles with no security cameras when he comes across the cut up packaging, next to a puddle of blood. There is a blood trail from my department all the way to the bathrooms (my department is right next to layaway and thus the bathrooms). So the obvious situation here is that the dumb who stole from us cut the crap out of his hand, either with the knife/boxcutter he used or on the packaging. Hope the bastard had to get stitches

[jnd4rusty]

[I wonder what the deal is with those tracfones that there is a limit on them.[/QUOTE]

Actually according to the news that I have heard since 9/11, tracfones are pretty much untraceable and very popular with the terrorists. That is why it must be reported if a large number of them are sold. If I recall I think that the terrorists in the 9/11 plot used such phones. I know that some guys were arrested recently for wanting to buy 600 of them and the clerk turn them in. Supposedly they just wanted to resell them..but you can't be too carefull.

[trunks2k]

[I wonder what the deal is with those tracfones that there is a limit on them.

Actually according to the news that I have heard since 9/11, tracfones are pretty much untraceable and very popular with the terrorists. That is why it must be reported if a large number of them are sold.[/QUOTE]

I don't think they're untraceable. In fact, I 99% garuntee you they can be traced, or will be in the near future. By law, cell phones must be able to be located when they call 911. IIRC, the final deadline to get in compliance has passed, but the FCC isn't doing much in enforcing it yet. Unless, that is, if they have the system in place, then they enforce the requirements (don't get me started on them). But eventually every cell phone will be capable of being traced, and quite easily.

I work for a company that does the location generation for 2 major cell phone companies in the US, plus several tier II and tier III providers. Our technology has some pretty interesting capabilities

[repsac]

Some quick Shoplifting stories from me. Mind typos. Trying to get used to a laptop again.

1.) Forklift. Just before I started work for a Wal-mart (myfirst job) some boon tried to steal their forklift. He hopped on it and took off down the street, only to have to ditch when he got it stuck on a speed bump.

2.) Jewlery Counter, with Jewlery inside. This was actually a test by LP. They borrowed my vest...yeah, I was in on it, along with another person. (manager I think). The deal was, since we were in on it, we could not interfere with what was going on. Well, LP heads over to Jewlery, and says to the girl there. "Hey, we're here to fix this case. One of the doors is broken." The girl smiled and said."Well, let me get the stuff out." but the LP (hiding as employees) said "Nah. We'll just take it like this." They then put the whole case on a rolling dolly, jewlery inside, and rolled it out through garden center.

3.) One of the COOLEST Stories. (as told by the GBI). Lowe's in Tifton got robbed sometime in 05. The man who did it managed to get away with untold ammounts of cash and checks. Here's what he did.

Walking into the store dressed as a Wells Fargo man, he approached customer service. CS directed him back to the Cash Office. Walking back there he knocked on the door and waited. The Cash Office said that he 1.) Wasn't supposed to come in the store, and 2.) Wasn't pictured on their list, so they couldn't give him the money. The guy smiled some and said "Oh great. Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm new at this. Tell you what, call the company and they will vouch for me." The Cash Office clerk, and Manager thought it over, decided that he was OK, and handed over the deposit. Turning around, the robber walked out the door, smiling for the camera, never to be seen again.

4.) Second Cool story. Coming from Wal-Mart again.

The wal-mart near where I live got hit for around 2k dollars worth of goods stolen some years ago. Here's what happened.

At the time, Wal-mart had some 500 dollar computers out on the floor in these huge stacks. 4 men entered, picked up carts and went to 4 different locations in the store. For 40 min to an hour, they shopped. The men priced things, considered their options, and then each picked one of these computers up into his cart. (along with a few assorted items.) Then, in the span of about ten more minutes, the men meandered over in the direction of pets. It was co-ordinated so that they each looked as though they didn't know each other. Further, that area didn't have a camera, so LP lost them. A moment later, one of the men hit the fire alarm, then hit the door. 30 sec later, the door came open and these guys casually exited the store, loading the computers (and leaving the other stuff) into the back of a waiting pick up and fleeing the scene. I do not think, they have been caught yet.