This Security Guard Was Working At Target For 6 Years, Shares His Most Awkward Shoplifting Stories
Anyone who has had a retail job at least once in their lifetime knows the struggles of this occupation. Angry customers, paltry wages, shoplifters – all these bonuses come with it. Working in customer service with a lot of people, in general, can bring up challenges that you haven’t even thought of before. One guy, who was working as a member of the security guards team in one of the largest department store retailers, shared real stories of what it was like to deal with audacious shoplifters and their petty crimes.
Now, scroll down below to check how reckless and foolish some people can be to steal some goods and remember – each is a real story!
“Since today is five years since I resigned from Target Assets Protection (Loss Prevention/Security) I thought I would share a few funny or interesting stories”
Image credits: Clay Murray
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Other internet users, who were also lucky enough to be working in retail, shared fragments of their crazy stories, too
137Kviews
Share on FacebookWhen I was working in a pet store, we found empty bags of 5 kg dogfood at some point... makes you wonder.. how?
One time like last year this girl stole another girls necklace from her locker in the girls' locker room and she was already shady enough and everytime someone asked her where she got it she'll say "forever 21" or "hot topic" and the AP(assistant principal) for our grade pulled up a video of her stealing it the AP got fired because A VIDEO CAMERA in A LOCKER ROOM(child porn) she got fired, I think arrested too turns out she had it in the girls bathroom too, which I'm pretty sure all schools do but they can't put them in restrooms/locker rooms
Some people just think they are entitled to steal what they can. It is a disgusting attitude.
While others do it to survive. (Not justifying stealing here, but some people really are that desperate, and others are just selfish)
Load More Replies...The fact is that when a shoplifter is a real pro, you AREN'T going to catch them. I've worked loss control in several small boutiques and was hit by professionals twice. I'm good at my job, but I honestly did not catch what they were doing. ...///... The thieves that you see in articles like this are the amateurs. They get caught. The ones that do it for a living are VERY slick and hard to catch.
Stealing 11 iPads is not amateur! ! ! ( if it happened)
Load More Replies...I can almost understand a desperate mum with a couple of very small children and days from the benefit money arriving - trying to get babyfood, nappies and a few essential groceries. Hate the organised groups and obvious experts just grabbing the expensive stuff en mass
In fact - I dont see the point in prosecuting someone for taking low value essential and basic food items. Cant exactly fine them if they cant even afford food. A caution should be enough. If they have a conviction for theft it will make it even harder to get a job.
Load More Replies...I was 18, petite, and for some reason a major fine department store asked me to help out the security guards on occasion when they needed a female. In this case, they had apprehended two very tall pregnant women. I had to go into the security office with the women while they disrobed and removed their enormous girdles filled with fine clothing. I was not happy. The women were taken away in hand cuffs.
I'd be unhappy too... the thought of this scenario with pregnant dudes is very disturbing for some reason. Now I'm going to have to go watch Junior.
Load More Replies...So, you guys just steal content wholesale from Reddit now without giving them any credit?
Huh. The title made it seem like these stories would be that of an instant karma, thieves with a hilarious lack of common sense, maybe even a 'not all heroes wear capes' story. But these were frankly very boring and uneventful to read.
the comments on the stories are definitely more entertaining.
Load More Replies...Worked at a 7Eleven when I was younger. Got robbed at gunpoint twice by the same guy. He apparently just made the circuit of all the stores in the area sticking up a different one every week or so. We only kept $50 in the till, so I'm guessing it was his side gig.
I used to work at CVS Pharmacy for 7 years... it would make us laugh some of the things people stole... Vienna sausages, Michael Bolton cd.... weird stuff you wouldn't think people would risk themselves over.
My husband was robbed at sword-point at a sub (sandwich) shop. They had him open the till and hand over several hundred dollars in cash. The police didn't believe him and kept pushing for him to name his accomplice (aka the guy who robbed him and wore a balaclava). His bosses didn't believe him either and he didn't keep the job for long afterward.
6 yrs in loss prevention - had a kid pull a knife one me, a car try to run me over, arrested a Member of Parliament (Canada), a pro football player (CFL), my cousin's ex husband, a 79 year old for stealing condoms ... but one of the craziest ones was at a store near the psychiatric hospital. A lady filled her bag with hairspray and bandaids (!?). Went outside and made the arrest and brought her to the office - where she started asking to use the toilet. I said she could, but she insisted on taking her bag with her - and I refused to allow that. While we're waiting for the cops she asked to go again, with her bag - and again, I said no. So ... she drops her pants right there and pees on the floor in front of me. Ugh. But the funniest part was when the police officer arrived - he walked into the room, stopped dead in his tracks and did a perfect 180
... and left the room so fast, he didn't notice the open door in the hall. Walked smack into it - after all was done, I had to clean up pee on the floor in the office and blood in the hall from the cop's broken nose!!
Load More Replies...In a major UK department store a woman grabbed an expensive pram and tried to make it down the stair well instead of the elevator. Security grabbed the door as she was trying to get out and opened it for her thinking she was a mum struggling. She walked out with a brand new £800 pram and electrical items hidden under a blanket
When I was working at a counter in a retail department store, I observed two people coming into the store wearing rubber garden boots. Not unusual in itself considering we lived near farming country, but it was the middle of July in 90+ degree heat and they were also wearing head to toe loose clothing. I tried to make it look like I was occupied with paperwork...and then watched as the male ended up grabbing a $40 bottle of cologne, take it out of the package and dropped the bottle in his boot. The girl took and armful of clothes to the dressing room, but came out with nothing in her arms and her clothes weren't sagging as much. I discretely called security. All in all, they caught them with over $350 in merchandise. Girl had 7 pairs of underwear on...smh.
I'll never forget the small stint of time i worked at HomeSense while i went to college. This guy came in a few times a week EVERY week to steal knives. We called him "knife guy" and we just let him steal and did not aproach him ever. Who needs that many knives!? and what for!?
Worked in a Target in high school, pre-computer days. Security called me one day and asked me to come to their office and bring my price book (computer printouts on greenbar of the departments products). I went up there to find a mother daughter team crying their eyes out. They'd plucked a bunch of home appliances amongst other things. As I was pricing them all, the security guy took a Polaroid of them and they both burst into hysterics. Totally freaked me out as a high schooler working in retail.
As for the 11 IPads 🤔 Hmmmmm Didn’t happen. All the store would have to do is call Apple. They’d Note the codes and then mark the iPads as stolen , anyone wanting to set up their iCloud or email, would get a visit ( if the workers do their job correctly, that is.
While this is true... criminals aren't generally that smart. (also, there's ways around it. when it comes to your devices, nothing trumps physical access.)
Load More Replies...Wow if that was in the uk. Our police would be there immediately They wouldn’t be banged up fo stealing, oh no. They’d be banged up for possession of an offensive weapon, threats to kill and threats to the public, threats & safety of public, and much much more. . You don’t threaten workers, if you want it, you better hope you can run and never ever be caught, otherwise cctv will catch you 🥳🤪🥳😂👏🏻😂
I live in the UK, and no they wouldn't. The police don't respond 'immediately' to shoplifters. Also that might be what they were initially charged with, but it wouldn't be what they went down for, and they wouldn't be locked up for long. Take a look at sentence lengths - they're disgraceful.
Load More Replies...You 'could take 1-3 things each shift lol'. Lol??? That isn't funny or clever.
Load More Replies...When I was working in a pet store, we found empty bags of 5 kg dogfood at some point... makes you wonder.. how?
One time like last year this girl stole another girls necklace from her locker in the girls' locker room and she was already shady enough and everytime someone asked her where she got it she'll say "forever 21" or "hot topic" and the AP(assistant principal) for our grade pulled up a video of her stealing it the AP got fired because A VIDEO CAMERA in A LOCKER ROOM(child porn) she got fired, I think arrested too turns out she had it in the girls bathroom too, which I'm pretty sure all schools do but they can't put them in restrooms/locker rooms
Some people just think they are entitled to steal what they can. It is a disgusting attitude.
While others do it to survive. (Not justifying stealing here, but some people really are that desperate, and others are just selfish)
Load More Replies...The fact is that when a shoplifter is a real pro, you AREN'T going to catch them. I've worked loss control in several small boutiques and was hit by professionals twice. I'm good at my job, but I honestly did not catch what they were doing. ...///... The thieves that you see in articles like this are the amateurs. They get caught. The ones that do it for a living are VERY slick and hard to catch.
Stealing 11 iPads is not amateur! ! ! ( if it happened)
Load More Replies...I can almost understand a desperate mum with a couple of very small children and days from the benefit money arriving - trying to get babyfood, nappies and a few essential groceries. Hate the organised groups and obvious experts just grabbing the expensive stuff en mass
In fact - I dont see the point in prosecuting someone for taking low value essential and basic food items. Cant exactly fine them if they cant even afford food. A caution should be enough. If they have a conviction for theft it will make it even harder to get a job.
Load More Replies...I was 18, petite, and for some reason a major fine department store asked me to help out the security guards on occasion when they needed a female. In this case, they had apprehended two very tall pregnant women. I had to go into the security office with the women while they disrobed and removed their enormous girdles filled with fine clothing. I was not happy. The women were taken away in hand cuffs.
I'd be unhappy too... the thought of this scenario with pregnant dudes is very disturbing for some reason. Now I'm going to have to go watch Junior.
Load More Replies...So, you guys just steal content wholesale from Reddit now without giving them any credit?
Huh. The title made it seem like these stories would be that of an instant karma, thieves with a hilarious lack of common sense, maybe even a 'not all heroes wear capes' story. But these were frankly very boring and uneventful to read.
the comments on the stories are definitely more entertaining.
Load More Replies...Worked at a 7Eleven when I was younger. Got robbed at gunpoint twice by the same guy. He apparently just made the circuit of all the stores in the area sticking up a different one every week or so. We only kept $50 in the till, so I'm guessing it was his side gig.
I used to work at CVS Pharmacy for 7 years... it would make us laugh some of the things people stole... Vienna sausages, Michael Bolton cd.... weird stuff you wouldn't think people would risk themselves over.
My husband was robbed at sword-point at a sub (sandwich) shop. They had him open the till and hand over several hundred dollars in cash. The police didn't believe him and kept pushing for him to name his accomplice (aka the guy who robbed him and wore a balaclava). His bosses didn't believe him either and he didn't keep the job for long afterward.
6 yrs in loss prevention - had a kid pull a knife one me, a car try to run me over, arrested a Member of Parliament (Canada), a pro football player (CFL), my cousin's ex husband, a 79 year old for stealing condoms ... but one of the craziest ones was at a store near the psychiatric hospital. A lady filled her bag with hairspray and bandaids (!?). Went outside and made the arrest and brought her to the office - where she started asking to use the toilet. I said she could, but she insisted on taking her bag with her - and I refused to allow that. While we're waiting for the cops she asked to go again, with her bag - and again, I said no. So ... she drops her pants right there and pees on the floor in front of me. Ugh. But the funniest part was when the police officer arrived - he walked into the room, stopped dead in his tracks and did a perfect 180
... and left the room so fast, he didn't notice the open door in the hall. Walked smack into it - after all was done, I had to clean up pee on the floor in the office and blood in the hall from the cop's broken nose!!
Load More Replies...In a major UK department store a woman grabbed an expensive pram and tried to make it down the stair well instead of the elevator. Security grabbed the door as she was trying to get out and opened it for her thinking she was a mum struggling. She walked out with a brand new £800 pram and electrical items hidden under a blanket
When I was working at a counter in a retail department store, I observed two people coming into the store wearing rubber garden boots. Not unusual in itself considering we lived near farming country, but it was the middle of July in 90+ degree heat and they were also wearing head to toe loose clothing. I tried to make it look like I was occupied with paperwork...and then watched as the male ended up grabbing a $40 bottle of cologne, take it out of the package and dropped the bottle in his boot. The girl took and armful of clothes to the dressing room, but came out with nothing in her arms and her clothes weren't sagging as much. I discretely called security. All in all, they caught them with over $350 in merchandise. Girl had 7 pairs of underwear on...smh.
I'll never forget the small stint of time i worked at HomeSense while i went to college. This guy came in a few times a week EVERY week to steal knives. We called him "knife guy" and we just let him steal and did not aproach him ever. Who needs that many knives!? and what for!?
Worked in a Target in high school, pre-computer days. Security called me one day and asked me to come to their office and bring my price book (computer printouts on greenbar of the departments products). I went up there to find a mother daughter team crying their eyes out. They'd plucked a bunch of home appliances amongst other things. As I was pricing them all, the security guy took a Polaroid of them and they both burst into hysterics. Totally freaked me out as a high schooler working in retail.
As for the 11 IPads 🤔 Hmmmmm Didn’t happen. All the store would have to do is call Apple. They’d Note the codes and then mark the iPads as stolen , anyone wanting to set up their iCloud or email, would get a visit ( if the workers do their job correctly, that is.
While this is true... criminals aren't generally that smart. (also, there's ways around it. when it comes to your devices, nothing trumps physical access.)
Load More Replies...Wow if that was in the uk. Our police would be there immediately They wouldn’t be banged up fo stealing, oh no. They’d be banged up for possession of an offensive weapon, threats to kill and threats to the public, threats & safety of public, and much much more. . You don’t threaten workers, if you want it, you better hope you can run and never ever be caught, otherwise cctv will catch you 🥳🤪🥳😂👏🏻😂
I live in the UK, and no they wouldn't. The police don't respond 'immediately' to shoplifters. Also that might be what they were initially charged with, but it wouldn't be what they went down for, and they wouldn't be locked up for long. Take a look at sentence lengths - they're disgraceful.
Load More Replies...You 'could take 1-3 things each shift lol'. Lol??? That isn't funny or clever.
Load More Replies...
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