Another theft thwarted

[pzychobitch]

Security through obscurity. The "official" keys may cost thousands, but if someone manages to steal a wrap to "play with", a technically-inclined person could probably figure out in a couple hours how to make a usable key out of ten bucks worth of rare-earth magnets. Easier if they steal 2 wraps - one to take apart to examine, one to leave intact for key testing.

Only needs to be done once, and the "recipe" (how to arrange the magnets) circulates through the underworld.

Ooh, i see.

[csquared]

Go to Google. Type in "how to remove spider w". "wire" is the third choice. The first YouTube vid looks legit.

[LillFilly]

Ah you're right; I didn't think that someone could legitimately claim they thought they were buying a car seat. It's a shame you didn't catch the whole operation start to finish.

At least it will make everyone aware of looking for obviously misplaced merchandise and boxes that are obviously too heavy/too light for what the product should be.

At the Al Fart where I used to work, some kids grabbed a bunch of stuff and went into the garden center, where they shoved it through the iron fencing into the parking lot, meaning to leave out the doors and run around to the side to get it. They were observed and busted when they went to collect their stolen goods. They were in double trouble because all the stuff they were stealing was age-restricted (spraypaint, airsoft guns, etc.)

[wolfie]

Either poor planning, or they didn't trust their friends to share the loot - should have had someone "outside the wire" to grab the stuff and run.

[Mikkel]

Why not put a box with a car seat in the hidingplace? If someone buys it, they get exactly what they pay for.

[Dark Psion]

The one thing we are wondering about is why hide the box?

Maybe they were a theft ring and one group gathers and another steals. Maybe they thought they were being watched or had pushed their luck too far.

There was a theft ring that was caught in OKC last year that used big trash cans to hide merchandise. The bought the trash can and the cashiers didn't use LISA (Look InSide).

[Sapphire Silk]

Why not put a box with a car seat in the hidingplace? If someone buys it, they get exactly what they pay for.

The one thing we are wondering about is why hide the box?

They hid the box because the merchandise was placed in there over the course of more than one session, to obscure the shoplifting. Once they had everything on their list, they could retrieve the box, and if someone DID look inside it (because it was too heavy, or rattled the wrong way), they could claim "I found it like that, I didn't know" and avoid a shoplifting charge. Looking at video from that day wouldn't reveal any lifting of the items within, so they'd get off scott free even if they didn't get away with the goods.

The way to catch them would have been to put a camera on the box after re-hiding it. When someone moves a bunch of other stuff just to get to that box, a claim of I didn't know becomes a lot less credulous.

[csquared]

That makes me think it is an inside job. You hide the box. Wait until after inventory. Then, if you are caught with the merchandise, you can claim it is yours, as it won't show up on inventory.

I forgot which site I saw the story on. Employees were hiding the merchandise. Then, after inventory is adjusted, they would smuggle it out in the trash.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

That makes me think it is an inside job. You hide the box. Wait until after inventory. Then, if you are caught with the merchandise, you can claim it is yours, as it won't show up on inventory.

I forgot which site I saw the story on. Employees were hiding the merchandise. Then, after inventory is adjusted, they would smuggle it out in the trash.

Trying to think of how this could work at my store, and for the life of me I can't.

We're very thorough at inventory time. Backroom team counts the entire backroom, and we scour anyplace merchandise can conceivably be put.

I suppose stuff could get hidden in a big box on the salesfloor someplace, but after the inventory crew leaves we do reconciliation the next day. Any big-ticket items that are off from what the computer says we should have would be a gigantic red flag.

I'm guessing the store where this happened was pretty slipshod with their inventory process anyway.

[manybellsdown]

Actually my plan was to put a badger in the box, replace it and wait for the screams to stop.

Package contained bobcat. Would not buy again.