People using self-serve checkout counters are getting framed for thefts they didn’t commit. Now an attorney is warning people to steer clear or it could cost them thousands or even land them in jail.
Avoid self-serve checkouts, attorney warns
Picture this: You scan all your items at the big box store, take your receipt, and go home. Unexpectedly, a month later, the store pinpoints you as the last person who checked out before something went missing.
Attorney Carrie Jernigan, who is also a social media influencer with 1.2 million followers on TikTok, says this is exactly what is happening to innocent customers who are being accused of theft, the New York Post reported.
“As a criminal defense attorney, I advise most people to steer clear of self-checkout,” Jernigan said in a video.
What kinds of customers are getting charged for theft and why?
Jernigan explains that “three groups” representing specific types of shoppers are getting charged with shoplifting after using self-checkout. One group is likely guilty of a crime but the other two groups are not.
#1. Those with intent to steal: Obviously, those who are intentionally stealing (or attempting to steal) are rightly being charged.
#2. Theft by mistake: Some people unintentionally miss scanning an item when checking out. However, innocent mistake or not, some of these people may face charges, the attorney says, “because … the big-box stores aren’t going to spend their time and resources trying to figure out if you did it on purpose.”
#3. The truly innocent: This happens when the store comes up short and fingers the last person to check out with something. The attorney says that “most of these are not getting charged the day of.” Someone in the asset protection department of a store begins counting the inventory and “comes up short.” This might occur days, weeks, or even months later.
“They [the store] will begin watching hours of video to see the last person who checked out with the Mario Lego set because they’re two short or an Xbox game,” Jernigan says. “And, for some reason, they pinpoint that they think you did it.”
How to protect yourself against frame-ups at the self-serve checkout
Attorney Jernigan says that mega-retailers such as Walmart typically have to present very little evidence to get an affidavit for a warrant on theft charges.
“The charges that could land you up to a year in jail,” Jernigan warns. “You have to spend thousands of dollars hiring a lawyer and we have to go through grainy video footage to try to determine what all you bought that day.”
Protecting yourself
Jernigan advises people to pay for transactions with a card instead of cash, especially for larger purchases, and to always keep proof of purchase.
The big problem these days is fewer people are hanging on to their receipts, but stories like this are good reasons to keep records. At the very least, take a photo of your receipt and keep it on your phone. Apps such as iScanner for Android and Apple iOS make easy work of scanning, auto-cropping, and storing receipts and documents in organized folders on your phone.
