“Stealing Gone Wrong”: Woman documents her own Walmart self-checkout theft

A woman caught a shoplifting incident at Walmart on camera by using the self-checkout option to hide the items. She seemed unmoved as the store's AI cameras caught her in the act. She then posted the clip on TikTok. The woman was caught by Walmart employees before police were called.

According to the New York Post, the clip shows the woman at the Walmart store picking up a few items to run through the self-checkout machine. She then placed a backpack on the belt as if it had been scanned when in fact it was just thrown into the bag.

The computer screen soon flashes the message “Employee is on the way,” meaning she cannot continue scanning more items or checking out.

When an employee comes by and scans her card, the screen reportedly switches to “Missed Scan Detected” with overhead video footage of the customer dragging the backpack across the scanning zone without ever scanning the barcode.

While the employees initially laughed at the situation, they eventually turned to management and called for the police to be called in.

“Even though she was laughing…she called the manager and the police and had us escorted outside,” the caption read with the hashtag “#stealinggonewrong.”

For this she was banned from all Walmart stores in the region for two years.

According to a 2023 LendingTree survey, 15% of consumers admitted to intentionally stealing one or more items from self-checkouts; of them, only 33% were arrested.

Gitnux claims that Walmart loses about $3 billion annually due to theft, which is why the retailer has increased its efforts to combat shoplifting. The retail giant has been using artificial intelligence as one of its tactics to catch would-be thieves for several years.

According to Business Insider, Missed Scan Detection was originally introduced to Walmart locations in 2017 and uses AI-powered cameras to curb theft and inventory loss.

The supermarket chain has started using almost invisible barcodes on private labels. These barcodes allow things to be scanned by simply moving past the scanning area, eliminating the need to scan every single barcode.

The newly developed technology is included in a $3 million contract with Digimarc.