You must wonder if someone is carefully watching you at the self-checkout station.
Self-service machines promise more convenient and faster purchases by allowing customers to check their own items. This is also beneficial for businesses who want to curb costs.
Kylie Milner, a 35-year-old woman from the U.K., was caught after attempting to steal $4500 in groceries.
Her scheme was finally uncovered when store employees noticed how nervous she was at the self-checkout station.
Milner was sent to jail for nine months for 31 counts of fraud, but the sentence ended up getting suspended for three years. Although she was bankrupt, the court ordered her to pay $1545 to Coles and $2070 to Woolworths.
How did she almost get away with it? And what do major retailers think about this trend?
All Milner did was photocopy the barcodes of cheap noodle packages and stick it over other expensive grocery items.
As technology becomes more prevalent in our lives, some businesses are more cognizant of these new theft schemes, while others may not be that concerned.
For example, Coles has now decided to restrict the number of scanned items at the self-service machines to 12 at some of their stores.
On the other hand, Walmart introduced an app where customers can scan while they shop.
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