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‘I walked out with a £150 trolley – it was so easy’: the rise of middle-class shoplifting (www.telegraph.co.uk)

submitted 1 year ago by throws_lemy@lemmy.nz to c/world@lemmy.world

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[-] jmcs@discuss.tchncs.de 219 points 1 year ago

Since then, Yvette’s pulled the same “trick” four times, although she insists she doesn’t see herself as a shoplifter and is “a goody goody” by nature: “I earn a reasonable amount in my senior position, drive an SUV, and live in a desirable postcode. Before my divorce, our girls attended private school.”

This kind of ÜberKarens are the reason we can't get nice stuff. Actions of people like her will be used to crack down on people that literally can't afford basic needs and to reduce the privacy of everyone else, while making the service shittier at the same time.

And she has the gall of calling her self a "goody goody". Bullshit, no one so self entitled is a nice person.

[-] Ragdoll_X@lemmy.world 160 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Honestly I don't even really care that much that she's shoplifting, I find it hard to sympathize with a multi-billion-dollar company losing a small fraction of their profits.

But then she insists that she's not actually a shoplifter, and brags about her income and how she's a great person as if she's trying to separate herself from "the bad shoplifters", which gives me the same vibes as the article "The Only Moral Abortion is My Abortion".

[-] 520@kbin.social 72 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I know right? If anything she's worse; she's the one not doing it out of necessity. She actually has a realistic choice.

Not that I have much sympathy for the supermarkets but fuck me, don't pretend you're better than the next person doing it, especially when they might only be doing it out of necessity.

[-] FMT99@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago

The multi billion dollar company loses nothing. If shoplifting increases they'll just raise the prices for the rest of us.

[-] Flambo@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

prices will be raised regardless. record profits? raise prices. record growth? raise prices. cost of production goes down? raise prices.

[-] bratosch@lemm.ee 42 points 1 year ago

I don't get her reasoning either. "I consider myself a goody goody because I'm an upper class asshole"

[-] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 year ago

"I'm rich therefore right" is a very seductive viewpoint

[-] aDuckk@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

"It's not a crime when we do it." Meanwhile I guarantee you this person has turned their nose up at lower class people shopping in the same stores like they could only be there to steal shit.

[-] Thoth19@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

No way she's upper class. Upper middle at best and that's pushing it.

[-] Annoyed_Crabby@monyet.cc 30 points 1 year ago

Yeah, bitch decided to commit crime 5 times, boast about her career and wealth while pretend that is the feature of good people, then "teach" others how to commit the same crime. Bitch have no shame nor dignity. Makes me wonder what sort of white collar crime she also committed.

[-] echodot@feddit.uk 24 points 1 year ago

"I'm actually a really good person, I just commit crimes for fun, so it's okay."

[-] deur@feddit.nl 17 points 1 year ago

People who don't accept the consequences of their actions are the worst.

However, what if Yvette is not a real person and this is meant to stir up drama targeted at the middle class?

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[-] Mr_Blott@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Agreed. If she's not paying, everyone else is

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[-] alienanimals@lemmy.world 68 points 1 year ago

This Karen is an asshole, but so are the supermarkets who collude on prices and collectively steal from everyone else just because they can.

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[-] PhobosAnomaly@feddit.uk 55 points 1 year ago

I worked for a major UK supermarket chain a few years ago - at a store big enough to have its own car park, but small enough that it had a small "garden centre" which was about 10m X 25m tacked on to the side of the store.

I was on the way back in after helping some elderly couple load their car up, when some dude says "can you give me a hand with these bags of soil?", and I'm like "yeah no worries" and yeeted about nine or ten bags of soil into the back of his car.

I wander back in and the checkout supervisor was like "did he pay for those bags?" and I'm like "I've no idea mate" - turns out no, no he hadn't.

It was a separate question to "did I care?" where the answer would have equally been something they didn't want to hear.

[-] AlphaOmega@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

When I was in HS I worked at a grocery store. One time we had a senior citizen come in and ask me for some bags. He then proceeded to go through the store and bag his groceries and then tried to walk out without paying.

[-] Treczoks@lemmy.world 54 points 1 year ago

Reminds me of an old "hidden camera" stunt. A set of people dressed in work clothes enter a furniture shop, and start taking down and carting out a living room. Then they come back and take a bedroom and a kitchen, too. Asked by the staff, the "boss" of the crew (the guy with the clipboard) just replied that they were doing what they were told to. Staff even helped them by holding the door open when they moved stuff out.

[-] 520@kbin.social 23 points 1 year ago

Oh yeah. A hi-vis jacket and appropriate accessories can get you almost anywhere

[-] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 14 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Clipboard and a collar are all you need to get anywhere and do almost anything. Just act like you belong there and are annoyed that people are in the way of your *activity

Go to any pharmacy or dollar store, go to the food section with a cart and a clipboard. Take random stuff off the shelf turn it around, scribble nonsense on the clipboard and then just leave with whatever. No one will ask what your doing, and if they do just say "I am the inspector mate" and you will be home before they even realized what happened. Not condoning, just saying.

[-] 520@kbin.social 10 points 1 year ago

Ahh this takes me back. My previous line of work had me pulling exactly this kind of shit, except I was getting into higher value targets.

[-] LufyCZ@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 year ago

You can't just say that and leave come on

[-] 520@kbin.social 27 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

So there is a type of cybersecurity job known as a 'red teamer'. It is a special branch of offensive security, and differs from the likes of a penetration tester in that they fully act like blackhats as much as is possible without actually doing intentional damage.

That means, you plan an attack, you plot a way in and you reach a given objective. How you do so is up to you; you are not limited to digital attacks just as real attackers wouldn't be. You can rock up to site in disguise and walk your way in if you so feel that's the best route. Tailgating, lying to people, cloning ID cards, or have a friend joyride on an escooter to provide a distraction while you hop a fence, it's all fair game.

The only things you aren't allowed to do is pretend to be a boss and threaten to have someone fired (or other shit that could cause mental harm) or intentional physical damage to property (eg: lockpicking is fine even if you accidentally fuck up the lock. Wire cutting generally isn't)

The assignments where we rocked up on site were my favourites. It was always a rush slipping by people and hoping I didn't arouse suspicion.

These things take months to plan though, so we pick high value targets owned by the business employing us. The person in charge of that facility will be notified that something is about happen but not crucial details that can throw the test, such as when it will happen. I can't go into details about the targets I've hit (red team NDAs make regular NDAs look like Donald Trump's attitude to confidential information by comparison) but they're the kind state sponsored attacker's and organised crime outfits would typically hit.

[-] Hasherm0n@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

I used to do penetration testing and only got to dabble in physical penetration testing a couple of times. Hell of a lot of fun.

For anyone reading this chain and interested in hearing more, this is a pretty fun interview with someone known for doing physical presentation testing.

https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/134/

[-] HerbalGamer@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 year ago

I always love hearing about these kinds of stories but I can't ever find a good explaination of how to actually go about getting into this line of work.

Seems like most people kinda stumble into this through people they happen to know.

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[-] Bonehead@kbin.social 6 points 1 year ago

I've seen this in a documentary before...

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[-] sebinspace@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago

I’d imagine because the people tasked with enforcing it are also middle class. I’m sure as shit not paid enough to intervene.

[-] filoria@lemmy.ml 13 points 1 year ago

Good. The problem falls at the hands of the companies making billions of dollars of excess profits, not on the individuals saving a tens or hundreds of dollars.

[-] Bonehead@kbin.social 23 points 1 year ago

Yeah...until the companies making billions of dollars put blockers at the entrances that can't fit a cart, and people checking receipts at the exit, just like what they did in Canada. Then everyone gets to be treated like a thief.

[-] TheMightyCanuck@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 year ago

Where in canada? Cause all the major chains don't check your bags or cart other than Costco..

Source: Canadian who buys groceries

[-] Bonehead@kbin.social 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I believe they were checking receipts in Toronto. But all the big chain grocery stores like Zerhs around me have all put in barriers at the front door.

[-] TheMightyCanuck@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 year ago

Neat. Thanks for the info. Nothing like that (yet) in alberta except maybe more people watching self checkout

[-] BirdyBoogleBop@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 year ago

How do you get shopping to the car?

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[-] AlphaOmega@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

“Rather than artificial intelligence, we’re going for actual intelligence.” Does this guy think his customers are robots or that a standard PC with a barcode scanner is considered AI?

[-] BURN@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago

And this is why we’re treated like criminals every time we leave grocery stores here. Everywhere has heavily kitted up security (though I don’t believe armed) that stops you every time you try to leave.

Grocery shopping is a stressful occasion now

[-] curiousaur@reddthat.com 9 points 1 year ago

Where do you live?

[-] BURN@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

West coast of the US. Their default mode is to treat everyone like everything in their cart is stolen

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[-] TwoGems@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

I'd let them, too. These prices are more criminal than her walking out with a trolley.

[-] Mr_Blott@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Waste of time, Karen. A £150 trolley is only about a third full you dipshit

[-] Neato@kbin.social 7 points 1 year ago

Yeah. Clearly she's never watched Supermarket Sweep!

[-] AbidanYre@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Go for the butterballs!!

[-] sagrotan@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

... and another thing where I was apparently a trendsetter

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this post was submitted on 23 Nov 2023

171 points (92.5% liked)

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