Supermarket Scam

You’re at the supermarket, watching the register, seeing the money tote up. You pay your bill, go home, open your bags, and find something missing. You look on the bill, it’s there, but not in the bag.

Maybe you go back to the supermarket to complain, but how can you prove you didn’t get the item? After all, you paid for your groceries, left the store, went home, opened the bag; you could be trying to rip off the company. It happens a few times. You’re sure the bagger is the thief. You’re sure he must of somehow ‘palmed’ those items.

No. Not the bagger. The Shopper in front of you. Ever notice how the person who just cashed is rooting through her groceries as a pig for grub worms? She’s waiting for that moment you look at the register, the bagger looks into the bag, to grab an item by moving her far hand under her near one, using near arm and bag to hide her actions.

Sometimes she’ll use a little child, one of those ugly hyperactive kinds, which has been taught to interfere with people, attract attention, hence, cause diversions. Sometimes she’ll use a friend. She and her friend are talking and moving about to put you in a difficult position to see your groceries. Hence, you don’t know that pound of butter or that bar of soap went from the counter into her bag, not yours. This ’sleight of hand’ is a widely practiced scam. Protect yourself.

You don’t need to look at the register.

If you are charged $900 for a bag of potato chips it’s an easily corrected error. If you are charged for three pounds of apples and only have two, or you have a coupon which hasn’t been honoured, you can call the manager while you’re standing at the checker’s bay.

You don’t need to watch the money add up, you need to to watch your groceries get bagged.

If the people in front of you are blocking your view of your groceries, leave the line, move to stand by your groceries, and watch them. Sure people will look at you, especially the thieves in front of you, who will pass a remark. Don’t be deterred. The only reason the people who have just cashed are still at the bay is because they are thieves. There is not one single logical reason why anyone who has just cashed their groceries should remain at the packing bay, except to steal.

When you move from your blocked position behind the thieves to stand by the bagger, it doesn’t make you popular, but makes thieves wary, so they move on.

Now once your groceries are packed, before you leave the supermarket, stop, and check. Make sure if there are two quarts of milk on the bill, there are two in the bag. If there is not, you are in an ideal position to have the situation rectified.

Check your bill, make sure things make sense, for example if you bought something ‘on sale’ but have been charged the ‘usual’ price. It doesn’t matter if people think you are crazy. This is how people lose their rights and their money; afraid of what other people think. You don’t worry about that. Watch your groceries and make sure you get what you pay for.

Study your bill for errors, again, correction will be painlessly simple. If you feel uncomfortable, travel with someone who will take the position by your bagger and watch your groceries for you. Thieves will appreciate you are not a target and find someone else.