Following the alleged capture on camera of an opportunistic thief at a Texas Walmart, police have issued a warning to customers to be wary of using the self-checkout lanes.
It was caught on camera that a man was taking nearly $100 worth of change from a Walmart self-checkout machine.
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According to Valley Central News, the alleged theft happened on March 5 in Brownsville.
Walmart surveillance footage shows a different customer making a purchase and then retrieving their change from an automated teller machine.
As he walked away with his groceries, he inadvertently left behind the remainder of his cash.
Minutes later, another man was allegedly caught taking the money from the machine without telling anyone that it had been left behind.
The man from Texas had been identified after a search, but he was released without facing any charges.
The man allegedly told KRGV that he didn’t think he had done anything wrong.
As the incident is still being investigated as a theft, police wanted to stress that “finders keepers” is not the case.
The man also committed to returning the money to its rightful owner.
The victim decided against filing charges, and the thief got away free.
The police expect the public to be on guard in the future to prevent the loss of change and to realize that they are not entitled to anyone else’s property.
The well-known store has had issues with their automated checkout systems before.
Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart, admitted to CNBC in December 2022 that “theft is an issue” at the company’s stores.
It’s higher than it’s been in the past, he said.
Some customers forget to scan their purchases entirely, and others forget to check their pockets for loose change.
Some customers using self-checkout will steal items, even if they have no intention of doing so, and this still costs stores money.
Shoppers have gotten in trouble for using these kiosks, which are among the many anti-theft measures implemented by retailers like Walmart, Kroger, and Dollar General.
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