An Iowa Walmart shopper has been accused of stealing over $1,500 worth of items from the store by taking advantage of a self-checkout hack.
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Over the past few years, Walmart has been rolling out the use of self-scanning checkouts in their store, which allows customers to scan their shopping by themselves.
Self-checkout, first tested in supermarkets in the late 1980s, gained momentum 20 years ago. But grocers ramped it up even more three years ago to address the pandemic-induced severe labor shortages.
However, the recent increase of self-checkouts has also made it easier for people to steal from the stores. This was the case for an Iowa shopper who managed to steal over $1,500 worth of products by taking advantage of self-checkouts.
Walmart shopper charged with second-degree theft
Perry has been released pending a trial.
According to court records, Perry allegedly used the store’s self-checkout machine and canceled the transaction before leaving the store with the goods.
A second-degree theft conviction is aclass D felonyin Iowa that’s punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $7,500.
Walmart employees also check customers’ receipts as they leave the store, which has become a hotly debated area of discussion.
Alice Sjöberg is an Evergreen Specialist on Dexerto’s UK team, focusing on Entertainment content. She is an NCTJ qualified journalist, providing expert coverage of trending, viral news from X/Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok. Alice also has bylines at The Mirror, MSN, Daily Express, OK! Magazine, and The Chronicle. You can contact her at: alice.sjoberg@dexerto.com
