Its Shiny

🕳️ How “blind spots” happen in stores

Blind spots aren’t usually created from scratch—they already exist because of:

• Camera angles that don’t fully overlap

• Tall shelving or product displays

• Corners, fitting rooms, or cluttered aisles

• Poor lighting or glare on cameras

Shoplifters are very good at finding these weak zones quickly.

Common ways shoplifters exploit blind spots

1. Using store layout against you

They gravitate toward:

• Ends of aisles not covered by cameras

• Areas behind large displays

• Corners where cameras don’t fully capture hand movement

They’ll often turn their body or block the camera view while concealing items.

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2. Creating “human blind spots”

Instead of cameras, they use people:

• Working in pairs or groups

• One person distracts staff (asking questions, causing confusion)

• Another person steals in a less-watched area

This is extremely common in organized retail theft.

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3. Temporary visual obstructions

They don’t install anything—they use what’s already there:

• Holding large items (like boxes or clothing) to block camera view

• Using shopping carts or baskets as shields

• Standing very close to shelves so their hands are hidden

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4. Targeting high-traffic chaos

Busy stores create natural blind spots:

• Staff attention is split

• Monitoring cameras becomes harder

• Quick concealment goes unnoticed

Thieves often time visits during peak hours for this reason.

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5. Fitting rooms & “private” areas

These are classic zones because:

• Limited or no camera coverage (for privacy reasons)

• Easy to remove packaging or tags

How stores counter this

• Overlapping camera coverage (no single-angle gaps)

• Convex mirrors in corners

• Staff presence in “dead zones”

• Limiting clutter and tall displays

• Monitoring behavior instead of just relying on cameras

A lot of places count going in and out, so here’s just a couple of ways to conceal on floor before they count. This is vital because if you’re caught lying about the number of items you have, the way you act can make an SA sus or not of you. In any case, just act apologetic, smile, and tell them you must have miscounted or thought you put something down... showing even the slightest amount of anxiety/apprehension (whatever the right word is) can and will make SAs sus of you. I just smile and shrug my shoulders a tiny bit and apologize for miscounting lol. Anyway, here are some of the methods I use to avoid the whole “what if they count in/out” situation. Don’t forget that most fitting rooms are unstaffed until you call an SA over (or they see you waiting) so walk in a bit and conceal while you can!

Shopping bag/purse: While in a blindspot or the fitting room, (or make your own by reaching into a display of clothes acting like you’re checking for a size), put whatever clothing items you want in your bag! I use an Äëröpöstälë or F21 bag since they’re super big and quite opaque. If you need a bag, bring a light jacket with you and ask a store if you could have a bag to put your jacket in! They’ll rarely say no. This method is great for ÜÖ, their clearance section is usually the best since they have all those racks and barely (if any) cameras.

Jacket: I absolutely LOVE this method so much. Have a zip-up or jacket on your arm and act like you’re just fixing or checking it out (lifting it up slightly, “examining” it, anything to be able to put the item under it), and discreetly fold or just slide your item under your jacket. Just make sure it’s not visible through your jacket by “adjusting your hair” in a full body mirror. No SA is going to ask you to hang up your jacket (I hope). I use this method or #1 with Zümïëz or VS.

A friend: This only works if the fitting room attendant leaves after helping you. Have a friend shop with you as you hold the decoys and your friend holds what you/they want and some decoys. Bring your decoys into the fitting room, and after you’re sure the attendant is gone (you can do this subtlely by trying something on and checking it in the mirror outside your room, or just looking out), text the friend to come in. Conceal what you both want and walk out with all the decoys. If anyone asks, you asked your friend for an opinion.

nice big bag that looks full even when it isn't

stuff your bra

wear clothing under clothing your already wearing

fold everything nicely to take up less space (konmari method)

go back to your car in between stores to dump stuff before going to the next store (this is how people get like 15 items in one trip)

come back another day

from someone who's lifted for a while, im new to liftmblr though, here's some things i've learnt and taught others!!

clothing wise;

-baggy, or just sleeves. if it's the summer then don't, maybe just a zip up hoodie or something not suspicious.

-bags, i recommend messenger or tote bags. tote bags are lighter and less obvious, just make sure they're slightly filled first. messenger bags are ideal as they're down by ur hip and you can easily slide things into it.

-trouser wise, have pockets that don't obviously show what you have. baggy shorts or trousers depending on the season. this way you can slip things into the pockets.

-make sure you don't look out of place for that type of shop, so if it's hmv you dress alternative or something. if it's a store that sells jewellery and clothes etc, dress nicely. primark h&m and stuff are exceptions.

advice:

-large corps only, small businesses and charity are NO. they need it, capitalists don't.

-have a friend with you, this way you can have conversations about things in the store and be less suspicious about looking at things. they can also comfort you or give confidence. make sure they consent to what you're doing though.

-have your phone, this way you can use that as an excuse to get things. slip something into your sleeve and look for your phone etc.

-act normal and don't immediately leave the store. have a browse for longer, then you can get more if you want to. or just seem like a normal browser, shops don't always have each customer buy something.

-multiple exits means you leave through a different exit to a store than entered.

-make sure the store is busy but not too busy

now for actual methods!!

-the itchy/looking at lower row method;

for this method you can do this on cds, shirts, anything large. works if you have baggy clothes. wear leggings underneath or tights so you can slide it into the wasteband.

having a friend with you makes this easier as they can barrier you from cameras.

this method works by taking two of what you want, if it's clothes slide it off the hooks first. make sure the clothes ain't that big.

cds and books, grab two and pretend your looking at another row and comparing the two. slide one into your wasteband. put the other one back after 'finalising a decision'. basically of getting neither.

for shirts/clothes. browse through the rack of clothes and take one off the hanger and drop it underneath. then accidentally drop an actual one and pretend to pick it up. as you pick it up slide the dropped one into your shirt as flat as you can so it's hidden and not chunky. then put the normal one back up.

-picking two at once:

this method works really well, you hold two of the same thing or similar together tightly.

with earrings just slide them out on the bottom one while 'checking out' the product. then hide them in your hand as you put them back, if you have a messenger bag slide it into the bottle holder behind ur phone (sit ur phone in that part as a hider) as you walk. since your hands are down there anyway.

if it's necklaces do the same but just hide the actual thing in your bag or sleeve rather than try. unless it's easy to get off.

same applies to most other products, works with smaller things

-more rash methods

ripping rings from the packaging and just stuffing whole things in ur bag. easy and efficient. just make sure it isn't too big and doesn't have any censors that will go off. safe ones are mostly stickers and barcodes that are printed. but if they have small bits of metal on the back or in them they're likely to go off. although i've sometimes taken those and they haven't, some could be fear causing rather than meaning to. either way try and get them off and stick them on something else.

excuses i often use

these are to say with your friend before putting stuff back:

"awh man, i don't have the money right now. i'll get it another day"

"it's so cute, i'll get it for my birthday" (doesn't matter if ur birthday is close or not)

"maybe i'll get a different colour" -works alone too

by yourself:

mutter these ones mostly

"ahh i don't have enough with me, how annoying"

"i've seen these online.. do i want it or is it just a trend? probably just a trend"

these also work with having friends ^

HAVE FUN PEOPLE!! :D

Do NOT leave packing behind out in the open

ABSOLUTELY Do NOT mutter to yourself in a store when |yfting!! (Do I even need to say this?)

Stay safe and vigilant out there ♡

those hoes... sigh

anyway, they've moved onto rfid big time.

from what i've seen, they now put rfid tags in four places:

the paper price tag (look against light)

as a part of the washing label by the side (look against light)

inside the label in the neck (you'll need a seam ripper)

sewn into the seam?? (have not seen this yet, pic from reddit)

in my zara, they still put hard tags on SOME items, i assume the high-value ones AND the ones that have rfids in the price tag.

if you see an item WITHOUT a hard tag and the price tag is just cardboard, KNOW that there is an rfid tag hidden somewhere within the item.

how do i know this?

they've moved onto a self-checkout system that knows your items without you scanning them. (it's the same technology as those smart changing room mirrors/thingies that know what items you've got with you). this system needs every item to contain an rfid. every item will have one, somewhere

these rfids are unique to the item! so they contain the product number, size, whether the item has been paid for etc information. so tag switching etc will not work

also, i haven't seen žârã use this, but some stores have rfid readers around the store now. they look like white squares. these readers ping every rfid in the room, and this means that each item's location can be tracked. HOWEVER, there is no magic involved. if the tag stays in one place, the computer will say that the item is there even when the item may be gone but the tag remains.

ok! sounds scary!!

it's not. imo it's a silly system and companies will adopt it bc it makes keeping track of inventory so much quicker.

what they haven't kept in mind is that rfids are delicate little babies and will stop working once the circuit is broken. they are 1000% easier to destroy than hard tags.

if they have this with a WHITE ID card in it (always ask them to pull out an ID card) they cannot use force to bring you back into the store so continue walking your pretty ass (preferably take a train or bus before they call real security lol)

if they have this ID card, sadly they can use reasonable force to bring you back into the store, but only with reasonable suspicion.

if they have an sort of lp badge in this type of wallet, sorry girlie they can use force on you (but reasonable) like grabbing your bag and not letting go, they cannot touch you whatsoever (same with blue id) they can only touch you once you start fighting back .

and last off all if they pull out this with their police id just pray you aren’t gonna get arrested lol

go on a company’s trustpilot and search “miśsing” or “parcel” in the search bar.

this will let you know how the company responds to actual missing parcels - like whether they only reship or offer a refund too.