mall rat extraordinaire

A friend of mine through an old community was recently arrested at K0hls. She beeped, and LP confronted her and she was wearing heels and couldn’t run. She was approached based on the beep, but LP was very close to the door when it happened so make of that what you will. 

She had a ton of shit in her purse and in a shopping bag, including clothing, expensive headphones, jewelry, and more. She still has no clue why she beeped since she checked thoroughly for tags in a fitting room and used a magnet, but is reasonably sure it wasn’t via a magnet detector. We’re talking about a very very experienced lfter here who felt comfortable in this particular store. 

The police showed up very quickly, as in while they were leading her to a back room, and she was arrested. Literally they took her in a police car to the station, booked her, took a mugshot, put her in jail, the whole nine yards. She was not strip searched. She was over the felony limit for her state, plus they found her tools, and she admitted she had taken some things, but not everything they found, and denied it was premeditated. She now regrets saying anything at all, and wishes she’d asked for a lawyer. 

They took her purse and got a warrant for her phone. She had to give them her passcode. This is something I’d heard rumors about the police doing but this is the first person I know who that happened to. She was bailed out the same day by her husband, who did not know she lfts and is not happy right now, but they did not let her take her phone home. She knows she is in deep, deep shit as she was boosting shit over several different apps on her phone and had used the phone to text with partners, but not on the day she was caught or for some time prior. When her husband picked her up he was not questioned, but a cop mentioned to him that if he was involved he should confess because they have her phone and will find out who she was working with. 

They did not get a warrant for her home or car as far as she knows; her car was still in the K0hls parking lot when she got out that night, with lfted stuff from another store in the trunk. Her husband told her to pack a bag of anything that she had taken recently which he is hiding with a relative just in case. She has lfted from K0hls before and is now worried about them checking tapes and getting her on more. She may be facing jail time just on what she was charged with already, and charges may be added depending on what they find on her phone. She may have put people she cares about in harms way, including a member of her family, because they texted her about lfting. She has hired a lawyer, and it’s not cheap, and has had to seek medical attention for severe anxiety that has made her unable to eat without getting sick or sleep a full night. 

From what she told me, I have learned a few lessons:

1. Don’t wear heels if you can’t run in heels.

2. Tags may be hidden in very covert places. I wish I could tell you what got her caught, but she still doesn’t know and is very, very surprised it happened. Her only guess is a bottle of perfume that was somewhat pricey. She had removed a tag stuck to the bottom of the box but wonders if perhaps there was a second tag inside the box that she missed.

3. Know the law, and know how much trouble you’d be in if you got caught each time. If it’s serious, refuse to talk and demand to see a lawyer. The expense is worth it if you’re fucked either way. Also make sure you do not consent to any searches. 

4. Be very careful about what’s on your phone. This is something I’d heard about in the past but just to be safe I’ve cleaned out my conversations on a few texting apps and deleted some photos. I’ve always used codewords for most conversations and now those are the only ones that could be found. 

5. A lot of liftblr caught stories, as well as caught stories on other sites, seem to center around K0hls. I have never fucked with K0hls because honestly there wasn’t much at mine I particularly wanted. My friend was very, very comfortable with hers and is shocked this is the place she ended up getting caught. Don’t fall into the trap of “but mine is easy” when you’re talking about a chain that is known for having good LP. Yours may have been easy when you started, but they could easily have stepped up their game. Be very vigilant every single time and try to avoid the felony total in any one trip. This situation would be significantly less dire if she had taken two trips instead of taking so much in one. She is also wondering if perhaps they had suspected her of lfting there for some time but simply did not feel comfortable catching her until the beep gave them a reason to confront her. 

6. We have been communicating through a very secure app on her ipad that does not log conversations since this happened. I don’t want to reveal any more about it right now but suggest those of you who like to stay in touch do your research about what technology you decide to use and maybe don’t use your phone if you bring that with you when you lft. I have always been very secure about my communications except for those where I chose to use code words. 

To be absolutely safe wipe your phone of any evidence before you go lifting. Log offf tumblr, delete any lifting texts after they’re sent and received. MAKE IT A HABIT. You don’t want to be caught with shit like that in your phone.

Always stay cautious don’t ever be too comfortable in a store. Never take more than the felony amount from a store at a time. Make multiple trips if you want it’s better to be cautious.

friend: OMG how much

me: free :-)

friend: .......

- st*bucks has an “assume the best in people” policy, meaning we cannot accuse anyone of stealing anything. At most we can ask to scan something at the register, but we can barely see over them most of the time

-part of assuming the best in everyone, is never accusing customers of taking other people’s drinks or mobile orders.

-best time to get anything would be when the store opens, there is usually only 2 or 3 employees, and there is so many tasks to do they don’t have time to stand at the register and stare people down

-if there is only one barista and no one at the register, tell them you don’t know what you want yet and let them take their time. Most stores have the bar opposite of the coffee and cups

-there are no cameras facing the lobby unless the door is in the middle of it. Cameras are to make sure employees are ringing things up correct and washing their hands, the camera over the door is for if the store gets robbed

-baristas and cashiers are not allowed to call the police! Only the store manager. Managers usually have the most pins on their apron, don’t ask it just works out this way.

-once you steal something, get the fuck outta the store!! Why would you stay? They have a million stores you could go to.