Shoplifting in Germany

 Techniques

Shoplifting Advice as given by others

In this sections shoplifting techniques as presented by others on the web are quoted and commented upon. As shoplifting is a worldwide 'business'– in fact THE most common property crime (next to exploitation through wage labour) – no distinction as to the location of sources of quoted materials has been drawn. In some instances the spelling of the sources has been improved and/or emphases added.

Snippets
Disclaimer

The pros and cons of various shoplifting techniques have already been described in detail in the S(h)elf Help Guide. Chapter 3 What and How – Methods and Behaviour or the 'Art of Shoplifting' (p 105-) some techniques are described, viz. [summaries]:

Methods. Our sources ... described many good, bad, brilliant and worthless schemes to us, each requiring knowledge, confidence, experience, and/or guts. None of them is foolproof.

• Big Switch: Pair of lifters, one as a suspicious decoy the other 'regular' customer. Decoy drops suspiciously collected stuff. The other picks it up. Decoy aims at being hasseled.
• Circular Display Rack: One of a team hides inside a display rack. The other drops goodies into it, which are put on by the hidden one.
• Receipt: Purchase desired items. Return repeatedly same day for exactly same items, presenting receipt if necessary. Alternatively collect receipt left by others and 're-purchase'.
• Buy the store: Fill up shopping trolley. When at the register, pretend not to have any cash on you. Ask to keep the goods. Leave with those goodies already concealed.
• Prepared Questions: Distract staff or make them search for an item way back. Alternatively distractions or diversion may be caused (bumping into pyramid displays etc).
• Grab and run: In, take you pick, run out again. Alternatively as a group fill up shopping cart, 'gate crash' and wheel them up onto a waiting get-away car (van).
• Buzz through gate or use others for cover: Two together, one with knowinly tagged items walks through the gate at the same time as clean buddy, who stops looking confused as alarm goes off. By the time LP are finished with him, the other one is miles away. Alternatively walk out at the same time as a Mum with a pram (2-3 yo kids are best). They always stop looking at the kid.
  Anybody not minding setting off alarms may use emergency exits. Just make sure where they lead to and be quick about it. Feeling really mean? Pull off a tag and stick it onto somebody else, then pass the gate at the ame time. [Wanting to annoy LP? Dont't lift but act suspicious as hell. Put one of those sticky paper tags on your shoe. Make LP crawl in the dust after that bad stop.]
• Ruin the gates: On the way in, fall onto the gate and break it. [???]
• Drop and Collect: Well known. Select your item, put somewhere else in the shop, collect later. Works also for groups.
• Special Clothes: One might add extra (bottomless) pockets or wear jackets with rubber-band sleeves. Boots with large openings are also said to be useful.
• 'Shopping' from a display case: Check every display case if it has been left unlocked.
• Walking Out: For large items from department stores. Simply take a box with an item too big to be put in a bag. Coolly walk through the nearest exit [it might help to remove any obvious tags].
• 'Double Rule' and 'Dressing Up': When lifting, don't just take one item, make your trip worthwhile.
  Make sure you are dressed appropiately (or slightly overdressed) for the store, its usual clientele and location.
  Dressing up as an employee lookalike might work in large stores with lots of part-timers.

Convex mirrors aid the lifter as much as staff. Most of them are hard on the eye anyway and very few people actually look at them. As a lifter, if anybody looks at you you can look at them too. [Two way mirrors are usually easily spotted, the reflective surface has an unusual look about it. In a changing room, just get close to the mirror and shield your eyes. They become see-through with no light from the reflective side. {Note the implications of sexual harrassement by peeping security staff in a dressing room.}]

Disclaimer [Full text]: The author of these pages would like to emphasise that he does neither endorse nor condone, nor intend to entice others to any behaviour that anywhere might be considered illegal or criminal.
All shoplifting techniques described are quoted from other sources and have not been tested and or applied ever by the author. Thus no warranty as to workabilitiy of the techniques described is accepted.
Should any of the sites linked hereto contain information that maybe illegal or criminal anywhere in this universe or time frame, the author denies any responsibility for such content as there is no way of influencing it. [Ehm, ehm ... Greetings to my favourite prosecutor ...], particularly as it is the reader's conscious chois to access such sites by clicking the meta-information ('anchor#) provided. The information herewithin is solely provided for the use of retailers to be able to protect their commercial interests! Furthermore this site is in no way connected with the publishers of 'Shelf Help Guide', although it is admitted that said book was a great source of inspiration.

Some basic introductory philosophy:

Why I love shoplifting from big corporations

Nothing compares to the feeling of elation, of burdens being lifted and constraints escaped, that I feel when I walk out of a store with their products in my pockets. In a world where everything already belongs to someone else, where I am expected to sell away my life at work in order to get the money to pay for the minimum I need to survive, where I am surrounded by forces beyond my control or comprehension that obviously are not concerned about my needs or welfare, it is a way to carve out a little piece of the world for myself – to act back upon a world that acts so much upon me. It is an entirely different sensation than the one I feel when I buy something. When I pay for something, I'm making a trade; I'm offering the money that I bought with my labor, my time, and my creativity for a product or service that the corporation wouldn't share with me under any other circumstances. In a sense, we have a relationship based on violence: we negotiate an exchange not according to our respect or concern for each other, but according to the forces that we can bring to bear on each other. Supermarkets know they can charge me a dollar for bread because I will starve if I do not buy it from them; they know they can't charge me four dollars, because I will go somewhere else. So our interaction revolves around unspoken threats, rather than love, and I am forced to give up something of my own to get anything from them . Everything changes when I shoplift. I'm no longer negotiating with faceless, inhuman entities that have no concern for my welfare; instead, I'm taking what I need without giving anything up. I no longer feel like I am being forced into an exchange, and I no longer feel as if I have no control over the way the world around me dictates my life. I no longer have to worry about whether the pleasure I receive from the book I purchased was equal to the two hours of labor it cost me to be able to afford it. In these and a thousand other ways, shoplifting makes me feel liberated and empowered. Let's examine what shoplifting has to offer as an alternative way of life.
The shoplifter wins her prize by taking risks, not by exchanging a piece of her life for it. Life for her is not something that must be sold away for seven or eight dollars an hour in return for survival; it is something that is hers because she takes it for herself, because she lays claim to it. In stark contrast to the law-abiding consumer, the means by which she acquires goods is as exciting as the goods themselves; and this means is also, in many ways, more praiseworthy. Shoplifting is a refusal of the exchange economy. It is a denial that people deserve to eat, live, and die based on how effectively they are able to exchange their labor and capital with others. It is a denial that a monetary value can be ascribed to everything, that having a piece of delicious chocolate in your mouth is worth exactly fifty cents or that an hour of one person's life can really be worth ten dollars more than that of another person. It is a refusal to accept the capitalist system, in which workers have to buy back the products of their own labor at a profit to the owners of capital, who thus get them coming and going. Shoplifting says NO to all the objectionable features that have come to characterize the modern corporation. It is an expression of discontent with the low wages and lack of benefits that so many exploiting corporations force their employees to suffer in the name of company profits. It is a refusal to pay for low quality products that have been designed to break or wear out soon in order to force consumers to buy more. It is a refusal to fund the environmental damage that so many corporations perpetrate heartlessly in the course of manufacturing their products and building new stores, a refusal to support the corporations that run private, local businesses into bankruptcy, a refusal to accept the murder of animals in the meat and dairy industries and the exploitation of migrant labor in the fruit and vegetable industries. Shoplifting makes a statement against the alienation of the modern consumer. "If we are not able to find or afford any products other than these, that were made a thousand miles from us and about which we can know nothing," it asserts, "then we refuse to pay for these." The shoplifter attacks the cynical mind control tactics of modern advertising. Today's commercials, billboards, even the floor-layouts and product displays in stores are designed by psychologists to manipulate potential consumers into purchasing products. Corporations carry out extensive advertising campaigns to insinuate their exhortations to consumption into every mind, and even work to make their products into status symbols that people from some walks of society eventually must own in order to be accorded respect. Faced with this kind of manipulation, the law-abiding consumer has two choices: either to come up with the money to purchase these products by selling his life away as a wage laborer, or to go without and possibly invite public ridicule as well as private frustration. The shoplifter creates a third choice of her own: she takes the products she has been conditioned to desire without paying for them, so the corporations themselves must pay for all of their propagandizing and mind control tactics. Shoplifting is the most effective protest against all these objectionable attributes of modern corporations because it is not merely theoretical, it is practical, it involves action. Verbal protests can be raised to irresponsible business practices without ever having any solid effect, but shoplifting is intrinsically damaging these corporations at the same time as it (however covertly) demonstrates dissatisfaction. It is better than a boycott, because not only does it cost the corporation money rather than just denying it profit, it also means that the shoplifter is still able to obtain the products, which she may need to survive. And in these days when so many corporations are interconnected, and so many multinationals are involved in unacceptable activity, shoplifting is a generalized protest: it is a refusal to put any cash into the economy at all, so that the shoplifter can be sure that none of her cash will ever end up in the hands of the corporations she disapproves of. In addition to that, she will have to work less for them, as well! But what about the people in the corporations? What about their welfare? First of all, corporations are distinct from traditional private businesses in that they exist as separate financial entities from their owners. So the shoplifter is stealing from a non-human entity, not directly from the pocket of a human being. Second, since so many workers are paid set wages (minimum wage, for example) that depend more on how little the corporation can get away with paying rather than on how much profit it is making, the shoplifter is not really hurting most of the workforce at any given company either. The stockholders, who are almost always far richer than your average thief, are the ones who stand to lose a little if the company suffers significant losses; but realistically, no campaign of shoplifting could be intense enough to force any of the wealthy individuals who actually profit from these companies into poverty. Besides, modern corporations have money set aside for shoplifting losses, because they anticipate them. That's correct -these corporations are aware that there is enough dissatisfaction with them and their capitalist economy that people are going to steal from them remorselessly. In that sense, shoplifters are just playing their role in society, just like C.E.O.s. More significantly, these corporations are cynical enough to go about their business as usual, even though they know this leaves many of their customers (and employees!) ready to steal anything from them that they can. If they are willing to continue doing business in this way even when they are aware how many people it alienates, they should not be surprised that people continue stealing from them.
Shoplifting is more than a way to survive in the cutthroat competition of the "free market" and protest corporate injustices. It is also a different kind of orientation to the world and to life. The shoplifter makes do with an environment that has been conquered by capitalism and industry, where there is no longer a natural world from which to gather resources and everything has become private property, without accepting it or the absurd way of life it entails. She takes her life into her own hands by applying an ancient method to the problem of modern survival: she lives by urban hunting and gathering. In this way she is able to live much as her distant ancestors did before the world was subjugated by technology, imperialism, and the irrational demands of the "free" market; and she can find the same challenges and rewards in her work, rewards that are lost to the rest of us today. For her, the world is as dangerous and as exciting as it was to prehistoric humanity: every day she is in new situations, confronting new risks, living by her wits in a constantly changing environment. For the law-abiding consumer, it is likely that every day at work is similar to the last one and danger is as sorely lacking in life as meaning and purpose are.
To shoplift is to affirm immediate, bodily desires (such as hunger) over abstract "ethics" and other such ethereal constructs, most of which are left over from a deceased Christianity anyway. Shoplifting divests commodities (and the marketplace in general) of the mythical power they seem to have to control the lives of consumers... when they are seized by force, they show themselves for what they are: merely resources that have been held by force by these corporations at the expense of everyone else. Shoplifting places us back in the physical world, where things are real, where things are nothing more than their physical characteristics (weight, taste, ease of acquisition) and are not invested with superstitious qualities such as "market value" and "profit margin." It forces us to take risks and experience life firsthand again. Perhaps shoplifting alone will not be able to overthrow industrial society or the capitalist system... but in the meantime it is one of the best forms of protest and self-empowerment, and one of the most practical, too!
Shoplifters of the world, unite!

More philosophy against the current exploitative system may be found in Silvio Gesell's writings (Also check the Bibliography and Weird Links in Bits & Pieces).

The "Differing Types of Shoplifters" as explained by CASA, one of these self-help outfits, where they meet once weekly (naked), form a circle, hold hands, then squat, chanting: Mea culpa! [burning of incense sticks is optional]

Differing Types of Shoplifters

Shulman divides shoplifters into six (6) distinct groups, each with certain identifiable characteristics and expected responses if they are caught. The percentage that follows is Shulman's estimate as to the percentage of the total shoplifting population that the particular group comprises.
ADDICTIVE-COMPULSIVE SHOPLIFTERS: 85%
This group emotionally has a lot of repressed anger and often exhibits signs of other compulsive addictions, such as overeating, shopping, drug use, or gambling. These people often give to others and don't take care of themselves. Typically, they will steal items that are often inexpensive, and then give them to others as gifts. If caught, they will show guilt, shame, or remorse. Often, they will breakdown and cry when caught and confronted.
PROFESSIONALS, THOSE WHO STEAL FOR PROFIT OR LIFESTYLE: 2%
Professionals will try to steal high-end, expensive items, often stealing multiple items at one time. Many carry tools and utensils on them to assist with the theft. Most likely, this group will resist arrest if confronted and will attempt to flee the store. If caught and detained, they will remain cool and calm, showing no remorse or emotion.
THE IMPOVERISHED, THOSE WHO STEAL OUT OF ECONOMIC NEED: 5%
Typically, they will steal necessities, like food, diapers, toiletries, or children's clothing. Often, their manner of dress and hygiene may be poor. If caught, they will usually show remorse, but state their frustration with their lack of money, and may voice hostility against a "System" that keeps them impoverished.
THE THRILL SEEKERS, THOSE WHO STEAL ON A DARE OR FOR EXCITEMENT: 5%
These shoplifters will often steal in groups. Many teenagers fall into this category.
DRUG ADDICTS, THOSE WHO STEAL TO PAY FOR A DRUG HABIT: 2%
Like Professionals, they prefer stealing expensive, high end items, usually multiple items at a time. Their appearance often shows signs of substance abuse. They often carry drugs or drug paraphernalia on themselves. They are usually less careful than the Professional, but will likely arrest and flee the store if confronted.
KLEPTOMANIACS ARE THOSE WHO STEAL FOR NO REASON: 1%
Kleptomaniacs are impulsive and often careless. They will often take items they don't need and can't use, like stealing shoes that don't fit. If caught, many will admit they are kleptomaniacs and do not feel much remorse or shame. They will often use common excuses, like "I don't remember taking it", or "I don't know why I took it because I don't even need it".

One certainly needs not agree with above!

It should be noted that in Germany a theft is considered to have been completed the moment the item has been hidden. Even if it is possible to dump an item in time, one may still get sentenced (based on a sworn statement of security or video evidence).

The LAW

"Don't hide it" is therefore, particularly effective and "safe". Although the "expert" Charles Sennewald in his book Shoplifting describes it as: ... a relatively unsophisticated method of theft. One shouldn't mind being unsophisticated, as long as the results are good.

Many shops in Germany have display racks in the street. It is often impossible to watch these – very inviting racks – from the inside of the store. There have been instances where the complete rack has been stolen!

A particularly mean trick of course is – when knowingly carrying a tagged item - to pass through gates at the same moment a mum with a 2-3 year old in a pram walks through. They always stop when the alarm sounds and look if the little one ...

German loss-prevention staff will usually try to stop you at the exit, but still within the shop. In case you are being followed outside (or suspect this is the case), if on a reasonably busy street: Keep on walking at a fast but steady pace! Don't turn around! Don't break into a run! Try to blend in with the crowd. If someone taps you on the shoulder, it maybe somebody (as has happend to me) handing you your house-keys left at the register. If just one baddie is after you, there will still be enough time to smack him in the mouth and run (behaviour like this will ensure you make it into tomorrows Small Town Paper – and get charged with robbery – minimum 1 year) if necessary. But remember: Stay cool – Always!
Of course a 'shoplifter at work' should never have taken any substances that might impair his alacrity.

Just to be on the safe side – it might be a good idea for the regular lifter to be familiar with interrogation techniques and how to avoid being drawn out (apparently the IRA [yahoo groups] were pretty good at training their volunteers in this [Ulster laws permitted 7 days incommunicado in the 1970s, when hapless Republicans were interned in disregard of their human rights {The world hasn't changed much - eh? Guantanomo] by way of their "Green Book" [Text; apparently a reprint from Tim Pat Coogans's Gaddhafi's political statement by the same title is also a denial of the current capitalist system (Send HIM an SMS/Text message).

A text called Shoplifting been caught? Interrogation techniques, published by "Exile66" under rotteneggs.com

Every shoplifter out there has the capacity to be caught. Hell, even the good guys in my damn comic books when I was a kid got defeated every episode now and then. The case is the same for anyone who engages in this illegal activity. Yes, it is illegal, but it is a petty crime. Shoplifting almost never involves the use of a weapon or violence of any kind. The best thing to do when you are compromised in the store is to simply leave. Don't slow down for anything. If the sensors go off, walk away. If someone asks you to empty your pockets, walk away. You can only be detained if you are caught, and you shouldn't give them that luxury.
The first time you are caught will be the time that you never forget. I was caught simply because I forgot to take off those electronic tags that were on some batteries I was stealing. I was too busy flirting with some girl I knew from highschool to even think of searching the package. Before I knew it, I went through the security sensors and they went off. I wanted to puke. That had never happened to me. The guy at the register asked me to hand him anything that was electronic (garage opener, cell phone, etc.) and go through it again. Since I simply couldn't just hand him the concealed batteries, I kept walking through it without these items and it kept going off. At this point, he asked me to stay there while he contacted a manager. Being the dumbass I was at the time, it didn't occur to me that I should have just run away at this point. The manager came, asked me to empty all of my pockets, and found the batteries. After this, some security guys came, handcuffed me, and took me to a break room in the back of the store.
They asked me a bunch of questions first and got me to crack. At the time I was fifteen and a gullible teenager. They told me if I cooperated, everything would run smoothly. #*@!ing liars. They handed me paperwork that had to be signed, or else I would "face further criminal prosecution". Since it was only a $5 set of batteries, they decided to let me off but only after my parents picked me up. It was #*@!ing embarassing for my mother to pick me up while I was physically restrained. I signed a paper agreeing never to come back there, but I learned from my mistakes and hit that store many, many times in the future.
Now, back to the interrogation. What did I do wrong? Everything. Things could have gone a lot worse, however. Had I been 18, or been caught with a more expensive item, I could have been looking at time in a jail and community service. They asked me questions, and I gave them the answers I wanted to hear. I signed a paper without fully understanding what it meant, as I was more terrified of what they were saying. Third, my parents became involved and lost their trust in me. Here is what you can learn from this pathetic story:

1. If you are detained, they may or may not restrain you [in continental Europe they almost never will]. If you are handcuffed, there isn't much you can do about it. The room I was in wasn't meant for holding people. It was for people to eat their lunches. Look for an exit, and when the interrogators are busy or leave the room, make a dash for it. If you get caught again, well...at least you tried, didn't you?
2. If you have no choice but to stay, listen to their questions carefully. Most of what they will tell you is absolute bull#*@!. Give them NOTHING.
3. If they hand you a paper to sign, don't sign it.
4. If police are present and begin to ask questions. If you feel threatened, ask for a lawyer.
5. If you are underage and they ask to call you parents, give them a fake number. Delay them at all costs. Once you hear the police are going to be involved, make all attempts to escape. [???]
6. Eventually, they might get tired of you and let you go. It depends on the situation. Above all, don't answer any questions and try to sway them with a lot of crying. DO NOT APOLOGIZE. THIS IMPLIES GUILT.

If God is the answer, what is the question?

---

Shoplifting techniques as described by others

Ram-rodding, whereby a – usually stolen – car is driven into a store window, which is then emptied of its contents, normally after hours, is not exactly a shoplifting technique. Initially an British trait, it has never been too popular on the continent. As a protective measure in Zurich about 30 stores had put huge rocks on the footpath which by order of the City Council in 2004 were to be removed. Various companies offer systems that will cover the attacked store in smoke ("foggers"), making it impossible to find one's way around.

First of all some more bits from the "methods" section of the S(h)elf Help Guide, the inspiration to draw up this site:

CHASS! Pas de deux! Exeunt!

 When you are young and giddy you do a lot of goofy things. Once I bought something small like a set of steak-knives, and at the same time I was pushing a couple of sleeping bags together with my backpack through the checkpoint in an army supply store. While I was doing my little ballet exercise I involved the cashier in a very friendly conversation. After I paid and nonchalantly picked up the plastic bag she gave me, I picked up my backpack and my two brand new sleeping bags. We were on our way to do some camping."
PREPARED QUESTIONS - Make them dance to your music!
A very useful method of 'catch-prevention' is to arrive at the store with the right questions in your head. Better yet, take a shopping list! Questions provide a cover if a vendor approaches you while you are browsing. With the right queries you can tire him out, send him looking for something in the store room, or just make him leave you alone.
"An excellent question is the one about a special item. You ask the guy how it works, how much it costs. You can ask about something you know they don't have. You can ask about which aisle you can find this or that. Ask about if he might have seen the wife or kid you lost. Ask about if they have it in another size, shape, with or without pockets or in another color. Where is the washroom, if they have one? Is the price right and can you expect a sale soon? You don't have to be a writer, and you don't have to act too much. Make up stupid questions...appropriate and simple..."
FALLING DOWN - London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down ...
"I had a list of twelve different large stores in the city and a couple more close by. Okay, I am just 'visiting' this one. All right. I pack away onto my back this package of this CD-ROM. They put them in these book-like boxes, it is too much trouble to open them...anyway.. I am walking out. Safe, I think. After a couple of steps, just before I reached the exit, somehow the damned box comes loose and I feel it is falling out. It was an on-the-spot invention, I swear I never heard of it before. As the box was falling, I dropped with it onto the ground like a sack of potatoes. Two girls from the checkout came over. They were very worried, and asked me if I hurt myself. I told them I was fine, when one of them handed me the CD-ROM. 'Sir, you dropped this..' It was really cute. They handed me my stuff as if on a silver platter." Bordeaux wine is falling down, falling down, falling down...
"We were out to get some classy booze with my buddy from a wine store in a downtown mall. We were on foot and already packed with some stuff from other places. I gave him my stuff to hold and went into the store alone. I packed away three bottles and went to pay for the fourth. When the cashier was handling my plastic, I felt that one of the bottles began to slip. My buddy was standing outside, just in front of the door. I made a step toward him to 'give' him my bag. I was already outside the gates when the bottle did slip. It fell onto the marble floor and broke. I promptly dropped the bag with the other bottle, and told my buddy to pick up the first one and scram - drop it in the garbage. It was a nice store. Nice enough to replace the broken bottle. No charge. When I went back to the shelves to pick up my free replacement, I also loaded in another bottle of the other kind I so haplessly lost. I just secured it better. There is no decency left in this world.

An Anarchopunk had some good reasoning as why to steal on his site, although I wouldn't rate his "How to" advice as overly useful. Anyway:

Shoplifting

 It's the perfect crime – easy, quick, effective and satisfying. See what you want, work out the best way to get your hands on it, then just take it. Shoplifting improves your lifestyle and pokes a finger in the eyes of big business at the same time. In fact, its such a normal part of everyday life for so many people that its difficult to think of it as being a crime at all.
Yet some people, including many left wingers, still say that you can't justify shoplifting: they say its immoral, dishonest, illegal, selfish and greedy. Well, greed and selfishness can be a problem - we must share the goodies around, think of others when we put our hands in our pockets. But as for the rest, it sounds suspiciously like the old trendy-lefty martyr complex - you know, if it makes my life a little more bearable now, then it must be wrong. Here's another way of seeing it:

• Shoplifting is MORE ACCESSIBLE than the world of big business: anyone can do it, and many of the people whom big business usually shits on (parents with prams and wheelchair-bound, for example) have a positive advantage.
• Shoplifting is LESS IMMORAL than big business: it doesn't exploit workers, kill animals, destroy rain forests or give cancer to children.
• Shoplifting is MORE HONEST than big business: shoplifters don't pretend to be providing a public service, they don't create artificial shortages, nor do they invent myths of fashion or style.
• Shoplifting is illegal, but SO ARE MOST THINGS THAT DAMAGE PROFITS: armed insurrection, industrial sabotage, most strikes and many demonstrations, are illegal, but this doesn't prevent them getting widespread support from lefties.

If you think I'm being flippant, then perhaps I am. To be honest, it seems that its actually easier to justify shoplifting that to justify paying for the things we need. Shoplifting can have a personal impact, too. As well as making life easier, it can help change the way you see shops and the things they sell.
When you've got no money its easy to wander around the shops and get hypnotised by all the goodies, to start thinking "if only I had that .. and that .. and that .. then everything would be aright" You feel this way because you associate certain goods with certain lifestyles: not so much the crude links of the Margarine for men, but more subtle ones drawn from ads aimed directly at your "market segment".
But because you gave up nothing to get the things you shoplift, mearly owning them means nothing. Shoplifting removes the glamour from goods, it devalues them so that their worth is measured only by how useful they are. And, as the things that you've shoplifted become truly price-less, you see more clearly than ever before. That no amount of books, records, drugs, clothes, food and drink could ever compensate for the misery this society creates. If you're still dubious about the whole thing, ask yourself why? Perhaps you still feel that shoplifting is just wrong? As we grow up we learn rules, mainly from our parents, that shape the way we live. This happens to all of us, mostly without us even noticing. Its that little voice in your head, the nagging feeling that tells you which things are right, and which are wrong. You probably call this little voice your conscience. But it isn't really yours, in fact it isn't a natural part of you at all. Its simply a part of the society that you (and your parents before you) grew up in - the very society you want to change. So when the little voice stops you from fighting back, encourages you to put up with things as they are, don't call it your conscience. Call it the THOUGHT POLICE and give it as much respect as you'd give any copper (This doesn't mean its OK to do whatever you like when you like, with no regard for anyone else. But once you realise why the little voice speaks up when it does, its easier to ignore it when its talking crap)
Enough of that old chat - if you're still reading then you're probably convinced. Here's some basic tips on how to do it. Read them, think about them, talk about them with your friends. THEN GET OUT THERE AND USE THEM!!!

THE 'OUR PRICE' TOP TEN TIPS!

1. Don't dress up like a terrorist every time you go shopping. Be as bland and uninteresting as possible. Choose boring clothes with conveniently placed large pockets
2. Know your shops. Work out what security they have, where the blind spots are, and when they're busiest - for most shops this will be Saturdays, and between twelve and two during the week.
3. Watch out for cameras, mirrors, one-way [sic] glass. None of these things are much use except as a deterrent, but don't take un-necessary risks.
4. Take a knife to cut plastic security tags off clothing, by cutting either the plastic or the cloth. Pliers are useful, too: tags can sometimes be removed by pinching the two halves tightly, then pulling or sliding the two halves apart. Changing rooms are usually the best place for this. Remember that shops which use security tags are usually lax about the rest of their security.
5. Cultivate useful habits that involve reaching inside your clothing: blow your nose frequently, have an itch in the small of your back. And always try to appear ten times more stupid than you are. But make sure you don't over do it, or you'll look nervous. Always carry things in your hands like gloves, a bag, a newspaper, or anything else that might conceal small objects (jewellery, cassettes, books, many types of food) by simply folding it around them.
6. Work out ways to throw store detectives off the trail: you might buy some cheap items and only steal the more expensive ones - a good way to approach your food shopping, as many of the more expensive goodies are conveniently pocket sized; make a point of speaking to an assistant before you leave the shop - this gives you a chance to look around you a bit and see if you're being watched, and might confuse any suspicious store detectives.
7. Always remove price tags and brand labels as soon as you can (!!!) - go to a public toilet (watch out for plainclothes police), or examine your goodies at leisure over a cup of coffee.
8. Take advantage of circumstances, like crowds, bomb scares, fire alarms, complaining customers or gossiping shop assistants.
9. Work with some friends. Working together you can shield each other from view, create diversions, and stash the first lot of goodies somewhere else whilst you go back for more - then if you're caught, you've got less stuff on you.
10. If you do get grabbed, it'll almost definitely be by a store detective. If you can, its usually best to drop the goodies and run. Otherwise don't tell them anything, and don't admit to anything at all – they can't prosecute you without proof.

"Naragankar Pete" recommended:

How to Steal:

 This is hardcore merchandise manipulation, and you will go to jail if you get caught. So here is how not to get caught: Move the merchandise to another part of the store before you conceal it. It's that simple. Never, ever take an item from the shelf into you pocket or jacket or whatever. If your stealing a tube of paint, put it in your basket, nice and innocent like, and stroll on over the canvas section. Keep in mind that aisles that contain huge and hard-to-shoplift items are rarely watched closely. The paper-towel aisle in the supermarket is almost always empty. That's Rule 1: Move the item before concealing it. Almost as obvious but equally important is Rule 2: Remove the product from any packaging. This both aids in ease of concealment. Plus, if you are caught later on, you can always claim that you brought the item with you into the store. Rule 2 applies well to Health and Beauty products. Make sure to hide the discarded packaging behind items in an unrelated aisle. Be warned that eventually your discarded packaging will be found so its likely the store will know what products are being racked on a regular basis. This means don't always steal the same product from the same store, gnome sane.
Before we get on to how to conceal the goods, some extra tips: The least suspicious people to security are old folks and couples. Groups of girls or guys may be conspicuous. Stealing with a partner can work well with a look-out technique while one person conceals products. You can also nest-build with a partner: one person gets the merchandise and stashes it somewhere out of the way, and someone else conceals it. No one will suspect a steak thief who never went anywhere near the meat display. Sorry kids, but youngsters are always suspect unless with a parent.
Having a shopping list will be your biggest tool to looking like a legitimate shopper. Also, stealing some valuable items while purchasing something cheap demonstrates you have an agenda of spending rather than stealing. Another technique to fitting in is to ask a clerk where something is or how much something costs. This is a switcheroo move, because normal shoplifters want not to be noticed, you are being noticed. This works best in a busy store with lots of people asking for help, but can backfire easily, so use with caution. Oh yeah, this one is so obvious I almost forgot about it: If the store has a bathroom that you can use, for crying out loud use it! Just be careful cause security is watching the shitter like a hawk for suspicious characters just like you.
Concealing the Goods: Also known as "Body Stuffing", this is how to stash the products on you and walk on out the store. First of all, practice at home first, dummy. Time yourself, watch yourself in a mirror. Not only do you have to hide the goods on you, you have to be able to walk out the door without arousing suspicion. Unless you are Frankenstein, walking out with rigid arms and a stiff back won't look normal. Be prepared and practice at home.
Aside from your pants or coat pockets, the waistband of your pants is the best place to hide merchandise. You can conceal pretty large items either in front or in the back, or both. This is where the loose pants and untucked shirt play the key role. You'll likely have to suck in that gut or arch your back a bit, which can make walking a bit awkward. Practice at home. To steal clothes, roll 'em up and stuff 'em down. Another goldmine of concealment is the armpits. Remember, the items will fall if you raise your arms so learn how to push open doors with you feet or hip. Another pocket, a huge one, can be created by wearing a button-up shirt that is tied tight around your waist, then a jacket above. Bill Guada demonstrates the capacity of this back-pocket by concealing a VCR in there. Not bad. You can custom make secret pockets in a jacket or coat as well. A coat over your arm or a newspaper can be very helpful for stealing many items, particularly records. Also, you can use box tricks. Prepare a box that is easy to open by cutting away and making a flap of one side. It helps if it is a box from another nearby store and you have a receipt. If security sees you come in with a sealed box and leave with a sealed box (complete with receipt taped to it), no one will be the wiser. Fedex boxes are also good for this. And always try to get bags of the store your stealing from.
You can also conceal items inside cheaper items you buy. Film stashes well in potato salad. And for the kids, you can put a can of beer in a BigGulp and surround it with soda. Be creative and youll get what you want, no problem at all. Remember - move that item before stashing.

Fred Reed on his site, apart from really commenting on everything, mentions the following:

Shoplifting – Life Among The Boosters

Shoplifters are some of my favorite criminals. [...] Lots of them aren't real sophisticated. They wear baggy clothes, dont look at all as if they belonged in Nordstroms, and end up being watched on a lot of screens in the security room. There was an old black guy in a wheel chair who, miraculously cured for a moment, put a VCR in its box on his chair seat, sat on it, and covered his lap with a rug. It was a good idea, but didn't work. There was the scruffy white guy who, caught lifting cigarettes, grabbed a can of Mace from a counter and began spraying people to cover his flight.
Most shoplifters seem to regard getting caught as just a cost of doing business. [...] The most interesting case I know of I didn't see myself. A friend of mine in Chicago was doing undercover narco work some years back. There was a black guy who was a major dealer. [...] Anyway, my friend was following the guys wife for reasons related to the drug dealing.
[...] After following her into several department stores, my buddy realized that she was the brains behind a really clever shoplifting scheme.
She would go into the store with several downscale and suspicious-looking black women. These would proceed to look like shoplifters. They hung around counters of small expensive goods. They brushed up against things. They picked up pricey merchandise, walked around with it, put it down somewhere else. They looked around them slyly to see whether they were being watched.
The stores security people were onto them in a heartbeat and watched them like hawks. [...] Meanwhile a respectable-looking young white woman, part of the gang, walked around other parts of the store. She was wearing what my friend describes as looking like a square-dancing skirt – lots of flair. Under it she had, guess what, booster bags. Lots of them. While the security people were following around the pseudo-boosters, who of course didn't steal anything at all, she stole practically everything in the store and left. It worked like a charm. [...]
Other scams abound. As I guess everyone knows, a standard technique is to put on clothes in the dressing rooms and then walk out wearing them. Its also a fairly good way to get caught.
An improvement is to buy an expensive shirt, say, and get a receipt. You take it out of the store and put it in your car or, much smarter, in a friends car. You go back in, put on an identical shirt in the dressing room, and walk out of the store. If you dont get caught, you put it in the car, and go back for another.
If you do get caught, you whip out the receipt, act indignant, and threaten to sue. If you are, say, Latino, you complain of racial discrimination and say you're going to call the media. The store will back down instantly, even if the security suspect you of working the receipt scam.
Finally, there were the college students hired by a store to re-price several aisles of goods. They simply stole large numbers of price tags and gave them to friends, who put them on more expensive goods and bought them. They got caught by pushing too hard – putting a seven-dollar tag on a power drill ...
[also his opinion video surveillance and privacy as well as the Meritious Breaking of Laws].

Budinger, who also operates a consultancy in his book Ladendiebstahl describes the typical shoplifter as acting in the following manner [loosely translated from the German original]:

• Glancing around, but not at staff or products (looking over the shoulder, waiting for an "opportunity").
• Looking at staff to assess them. Body and hands directed towards the goods.
• Handling of bags, backpacks, clothes etc. close to goods, at the same time glancing around [Translator's note: I consciously avoid the word "furtively" here]. Advice to staff: Approach customer and mention that his/her bag is open. Conclusion drawn: an honest customer is aware of pickpockets, a shoplifter will be scared away.
• Repeatedly picking a certain article up and putting it back. Choosing obviouly unsuitable articles (e.g. clothes of wrong size) to gain time and opportunity before picking the desired article.
• Items put back quickly, or moving fast to a different location, as soon as another person is noticed to approach.
• Obviously avoiding contact with staff.
• Carrying goods close to the body or bags.
• "Going for cover" behind columns, display racks etc. to be out of view.
• Quickly enter change rooms with a large number of clothes, so staff are not able to check the number of items taken.
• Unpacking of items, leaving packaging on the shelf, glancing around.
• Depositing items at different (preferably not easily seen into) locations in the store (for later retrival)."

That author goes on to mention that several people acting together are likely to cover each other by glancing around, providing artificial cover (e.g. by holding up bedsheets for "inspection"), distracting staff. He considers it to be particularly suspicious if they are entering the shop in a group and are then separating, or approaching a changing room in which somebody else is already, thus providing cover. If EAS-tags are in use, lengthy handling of goods (removal of a tag takes time), inspection of tags, bending down and lengthy stays in changing rooms are also considered suspicious.

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Video surveillance

Video surveillance (CCTV) and how to avoid it is covered in a different section.

Fake Returns

Sometimes shoplifters will actually gather an item from the selling floor and try to receive money for it without a receipt at the return station. Although this method is not as fool proof as the receipt matching method, it is very effective particularly when done to an inexperienced cashier. Usually the shoplifter will start complaining to the cashier about their inability to return the merchandise. Typically the shoplifter will state that they lost their receipt or threaten the cashier by stating that they want to talk to their supervisor. To avoid confrontation the cashier will ring up the return and give the shoplifter dollar value of the merchandise. This description given by wikipedia for US conditions will certainly not work in Germany: No receipt – no exchange! And cash back only if item is defective otherwise a voucher.

Cash Drawer Theft

Cash drawer theft is usually attempted by a shoplifter purchasing a low value item and giving the cashier a large bill or by asking a cashier to change a large bill. As the cashier is counting change the item the shoplifter will attempt to create a distraction. One such is telling the cashier that the cashier is giving the shoplifter the wrong amount of change. Once the cashier looks down to recount the change the shoplifter will reach into the cash drawer and grab what they can. The cashier then hands the shoplifter back the change and shoplifter leaves the store. Usually cash drawer theft is not detected until audits of the register are completed and show a shortage. Some places will refuse to handle € 200 or € 500 notes or installing a drop safe for larger bills to prevent this scam. Not exactly shoplifting - rather burglary.

Shopping Cart Magic

Shopping cart tricks are often disregarded by Loss Prevention personnel. Typically older or professional shoplifters usually attempt this scam. The scam works in the following way. When the shoplifter first enters the store they locate an empty shopping cart. The shoplifter finds the item they are looking for and typically place on the bottom or under the baby seat. The shoplifter then continues to gather a small dollar amount of merchandise and places it in the shopping cart. The shoplifter then brings the shopping cart to register and removes all the merchandise with the exception of the item they wish to steal. If the cashier is not paying attention (looking in the overhead mirror) the shoplifter will usually be able to get the merchandise past them without much effort. After paying for the smaller dollar items the shoplifter leaves the store and successfully pulls off the scam. The most prevalent method used to combat this scam in America is the use of door personnel who are trained to ask for receipts for high dollar and un-bagged merchandise. In Germany staff at registers routinely ask customers to lift up bags they have in trolleys. Checks at the exit are unknown as they are likely to draw a customer reponse that wouldn't exactly amount to a prayer ...

Switching of price tags

Tag switching (ticket switching) should be considered an outdated technique, as most stores use tamper-proof tags or bar-code scanners, the price of an item being displayed on or above the shelf only. In places where it is still possible it's a great way for a discount, since detection rates are minimal (as admitted by 'loss preventers').
Some people have tried to print their own bar codes labels and sticking them over the real one. This is certainly a high-risk technique, if staff at the register are well trained. Also special inks may be used when printing originals for high value items, giving off reflections in a specific electromagnetic frequency, detectable to the laser-scanner.

One bloke who tried was reported on Smoking Gun:

Behind Bars – Weepy college frosh nabbed for high-tech price-switch
Jonathan Baldino is no master criminal. The 19-year-old University of Colorado freshman just got arrested for a harebrained scheme in which he replaced the bar codes on expensive electronic items at Target with homemade bar codes carrying rock-bottom prices, according to the below Boulder Police Department arrest affidavit. Baldino's swapping spree ended Wednesday when he tried to buy a $149.99 iPod speaker system that carried a phony bar code with a $4.99 pricetag. Baldino was detained by store security and turned over to cops, who hit the electrical engineering student with a felony forgery rap and two misdemeanor theft counts (he allegedly bilked Target out of $370). In a marvelous police statement, Baldino, ..., wrote, "I am a 19 year old boy who has never really been in trouble for anything in my life... I will NEVER EVER DO THIS EVER AGAIN & I am once more terribly sorry! I have never even stolen a candy bar from a 7-eleven before!!! Please let me go for I am terribly sorry!!! I'm only a kid! Help me out. I just want to go home. I did this not knowing of the serious penalty that lies behind it. Please! Please! Please! I am scared half to death." In a follow-up statement, Baldino added, "I am extremely sad now, & I just want to go to bed. Please let me sleep in my own bed tonight."

The following is an excerpt of the techniques originally published 1995 in the student magazine Rabelais of Australia, which was subsequently banned by Australian courts [censorship story].

Australians BEWARE! It is possible that in some Australian States it is illegal to even possess articles which have been "refused classification". Any person considering reading the article (or storing it on its computer on Australian territory) is strongly advised to familiarise themselves with laws applicable to them and abide by those laws. Alternatively one may obtain the Federal Court decision in Michael Brown & Ors v Members of the Classification Review Board of the Office of Film and Literature [1998] - VG 314/97 of 24 March 1998, which includes the article in full (i.e. The Federal Court is distributing copies of the banned article.)

The Art of Shoplifting

Shoplifting is a topic that is practically relevant to many and it should therefore not become an exclusive craft confined to a small shoplifting elite. On the contrary, shoplifting is an art that deserves the widest possible dissemination. For your convenience we have printed below a step by step guide to shoplifting. Good luck.
Within capitalism, most of us are either (1) alienated from our labour and hence dependent on the ruling classes for commodities as basic as food and clothing, (2) excluded from the division of labour, in which case we are likewise dependant on the State, or (3) performing unpaid and/or unrecognised labour and hence dependant on patriarchal relations for food, clothing, etcetera. In any case, our access to resources is severely limited by contemporary relations of domination. One partial solution to this problem may be to STEAL.
Sadly, however, many people living precariously on low incomes tend to either: (1) avoid shoplifting for anachronistic moral and/or ethical reasons; or (2) remain ignorant of the better methods and techniques of shoplifting, thus failing to maximise their lifting potential.
From the onset, the golden rule of theft should be enunciated: NEVER STEAL FROM SOMEBODY WHO COULD CONCEIVABLY BE A COMRADE. Hence kicking into a house on Bell Street with a beaten up old Mazda in the yard is irresponsible and counter-revolutionary!
Be careful, too, about taking stuff from small 'corner store' type shops – you could be ripping off someone in a situation not dissimilar to your own. On the whole, it is best to play it safe and go straight for the big corporate fuckers.
Some people will suggest that shoplifters are a selfish breed, since 'we all pay for it in the end' through inflated prices to cover losses and so forth. However, comrades, this and closely analogous arguments are used to just ify lowering wages, breaking unions, lowering corporate taxation and taxation on the rich and corporate sector we may as well sell ourselves into bonded slavery now, or join the Liberal Party.
No, the injunction against stealing from capitalism is itself a capitalist ideology and should be spurned as such. Although we have been taught that 'thou shalt not steal', an order historically backed by threats of divine retribution, this should not for one minute stop us from taking the redistribution of wealth into our own hands. Believe me, no-one is likely to do it for us.

What follows is a list of effective methods and observations that may prove useful
Preparing oneself for the big haul:

1. If possible, you should always have some money on you when intending to shoplift, because if you've got none, it's rather hard to argue that to steal the item was a spontaneous decision. As a result, if youve got no money and are caught shoplifting you are more than likely to be charged for burglary as well as theft. [Not a concern if lifting in Germany]
2. Buying something at the same time that you steal stuff doesn't necessarily ensure success. Approaching staff for items you are absolutely sure they don't have is just as good. Think of something that you know they don't have ... and pretend that you are looking for this, so that you have an excuse for being there. If staff are ever suspicious of you or ask if they can help you, ask them if they've got the thing you are sure they dont have. Never screw this up - if you do you will have to buy the item or they may realise that you are there to steal.
3. It is always a good idea to carry a bag although you should never stash anything in it - if security/sales staff are suss on you the first place that they'll check is your bag and it may just get you off the hook if they can't find anything suspicious inside of it.
4. Remember that there is no such thing as a standard store detective - there is no qualifying dress code, age, race, gender or class. Grandma will bust you this week and next week it'll be a 5 year old kid.
5. Just as there is no typical store detective nor is there a standard shoplifter. Security do not go looking for the poorly dressed people. They may pick on you out of boredom, but remember, only an unsuccessful store detective picks on poorly dressed people. By the same token dont believe the stale myth that suits + dresses = more successes; security anticipate that professional shoplifters will dress up a bit. Wear whatever you want.

On entering the maze:
1. As soon as you enter the store, suss out the sales people. First impressions often count here. You could find a valuable blind-eye turning ally in younger or less-affluent employees. Alternatively, an employee can often stand out as a more wishy-washy gullible individual - so even if they see you they are likely to be too gutless to mention it, either to you or to security.
2. Don't be put off by signs such as shoplifters will be prosecuted or security police patrol this store. Often this is just bluff anyway, and in any case there is no security measure that cannot be undone by a clever shoplifter or a quick talker. Do, however, keep your eye on security and be on the lookout for video surveillance cameras.
3. Try to find where the video surveillance monitors are and who is watching them; often they are not even looking at them. See if you can get a glance at their monitor. Often it is one monitor hooked up to 20 cameras which changes sequentially (every 30 seconds or so). Other times its one guy in a room looking at 50 screens while reading the paper or glued to the box. These monitors are usually pretty small and have a wide aperture, showing more of the room but not enough detail to adequately see what you are up to.
4. It is a good idea to keep your back to the camera as much as possible without looking suspicious. Check out cameras (hold-up cameras) are often set up to check on employees, so they are not hard to keep your back turned to.
Blind-spots and other lifting techniques:
1. A blind-spot is a section of the store where you are barely visible and can thus feel free to both dump and collect stuff, without fear of being seen. Display units can make perfect blind-spots - they ensure security is confident they have their eye on you, when in fact they can only see your top half - at the same time they enable you to keep your eye on security. For these reasons, the best blind-spots are usually below the chest - around waist high. Blind-spots are good for loading into the lip of your jeans or into a jacket.
2. Make sure your blind-spot is not under surveillance. Never hang around your blind-spot for too long. Most of all, be careful to never lead security to your blind-spot.
3. A good method is to take everything you want to your blind-spot and collect it all later in one go, or better still get someone else to collect it for you. Getting someone else to collect for you can be a great system, particularly with exchanges - which I'll come to later. If you are really pedantic, or you think that they are watching you, then load up, go to the toilets and pass the stuff under the wall/partition of the cubicle to a waiting friend in an adjoining cubicle and get them to leave with it. (No item 4 in original text - ed.)
5. Speaking of dunnies and change-rooms, one of the oldest tricks in the book is to put more than one garment on a hanger (works particularly well with womens underwear), go to the change-rooms and put the garment underneath what you are wearing. Alternatively, if you are a woman, you can slip your old bra on a hanger and put on the new one. Don't be put off by the staff as you enter the change-rooms - they are usually quite disinterested and so long as the number of hangers you exit with matches the little plastic number they've given you they'll be satisfied.
6. On the subject of womens underwear, the lingerie department is ideally suited to male shoplifters - not only is it the perfect excuse for looking embarrassed or suspicious (they have come to expect this), but staff are less likely to harass you by trying to help you and will be more sympathetic generally. [...]
Leaving the store safely:
1. Always double back just as you are about to leave the store so that you can check if anyone is following you (99.9% of the time they will follow you out of the store before they approach you). [In Germany they will try to stop you just at the exit.] Alternatively, go up and down an escalator or in a lift and press every button in the lift and it will be obvious if anyone is following you.
2. If people are watching you, whatever you do, do not try to discreetly dump stuff unless you are absolutely sure that you can get away with it. If caught dumping stuff they usually won't charge you but they may fuck you around for a few hours.
3. If you are caught dumping stuff never let a store detective know it was because of them. Always make out it was a result of a sudden guilty conscience. Never let a store detective know that you know that they are on to you, because they wont put them on you the next time. That way you get to know store security and are able to keep your eye on them as much as you can.
4. If you want to have a bit of fun and don't plan to continue shoplifting that day, or ever, or you just don't give a shit, go up to a store detective and treat them like a sales person, asking them for help etcetera. It is just as embarrassing for them to be caught as it is for you. It is always a good thing to break their spirits or at least bring them down every now and again. Alternatively, use reverse psychology on them. Say I'm going down to such and such department. I'll see you down there. Often they'll be too embarrassed that they've been busted and think that you won't do it now that you're being watched and you will have the run of the mill.
5. NEVER GET TOO CONFIDENT or you will start to make silly mistakes." [This cannot be emphasised strongly enough!!! G.Walt]

The same political slant is shown William Powells Anarchist Cookbook which also contains handy hints on making LSD, grenade launchers, TNT or destroying bridges:

Another form of sabotage is shoplifting. There is a big difference between a common thief and a revolutionary: The revolutionary will steal from large corporations, the common thief will steal from everyone.If you ever can get over the Protestant ethic, you will be able to see what I mean. Every revolutionary has his own method of stealing, and there are too many for me to get into, but I will try to state some basic common-sense tactics:

1. Operate in pairs with one person holding the employee's attention, the other stealing him blind.
2. As a revolutionary, your job is to rally popular support, not to lienate people. For this reason, do not steal from small stores.
3. Get into and out of the store as fast as possible. Do not spend a long time trying to hide the merchandise, or making sure no one's looking at you.
4. If you are caught, play along. In other words, be humble, and pretend to be nervous. Always apologize profusely and even cry if you can. The chances are good the store won't have you arrested.
5. If you are caught and let go with a warning, never return to the same store.
6. Usually large department stores do not arrest shoplifters the first time, unless they are violent, or the merchandise over a certain dollar value. Be careful all the same.
7. Circular mirrors are very popular with large stores, where blind corners are present. These can effectively be used against the employees by simly reversing their purpose. Watch out for two-way mirrors.
8. If you are going into shoplifting in a big way, check out all its aspects. A arge store located near a big subway stop ... offers a great means of escapes, especially in the rush hour, if a chase develops.
9. Never carry identification with you. Work out a system with a friend whereby he will be able to verify your false name and address.
10. Needless to say, never carry dope, weapons, or anyhing else illegal with you.
11. If caught shoplfting or robbery never admit to being part of the movement. It will get you more time in jail.

Book author Ch. Sennewald in addition to the above describes, in my opinion, rather exotic methods like "crotching" i.e. hiding items pressed between ones legs, and the old "booster box", whereby the bottom opens to conceal items. Why go for the difficult when a simple shopping bag will do? Besides, anybody with a "booster box" [see Shielding] will certainly not be considered a casual lifter.

Seattle Police give the following advice [regarding casual lifters]:

Preventive Measures
Keep shelves and displays low and aisles clear to increase visibility. Install annunciators on all unlocked doors. Provide adequate lighting and eliminate blind spots. Where appropriate, utilize security staff, convex mirrors, CCTV, electronic sensors, cables, tags, locks and chains. Make it difficult to steal merchandise. Bolt racks down; alternate the direction of hangers on the racks, tie appliance cords together; lock small valuable items in cabinets and keep other valuables away from store exits. Limit the number of items allowed into dressing rooms. Post signs warning that shoplifters will be prosecuted. Encourage employees to greet customers as they enter the store. One phrase every shoplifter hates to hear is "Can I help you?" Maintain a neat, orderly store with tight inventory controls. Develop a store policy and provide training for shoplifting incidents. Be knowledgeable of the shoplifting laws in Washington state.
Red Flags - Shoplifter Traits. Nervousness or unusual actions of any kind. Aimlessly walking up and down aisles. In store longer than usual, loitering. Handling many items of merchandise. Dropping articles on the floor. Concealing merchandise in any way. Asking numerous questions or refusing the clerks help. Looking into surveillance mirrors at the sales clerk or other customers instead of the merchandise.
Common Shoplifting Situations When an employee is suspicious of someone. When an employee thinks someone shoplifted but is not 100% sure. When an employee actually sees someone shoplift. When another employee reports an incident. When a customer reports an incident. In all 5 situations, the basic employee response should be the same. Acknowledge the customer and make a statement.
Examples of employee statements include:
"I saw you looking at the (item). Did you find what you wanted?" "The (item) you selected is a great buy." "Is that (item) for you or is it a gift?" "Will that (item) be cash or charge?" That (item) you selected should go on sale soon." When you are suspicious of a customers intent, ask if you can help them find something. If they respond "No, Im just looking", tell them to just nod if they need help... you'll be watching. That's just what a shoplifter does not want. You will find providing good customer service goes hand in hand with shoplifting prevention. Some shoplifters will fail to respond to your statements and exit with the stolen item(s). Allow them to leave the store unless the store employee is trained in detaining and apprehending shoplifters. Personal safety should always take priority over retrieving property or detaining a shoplifter. Report the crime to the Police Department by calling 911 ...

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Whereas police in Mesa City Arizona consider the following effective:

Put a Stop to Shoplifting

Have them greet customers when they enter the store. Teach them to be attentive in a helping way. Make sure that all your employees are familiar with shoplifting laws in your state and establish procedures for them to follow if they suspect shoplifting. Make sure you can see everything that goes on in your store. Keep counters low, no more than waist-high. Mount mirrors in corners so there are no blind spots. Make it hard to leave your store without paying. Place expensive items in the center of the store, away from exits. Arrange counters and display tables so there is no direct route to the exit. Some stores put turnstiles at entrances so the only way to get out is through the checkout counter. Arrange your displays so that missing items are easily noticed. Place small items in neat rows or patterns. If you must, fasten expensive merchandise and attach alarms. Reverse alternate hangers of hanging garments to prevent "grab and run." Announce and observe a policy to prosecute shoplifters. The threat of being caught, questioned by police, put on trial and maybe even put in jail, may be enough to turn most shoplifters away. If someone ignores your warning, follow through. An empty threat is meaningless.
Common Shoplifting Methods: Bulky clothing – coats, pants, maternity outfits – are often used to hide merchandise. Packages, bags, knap-sacks and purses are good hiding places. Special props include hollowed-out books, fake casts, umbrellas, secret pockets, belts or hooks under coats. Folded newspapers or magazines are used to hide small and/or flat items. What to Watch For: Be aware of customers hands – and their pockets, purses and handkerchiefs. Notice open packages, purses, shopping bags and knapsacks. Watch for customers who are nervous, have wandering eyes, or are loitering. Watch for groups of people – especially if one attempts to keep you distracted. ..."

Removal of ink-tags

A blogger recommended At some point every consumer discovers that a security device has mistakenly been left on his clothes or other new purchases by an inattentive checkout clerk. This happened to me recently at the local Mervyn's so I took the opportunity to dismantle the device and publish this page; while I could simply have returned to the store to have the device removed (always a hassle), I admit I was curious to find out once and for all if the devices really work. And to do it without ruining my brand new Levi's!

Pictures of tags EAS Gallery.

The Problem:  The common "loss prevention" device usually attached to high-price items like leather jackets. Apparently, Mervyn's management thinks $29.99 is a high enough price to justify using the tags.
The Solution:  The cheap plastic housing of the device is no match for power tools. [Dremel multipro shown, costs approximately $30.]
The Process:
1. Preliminary Observations
The device is white plastic and appears to have two halves; one half on the outside of the garment has a warning to the prospective shoplifter not to tamper with the device or risk releasing ink and broken glass. The other half is a large cone shaped part that presumably prevents the user from tampering with the mechanism without breaking the ink packets. Shaking the device produces a rattling sound. It is not possible to determine which half the rattling sound is coming from. I think the rattling is from the ink packets, but I have no idea what the ink packet looks like. I think the ink is on the part with the warning sticker, so I'll explore the anti-tamper half first.
2. Primary Incision
I started with a drill tip to find out what was inside the cone-shaped part. The hole revealed some kind of plastic sheath.
3 Exploratory Surgery
I opened up the top of the cone with the Dremel cutting wheel attachment. ...
4. Empty Space & A Surprise!
I removed some more material from the top and discovered that the locking mechanism consists of a notched pin secured by ball bearings that use spring tension and metal shims to prevent the shaft from moving. I think the removal tool the clerks have is designed to apply force directly in line with the pin; the ball bearings only prevent the pin from moving if there is force in any direction other than vertical. A fairly elegant solution, actually. See the diagram in section 7. Having figured out the locking mechanism, I decided to cut into the large part of the cone to find if anything was in what I presumed to be empty space. I was surprised to find a copper coil of wire inside – an antenna, which I assumed was designed to trigger the detector gates at the exits. I was surprised because when I left the store the gates must not have detected this unit or the unit was defective.
5. Mission Accomplished
I removed the top metal shim and spring, shook out the ball bearings, and the tag immediately came apart. The half with the warning sticker did indeed contain the ink. The ink is in small glass tubes that rest on the surface of the garment. Presumably the pin is in fact a tack whose base is in the plastic housing of that half. With enough force in any direction except vertical, the base of the tack would fracture the glass vials and spill ink onto the garment. Satisfied that the cone-shaped half did not contain the ink, I opened up more of the cone and removed the copper coil. The diagram in section 7 is a cross section of the device as assembled.
6. Testing the Ink
The ink appears to be semi-permanent. It has an odd chemical smell to it. I suspect it also has permanent UV dye to prevent the shoplifter from simply laundering the clothes after staining them. The most questionable part of the design is that the glass breaks into small slivers which could easily stick the wearer. ...
7. Internal diagram
The simplest way to disable the device is to slice off the top of the cone with a Dremel or a fine sawblade, remove the top spring and shim, then shake out the ball bearings. After that the halves come apart easily. Now that I know how it works, next time this happens it should take me only a few minutes.
Conclusion
The ink tag has been well-designed. It uses an innovative and cheap locking mechanism. Like most deterrents, an ink tag can be defeated by a determined user with ordinary tools provided that the user is gentle with the device. The device in this case malfunctioned by not setting off the reader gate at the exit after purchase. A search for the manufacturer revealed that the device has either been discontinued or the manufacturer is no longer in business, which makes its failure unsurprising. ... The ink in the device appears to be permanent or perhaps removable with a chemical solutionso the retailer can restock ink-stained items left in dressing rooms or recovered from shoplifters rather than throwing them away.

This of course does not take into account the possibility of freezing the buggers. Also operating a Dremel power drill in a store wouldn't exactly qualify as "stealthy".

Some lifters who tried ...
(Propaganda pics from 'prevention' sites)

The following approach ought to be entitled: How to quickly arouse suspicion

Steps

1. Find out what you want
2. Wear baggy clothes with big enough pockets to hide the iteam
3. Make sure there are no electronic tags on it
4. Quickly put it in your pocket when noone is looking
5. Walk around for a little bit and look at other things on the other side of the building
6. If you here a name called to the department that you are in:
   Put the stuff back
   Get the hell out of there
   Or get ready to face charges
7. If no one is notifyed after awhile walk out and look like your waiting for a ride
8. Get the fuck out of there

---

Above crap is contradicted by Rupert-"I don't steal anymore"-Bottenberg:

It's all about technique

1. Warm up. Would a world-class concert pianist simply jump into a major concerto without running through a few arpeggios first? Would an Olympic gymnast fly into a routine without sufficient stretching? Of course not. Likewise, you can't embark on a major pilfering expedition without getting in gear first. Hit a low-security business first, pinch a few tokens, get in the mood. Confidence is your greatest asset. Back in the day, my colleagues and I would precede our large-scale operations at Fairview with a run on Kisber Liquidation, a veritable shoplifters smorgasbord in the old Caesars Palace roller rink across the road. Scented candles and cardboard Iron Maiden pins for everyone!
2. Case the joint. Make a few dry runs over a period of several days. That shifty guy with the moustache and the furtive glances? He's an undercover. Think of him the same way you think of the little ghosts in Pac-man. Keep him on the other side of the playing field, or better yet, send your buddy over as a ringer to distract him. Your associate can pretend to boost shit, make like he's leaving, and draw mullet man away from the more sincere efforts in your corner.
3. Hide in plain sight. Keeping a low profile makes you precisely the kind of character they're keeping an eye out for. Try to draw as much attention to yourself as possible instead. This is why its best to work with a team – three operatives is ideal. Yell at each other and wave products around from opposite ends of the salesfloor. Strike up idiotic conversations with other customers – if they seem nervous about this, its likely that they're stealing, too. Knock stuff over and make a mess. With any luck, security will try to get you out of the store, with all the loot you can carry.
4. Let the staff know you're there. Ask them dumb questions. Make these nametagged drones hoof it all over the floor on pointless quests for products you have no intention of buying. Harass them for not having products that you don't even want anyway. Have them fill out request forms and rainchecks, ask them if they're hiring, pocket shit right under their noses. Make eye contact surreptitiously. Point at old people leaving the store and say, "I think that dude just stole something." Then steal something.
5. Check product for alarm tags. Carry a pocketknife to remove plastic objects and magnetic strips. Also, if you put stuff in your hat, it will be higher up than those magnetic gates at the door, and will not trigger the alarm.
6. Avoid using backpacks, purses and cargo pants pockets. If you get nailed, they'll ask you to empty these immediately. They are just too obvious. Meanwhile, a CD tucked down your underwear may be, uh, "briefly" uncomfortable, but these dudes can't strip search you, dig?
7. Stay off camera. Video surveillance is your worst enemy. A picture says a thousand words, and the first four are, "You're so fucking nailed." Avoid businesses with low shelves or heavy camera set-ups, but if you must run the risk of being immortalized on magnetic tape, one tip is to use a fat person as a human shield.
8. Pass the product off immediately upon exiting the store. Have a colleague wait for you and take your haul off you within moments of leaving. They can only bust you if you leave the premises, and they can only bust you if you have the product on you.
9. Abort the mission on a seconds notice. If your Spider Sense tingles in the slightest, there's a good chance that they are on to you. Ditch what you're holding and poke around innocently for a short period. Then get the hell out of there. You don't need the shit that bad.
[13.11.1999]

A ridiculous site from Texas STEP called Shoplifting of Tobacco: What Retailers Can Do to Prevent It, suggested:

• Remove self-service open racks and displays of tobacco products
• ONLY sell tobacco from behind checkout customer service courtesy counter, or locked cases
• Use overhead racks, if possible, to shelve tobacco products
• Utilize the space allocation and store design expertise of your wholesaler
• Increase public awareness of tobacco shoplifting problem

... "We want to improve this web site, and appreciate your input."

My suggestion: Inhale!"

Above crap brought to you courtesy: "Texas Statewide Tobacco Education & Prevention". How's that for a daft name? And I thought only G. W. was an idiot from Texas [but then eating beef makes you aggressive. Yes. I mean you: G. W.!!! and your gang – obviously eaten too many huge steaks.

---

Casey Sullivan wrote an excellent research paper quoted in the following (references purely applying to US conditions omitted):

Shoplifting: Bad Ideas for Bad People

Winona Ryder, currently our country's most famous shoplifter, used a simple technique when attempting to acquire her stolen merchandise. According to Matt Bean, employed by CourtTV and has been thoroughly following this case, two security personnel testified that Ryder cut the security tags off of her designer merchandise in an attempt to remove these items from the store without paying ... This is a "rookie" mistake; attempting to remove any security measures should be done in a fitting area, in which visibility of suspicious activity is minimized.
To understand how to effectively remove unpaid-for merchandise, one must first know the different methods of shoplifting security, known in the industry as "loss prevention" (LP) techniques; thus security personnel are often referred to as LP. According to "How Anti-Shoplifting Devices Work," the three basic methods of prevention are: (1) surveillance; (2) bolting things down or locking them behind display cases; (3) attaching security tags ... Many department stores implement all three security measures.
In order to avoid surveillance security tactics, a potential shoplifter must avoid prying eyes (from either employees or customers), closed circuit television (CCTV) surveillance systems, and observation mirrors that allow employees to see throughout the store. Cameras may be concealed in darkened domes mounted to the ceiling; more advanced cameras being able to turn 360 degrees, with pan/tilt/zoom options. Another shoplifting-prevention method is to use empty domes resembling those that conceal security cameras, and strategically placed signs proclaiming, "Shoplifters will be prosecuted!" These methods are used to deter would-be shoplifters. On the other hand cameras can be practically invisible, hidden in the most obscure places in order to catch potential thieves. Smaller stores in the mall are usually unable to afford CCTV systems and the personnel to sit and monitor them. Chances are if there is a dark dome mounted on the ceiling it is empty.
Many department stores are reluctant to anchor down their items, because it conveys an untrusting message to legitimate shoppers. Using wires that are attached to the rack and padlocked also makes trying on the item more difficult without the assistance of a sales associate. This method is usually only done with the most expensive coats or jackets in a store.
Many experts believe the most effective prevention method is a combination of the electronic article surveillance (EAS) systems, basically "tag-and-alarm," and CCTV ... EAS systems can be administered to different items in a variety of ways. The two most common are disposable sticky strips that are attached to a box or package, and are deactivated at the point of sale (P.O.S.); and hard tags that are physically removed using a tag detacher. "How Anti-Shoplifting Devices Work" describes that the EAS system is designed with two parts: (1) an EAS tag or label is attached to the merchandise; (2) the EAS tower, which is usually located by the entrance to the store, will sound if the EAS tag has not been deactivated.
"John" suggests several ways around EAS tags: A shoplifter can deal with a radio frequency (RF) tag, by cutting a minor slit in the tag using a pocket knife he will break the circuit that emits the radio frequency. Since the tag no longer will emit a RF, the alarm should not sound when he walks through the EAS monitor. He also suggests the best way around electromagnetic and acusto-magnetic tags is by running a powerful magnet over them to deactivate them. Shoplifters must be careful when complying with either method because tags may be hidden inside the packaging (known as source tagging), or disguised as the barcode or price tag. Attempting to demagnetize computer hardware might also ruin it.
If a shoplifter is unsure whether he successfully deactivated an adhesive tag, there are several options. "John" suggests that a shoplifter remove a tag that he believes he has deactivated, and to stick it on a fellow patron. When the innocent person exits the store and the alarm does not sound, the thief then knows he was successful. If the alarm does go off, the innocent person will look confused and walk back through to make sure that it was her who set it off. The thief may nonchalantly walk past as she is setting off the alarm a second time. For smaller items, the best way around RF monitors is to use a "booster-bag." A booster-bag is a bag lined with layers (approximately five layers) of tin-foil and cannot be penetrated by radio frequency. The EAS strips found in DVDs and CDs are usually radio frequency, when put into a bag lined with tin-foil, they can be easily removed from a store without alerting the EAS monitors. To make sure RF cannot go through the bag, a thief may test it by inserting a cell-phone and calling the cell phone number. If the phone rings that means the layers are too thin, or there is a hole that is allowing the RF in. Booster-bags cannot be used for magnetic tags. A variation of the "booster-bag" is a "booster-box." A shoebox is lined with the appropriate layers of tinfoil and inserted into the bag of a local shoe store. The box is placed so the opening is facing up, thus when a shoplifter is in front of a display he may kneel down with the bag in front of him and discretely drop things in. When he is ready to leave, he just closes the box (which was never removed from the bag) and walks out. Al Doney, head of mall security in Albany, says that a common mistake that shoplifters make is to use a bag that is outdated or for a store that is not in that mall.
There are several ways for a shoplifter to remove EAS hard tags found on clothing. ... The best way to remove the security tags is to obtain the tool that is behind the register. Sensormatic is the most common security tool used in retail security. The easiest way is to purchase a Sensormatic hand-held detacher is on eBay. On eBay the cost is approximately between forty to two-hundred dollars depending on the model.
The two most common hard tags found in department stores are Ultra*Gator tags and the SuperTag II. ... Some stores do not use EAS monitors, only the tags to discourage shoplifting. To see if a store actually utilizes EAS monitors a person would remove an EAS tag from a store (using a booster-bag); if the alarm sounds when a person leaves a store the staff will be suspicious, but if the EAS monitor alarms when a person enters, it is can be blamed on a variety of things. According to Charles Sennewald, professional security expert, "Just because an alarm sounds doesn't necessarily mean someone is in the process of stealing." These systems are not designed to catch crooks, mainly as a theft deterrent.
If a person were to purchase a hand-held detacher for less-than-legitimate purposes, he must first open it because the detachers themselves contain an EAS label inside to prevent their removal from a store. It is also best to open them, so a potential shoplifter may remove the attached lanyard cord used to mount the detacher down at the P.O.S. By removing the EAS label(s) and cord, the detacher is small enough to fit in a purse for women or concealed in the back of a man's pants underneath his shirt. To open the Ultra*Gator tag hand remover, the screws are stuck with a strong adhesive. These screws require a Philips head screwdriver and enough persistence before giving away. If a person strips the screws, a cobalt drill bit of appropriate size is effective in removing them. The SuperTag II hand remover was discontinued for a more expensive model: AMD-3040. Either can still be purchased on eBay. The disassembly for 2-A is much simpler, needing only a "tamper-proof" star-bit size T20. Upon opening it, there are several strips that need to be disposed.
... using an actual hard-tag remover is more effective in the removal, and the merchandise will not be damaged. The most common method of removing clothes unnoticed from a store is to simply wear them out of the store under the outfit worn in. Some stores count the merchandise that goes into a fitting room, so a person might stuff a pant leg with the shirt they wish to illegally remove before entering the fitting area. If a person attempting this method is stopped, both parties would need to remember "the law does not allow searching inside a person's clothing or ordering individuals to undress so that they might prove their innocence". Even through committing unlawful acts shoplifters have rights, and by violating these rights stores are playing Russian roulette with future lawsuits.
There are several scams that shoplifters may use to obtain their merchandise that are less risky then the slight-of-hand method. One such technique is for a crook to simply purchase an item, and leave the store. Then go back in and take the same item using his newly acquired bag, and remove the item again. Carmen Lawrence, author of the infamous "The Art of Shoplifting," suggests a thief find a corner or area (such as the fitting room), in which he may have temporary privacy before placing said item in the bag. If an alarm goes off, the crook is able to produce his receipt, and even identify the cashier who helped him. This is also effective in order to return the stolen item for a full refund.
... As depicted by the dated training video Stop Business Crime, a common technique for smaller stores is for shoplifters to work in groups; one person distracts the sales clerk by causing a commotion, flirting, or other means (even pretending to shoplift). Her accomplice is then free to roam the store unsupervised, pocketing whatever he wants. After he departs, the distracter follows shortly after. Another common method: if a person is stealing by himself and there is only one sales clerk working, the shoplifter might ask for something from the back room. Again, he is free to steal without surveillance and will be able to leave before the sales clerk returns.
"Ph.lab" describes a common method of stealing referred to as "box-stuffing." Box-stuffing is to simply take many smaller items and putting them in a larger box. This is most effective with two people. Person 1 opens the box with a pocketknife, stuffs it, tapes it shut, marks it, and then leaves. A couple hours later person 2 enters and purchases the marked box. If anybody questions him, since he never stepped foot in the store before, he can play stupid and even act insulted that the store would accuse him of stealing. If person 2 is able to leave with the box after legitimately purchasing it, he can simply come back later and return it after relieving it of the stolen merchandise. There is another two-person job that is relatively easy to pull off, preferably with two girls. Girl 1 makes it obvious that she is sneaky, looking around, staring at the dome ceilings, putting CDs in her jacket pocket (does not give reasonable cause of theft) and walks towards the ladies' room. She can look underneath the stall next to her for her partner's shoes, and without words being exchanged hand the merchandise under the stall to girl 2. Girl 2 leaves the store unsuspected. If there was competent security, they will approach girl 1 when she attempts to leave or shortly after walking out the door. She will only have to act ignorant to any missing merchandise. When none is found she only has to pretend to be upset about being apprehended and threaten to sue. It works best with two girls because when girl 1 enters the bathroom, a female LP employee may follow her in, in which the two girls have privacy of the stalls. Two men occupying stalls next to each other would work, however the noise caused by attempting the secure the merchandise would alert eavesdropping LP. Girls can silently slip CDs into a purse, and carry them around without much suspicion.
Security personnel are usually hired to deter theft instead of prevent it. The belief is that people feel more comfortable shopping if they believe they are safe. This is helpful to know because if a person is stopped, LP is usually concerned with the retrieval of merchandise rather than confrontation. So if a person is approached, throwing the merchandise towards LP's head will usually startle them for a moment, giving a person that much quicker a head start. Security is unaware of a criminal's mental status, or even if he or she is armed and dangerous, so LP personnel are usually advised not to chase.
It is necessary for a shoplifter to hurry while appearing to take his or her time. Some people believe that if a thief were to purchase something it would make him look less suspicious, but that is not the case. If LP were watching a suspect put things in his pocket (not a crime), by waiting in the checkout line and not purchasing the items, he is only giving LP more time to position themselves.
It is not right for LP to apprehend a person who is placing things in his pocket simply for the fact that there is no proof he is attempting to steal the item. He or she may simply be hiding it from a family member and intend to purchase it for as a gift, or he may want to keep his hands free in order to inspect other merchandise. Sennewald suggests the common rule of thumb is for security to witness the merchandise not being paid for, and wait for the suspect to leave the store, because that will help the case that "the person had no intention of paying for the items". Security will often stop a patron before they exit because if the suspect were to run, this lowers his or her chances of escaping.
... If a person were attempting to deprive a store of its goods, Lawrence recommends if possible to ride up and down an escalator or an elevator; and "press every button in the [elevator] and it will be obvious is anyone is following you". If a person gets suspicious that he or she is being followed, then he or she should discretely "dump" the merchandise before exiting the store. By doing this the would-be shoplifter could claim false imprisonment if he or she were detained without evidence. "False imprisonment consists in the unlawful restraint against his will of an individual's liberty".
What should a shoplifter do if caught? If an attempt to escape fails, the number one thing is not to admit to, or sign anything. A security guard will pretend to understand a shoplifter in order for him to receive a confession, which is then admissible to the courts. Security does not have to read the Miranda rights, nor do the police. According to Lapp who is an ex-police officer, the police only need to recite the Miranda rights if they intend to interrogate. Asking for a person's name and address is not an interrogation (Lapp). Security personnel are also responsible for the comfort and safety of the person they hold captive.
The consequences of being caught can be a phone call to a minor's parents, and being banned permanently from the store to twenty-five years to life in prison. ... Many states permit merchants civil recovery in which they may charge a shoplifter all legal fees and five times the amount of the merchandise in an attempt to recover money lost from previous shoplifters. Often times a store will send a person accused of shoplifting mail claiming restitution is owed and threatening legal action in an attempt to scare an individual to pay it. ... Shoplifting can be a very lucrative "business" for a ring of professionals able to resell "hot" merchandise at discounted prices. It can be a spontaneous and quick opportunity for an individual to get something for nothing. It allows one to get the latest designer jeans, or a means of supporting a drug habit. However a misdemeanor is not attractive on anybody's resume, especially one for stealing.
I don'tcondone stealing from family owned stores or non-profit places like libraries. Also, "don't shit where you eat, meaning, if Best Buy is your favorite store, don't steal from them. Because if you get caught you will be banned, possibly for life. However, since shoplifting is so rampant, most malls will only expel you for a couple months instead of permanently banning you. This essay will be revised and updated as needed.
Most thefts are done internally, and this is called shrinkage. Shrinkage is the term for when things mysteriously disappear, hence inventory is "shrinking." Employee theft is more common than shoplifting, namely because it's much easier without worrying about who is watching (because nobody normally is). However, retail corporations have been increasing their monitoring of employees. This is done by using third party "secret shoppers," loss prevention (LP) personnel, monitoring hardware or a combination of each (as mentioned in my previous essay).
An easy trick done by a cashier is to have a barcode stuck on the inside of his or her wrist so when a friend wishes to purchase something, instead of swiping the item the cashier actually swipes his wrist. This is effective when purchasing fifty dollar video games, which will actually ring up a couple packs of gum. This method eludes security cameras since it looks like an actual sale transaction is taking place. However, most employees just go into the backroom and steal whatever they want before they're about to leave.
... A scam I've been thinking about is just printing a fake receipt using your computer and receipt paper. Take it to a place like Wal-Mart where the computers are and show it to some dumb ass kid. Tell him that somebody up front told you that somebody will assist you and take your purchased computer to your car. Act professional, or get somebody who owns a suit to help you. Or just make/steal one of those Wal-Mart vests and cart it out yourself. ...
Another common tactic that takes zero skill but does require preparation is a simple "hit and run." Essentially a person goes in, grabs a handful of merchandise and jets for the door. Although it's blatant theft it is highly effective in removing a lot of stuff in the shortest amount of time. I recommend two people, one as a driver and the other as the runner. Before entering the parking lot for the store, remove the license plate. It will be too obvious if you cover it with paper. Coordinate watches and have a set time that the car will pull up the door. Before dashing out, make sure the driver knows to open the rear passenger door. This way you can just run out and dive into the back as the driver peels off because close employees are sure to follow you out. Make a lot of left turns, and find a safe place to reattach your license plate. I know this doesn't count as shoplifting, and I might as well write a paragraph about robbing at gun point. I included this because it's been done not so elegantly. For example, imagine running out with both hands full of clothes, and the rear door is not only closed, but locked.
Always plan. I would even suggest going in a couple times to get a feel for the store and to "case the joint." Look for cameras, security, where the stuff you want is located, where the closest escape routes are. For example if you're going to do a hit and run, you might as well utilize one of the emergency fire doors. Sure the alarm will sound, but you'll be well off. Also, these doors aren't as scrutinized as much as the main doors, because security knows that the alarm will discourage most shoplifters from using them.
Security cameras are so advanced, they can not only take a picture of the driver, but some can read a license plate a mile away. I know this is only implemented in the most luxurious shopping areas, but it's still a word of caution. Another warning: A Wal-Mart employee told me that they will let a person get away with shoplifting a certain number of times. This way when they finally apprehend them, they have a lot of evidence to use to prosecute. There are a literally hundreds of stores in most areas, and it's possible to hit up each one once a day for a year without repeating a store.

The following [abridged] description of techniques is quoted from Rutger's University crime prevention site [No comment necessary]

Hiding the Merchandise

Favorite Shoplifter Devices

• A large open bag is a common shoplifter tool. It is placed at the thiefs feet, and objects are casually dropped into it. Be on the lookout for the "bad bag" – a paper bag that is dirty and wrinkled. Also keep an eye out for shopping bags that are not from local stores. Preventing this is why many stores staple bags shut. Other stores require customers to leave their bags by the front door when they come in [Both practises not common or legal in Germany].
• Women sometimes use purses to hide stolen items. There is little you can do to stop women from carrying purses and handbags. The best prevention in these cases is to watch the customers very carefully.
• The baby carriage or stroller is a great tool for shoplifters. There are always blankets, toys, and other things in strollers (including the baby) that merchandise can be hidden under. Some thieves have even built false bottoms in baby carriages.
• A newspaper can be used to hide small objects.
• Umbrellas with handles are handy for shoplifters trying to steal small items. A common tactic is to keep a closed (but not snapped) umbrella hanging on ones elbow or leaning against a counter, and then to drop items into it.
• Favorite Shoplifter Clothing
  "Crotch-walking" is a technique used by women wearing full skirts and dresses. They simply place the merchandise between their thighs and walk away. Thieves who are good at this have been known to steal hams, typewriters, and other large objects.
• Baggy clothes in general are good places to hide stolen items. Some people have extra pockets or hooks sewn into coats and jackets.
• Beware of the customer with a large coat who keeps his hand in a coat pocket. Some shoplifters have cut slits in the pocket lining, so they can reach for items without being seen. They may make a big deal out of inspecting an item while the other hand slips out and grabs something.

A More Brazen Approach

• Some shoplifters just grab stuff and walk out with it. They rely on the gullibility and slow response time of sales clerks.
• Some shoplifters grab garments from racks close to the door and run off. This can be prevented very easily by alternating the directions of hangers. This makes the hangers "lock up" when someone tries to remove many at once.
• The really brazen thieves simply walk out with large items that are not ordinarily put in bags. Prevent this by making it unusual for legitimate customers to carry out their large purchases, with a policy that all large items must be picked up at a location physically separate from the sales floor, or that employees take all large items out to customers cars [A type of service unheard of in Europe]. Or you could put big bright stickers on purchased large items. This at least makes it easily for employees to tell if the merchandise is being stolen.
• A common technique, especially if your fitting rooms aren't well monitored, is for the thief to steal garments by putting them on under her own clothes and wearing them out of the store. Others will just put the clothing on and walk out. It's tricky to catch one of these people, because if they haven't concealed the item, they technically haven't stolen it until they exit the store without paying.

Tricks to Distract You

Most shoplifters cannot succeed unless they get some privacy. This is why one of the best ways to stop shoplifting is to greet customers as soon as they walk in, then be attentive to them the rest of the time. But skilled shoplifters can distract sales associates using the following tricks:

• They enter the store in groups, then separate, so there is no way the employees can watch all of them.
• A pair of shoppers comes in, and while one distracts you with questions, the other steals.
• A single shopper sends the only employee in the store into the back room to find something, and then steals stuff and leaves before the employee comes back.

How to de-magnetize acousto-magnetic EAS tags or open their magnetic clutch, was explained by Saturn Rocket

Magnetic Clutch Sensors

For those of you that don't know what it is, it's a sensor that uses a very very powerful magnet to release the locking mechanism or "Clutch" and detatch [an EAS tag] from the merchandise. ... But first off! Where do you get such a rare powerful magnet you may ask? eBay ! You will need a special kind of magnet made of a rare earth material called Neodymium. Now Neodymium magnets come in different strengths. You will need one great than or equal to the N48 grade, N50 preferably to run around and detach all those sensors. Now when you get that magnet you can do all sorts of fun things with it. Destroy CRT televisions, erase credit cards, erase anything with magnetic media and steal things at the same time! You will need to hold the magnet towards the little nub/nipple section on the sensor and it will go "click" then you may need to push the tack in a little bit to let the ball bearings release the pin. With the sunglass clips you need to place the magnet on the part that has all the warning labels on it. With the metal clip portion facing upwards so gravity can let the ball bearings fall and release the clip you need to push down on the metal clip and it should pop right off.
You can also use your rare earth magnet to 'degauss' Sensormatic UltraMax labels !! When you find the label simply place the magnet ON the label and hold it there for 1 second and you just deactivated the strip! Safe for shoplifting...
Now since you have learned that it can degauss UltraMax strips guess what! When you hold the magnet onto hard tags that use acousto magnetic detection (SuperTag, GatorTag [make sure it's the big chunky one like the ones at Wal*Mart]) it will disable them! You can safely walk past the gates WHILE holding the magnet onto the sensor. Isn't that great?

Others have mentioned such magnets, too. Usually the advice given is to obtain a magnet from a speaker cone or a hard drive. Beware the implication of detection devices like the 'Alert Metal Guard'.

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The following – incredibly profound – advice is given in 'The Other Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook' ['A parody' ©2000 by Gene Doucette]

HOW TO SHOPLIFT

1. Wear baggy clothing. This is much easier to do in cooler climates. You may look suspicious wearing loose sweatpants and an overcoat in Florida. Be sure to choose a coat with inside pockets.
2. Pick the right store. This really depends on the sort of merchandise you are interested in acquiring. Try to stick to stores that sell things that can be carried in a pocket. For instance, you will not get very far with a stereo shoved under your shirt. Likewise, pick merchandise that has at least some value. Nobody is going to be all that impressed if you steal a head of garlic. Compact discs, small electronic equipment, watches and jewelry are all very popular items.
3. Check the security. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the security and surveillance equipment. Is there a sensor at the door? These are usually easy to find. Cameras? Most security cameras are hidden behind one-way [sic] glass or inside of darkened glass bulbs on the ceiling. Armed guard? If there is an armed guard, you're trying to take something that's too expensive. Go somewhere else.
4. Misdirect. This is a magicians skill that comes in handy when shoplifting. (Most professional magicians don't pay for anything.) What you want to do is select the item you wish to take with you from the store. Position yourself near it, and then pick up a DIFFERENT item. Hold this second item up, look at it in the light, lick it if you want to, just so long as anybody watching you do this is observing your actions with this particular item. Meanwhile, your other hand is grabbing the object you actually want and slipping it into your coat pocket.
5. Getting out the door. Sprinting to the exit at this point would be a good indication that you've done something you should not have done. Instead, walk calmly out of the building, provided there are no sensors. Otherwise, see below.
6. Fooling the sensors. There are a great number of ways to get past the door sensors. Understand first that what the sensors are looking for are electronic tags on the merchandise. The first thing you should do before slipping your prize into your pocket is identify the security tag. Pulling it back out of your pocket to check is not recommended.
   • The courtesy sensor. This is when the sensor is not directly in front of the door, and customers are just expected to know to walk through it. Just don't walk through it. Or, if you are under surveillance, start to walk through it, and then drop your keys on the outside of the sensor. Lean over to pick them up and then walk around.
   • The friendly counter-person. Often, there is a pad near the register that deactivates security tags. Find a friendly counter-person, start up a conversation, and ask to see something behind them. Lean over to point at what you're interested in. When their back is turned, rub your pocket against the deactivation pad.
7. Catch the shoplifter. This requires some skill. What you want to do is sidle up near another customer – preferably one with a large overcoat of their own – and slip an article of merchandise into one of their pockets without them noticing. (Since they are probably also shoplifting, be careful to check your own pockets after making contact with them.) If you cannot find someone with appropriately large pockets, try and remove the security tag (most are adhesives) from something else in the store, and stick it onto the strangers back. Then, when the stranger attempts to leave, make sure you are right behind them. The sensor will go off, of course, but you're not the one who will get arrested. As the helpful stranger is being pummelled into submission, slip out of the store.

A "lehara2" gives the following advice on "self-service supermarket checkouts" (something not overly common in Europe yet):

I have been "obtaining" expensive items (such as my electric toothbrush, expensive health and beauty items, hardcover books) in large grocery stores via the self-service checkout lines for a couple of years now. Basically this works by bying a few inexpensive items, scanning them, and then having one final (expensive) item go last, pretending to scan it and putting it on the belt AFTER hitting the "finish and pay" button on the computer screen. The item will then travel down the belt without making a single noise and everything seems legitimate. Sometimes there is even a kid bagging my stuff who has no clue what just happened. However, there are those dome cameras high above that supposedly watch your every move. I have a feeling that this type of scam might be hard to detect and in the unlikely event that someone would stop me I could always say "oh- it did not scan?" Of course I go to different stores all the time and pay cash only.

Oh, I used to just leave an item or two in the cart. If there's no LP and all the clerks and bag people are busy, they don't notice. But if you get the item any where close to the scanner and/or little camera, you hear a voice "Item Not Scanned" or something to that effect, which draws the attention of the bag people and clerks and "front end manager." I discovered the process when the first time I used the scanner, I quite innocently forgot to scan a big ole $12 pack of ribs. (That lets you know how long ago it was as a $12 pack of ribs is quite small these days!) At any rate, I found it easier at that store to just start paying for my items as I wasn't sure whether the front end manager had his eye on me or not.
was the experience "Suzcat" related. (No mustard for your ribs? )

Some "loss preventers" commented that this was unlikely to work for long. A "Felisha" noted: I would not call your method fool proof, but it seems to have gotten you thus far in 2 yrs. Time will tell.

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