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- The Art of Shoplifting
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- 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 f***ers.
- 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 slaverynow,
- 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 you've got no money and are
- caught shoplifting you are more than likely to be charged for burglary as well
- as theft.
- 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 (i.e.a
- doona cover with a specific pattern on it or something equally obscure) 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 don't 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 don't 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 youngeror
- 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 it's 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 women's
- 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. DonÕ 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 women's 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.
- Exchanging crap for more crap
- Exchanging things -- that is, taking the redistribution of wealth into your own
- hands by refunding yourself for an item you never paid for, or swapping
- something you stole that you don't want for something you do want, or swapping
- something that you don't want that is unstealable and therefore refundable is
- a whole new ball game.
- 1. If you plan to steal something and then make an exchange always take stuff
- that people are likely to take back like sheets, or other obscure household
- items. If questioned you can say to them "as if I'm gonna keep the receipt, I
- didn't plan to bring it back". Books and other small but expensive items such
- as computer software are also great exchangeables.
- 2. Stealing women's underwear and cosmetics are the perfect alibi for male
- shoplifters who specialise in exchanges. Male customers always f*** up buying
- stuff for their girlfriends/wives/mothers and when it comes to lingerie, it's
- just too easy for a guy to look goofy, have sales staff sympathise and all too
- quickly agree to exchange or refund the items. This works particularly well
- around Xmas time when you can tell them you bought it for your mother but
- she already had that one.
- 3. Never take an exchange item to the store you stole it from and make sure
- the other store has the same item before you take it back.
- 4. Make sure you have chosen your item before you approach anyone for an
- exchange. Also, tell the people in the first department that you want an
- exchange without mentioning receipts -- they should send you down to the
- appropriate department for your other item and then ring up this department
- providing a referral, which if you are lucky will mean you do not have to
- provide a receipt given that everything appears legitimate.
- 5. The first time you exchange a stolen item for another product make sure you
- get something unstealable in return, like a video, watch, or something else kept
- behind a counter, so that the second time you do it, even if you don't get an
- exchange receipt they will not suspect that it is stolen.
- 6. Exchange receipts are a pain in the arse. Sometimes smart arse sales people
- will write a cross the original docket 'no original receipt' which is a problem,
- so if you have a bit of money on you, it is a good idea to exchange for
- something that costs a little bit more so that they have to give you a cash
- receipt.
- 7. Don't freak out if they call security while you are acting out an exchange
- as returns will often require security's signature this is quite standard
- procedure and nothing to worry about.
- 8. If you're having problems getting an exchange, big department stores normally
- have consumer rights people located upstairs somewhere -- they can usually
- be contacted by information telephones. These are people with big egos who like
- to wield power and the sales staff, who are much lower down the hierarchy, are
- usually pretty freaked out by this power. If you do get the ego from upstairs
- on side, they will organise a sales person to look after you and after the
- egomaniac goes up upstairs again, they sure will -- because the sales person
- does not want to reprimanded by the same person from upstairs more than once,
- you will be practically able to get them to do anything that you want them to.
- A good technique is to tell the person upstairs a different story to the one that
- you tell the sales person. You can get angry at this stage and tell them that
- they f***ed you around, that you don't want an exchange any more and that
- you want a refund now and they will usually comply.
- 9. Be wary of the long term employee -- you've got to know when to stop.
- Be particularly wary of the head of sales or middle management who have been
- working there for a long time (sometimes 20 years or more) and are not as s
- cared of the big guys from upstairs as are the newer employees.
- You can often convince some of the younger staff that they are allowed to do
- refunds if you tell them that you used to work there.
- 10. Another commonly used technique is to take an empty bag from the same
- store with a receipt in it for previously paid for items and then nick the same
- stuff, which gives you the perfect alibi.
- 11. Better still, if you've got some money, find two things that are worth
- however much you've got, take them out of the store and stash them somewhere,
- then go back in and buy the exact same items. While leaving the checkout,
- make a big deal about it. "Am I doing the right thing? Will she like it? Will it fit
- him? etcetera" and then "what the heck!" (Make sure you don't go overboard
- and push them to mention keeping the receipt or worst of all mention it yourself!)
- Pay for it. About half an hour to a couple of hours later (not too long) take
- the stuff back to the same sales people and they'll usually give you cash
- without a receipt because they remember selling it to you. If you pull it off
- you've got a cash receipt and your stolen goods which you can exchange at
- another store.
- 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). 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 f*** you around f
- or 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 won't 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.
- The end:
- Finally, if you get caught -- lie your teeth out! Never admit to premeditation.
- Always say that the opportunity arose, so you took it. Don't act tough or be a
- smart arse. Cry. Bawl. Admit a guilty conscience. Beg them not to call the c
- ops. Tell them that CSV will take your kids off you and then weep.
- Even though some stores say they have a policy to call the police it is not
- necessarily true and they may, after lots of tears and admissions of guilt, just
- get you to sign a statement which says you'll never enter that store again. If
- the cops do arrive, it's a good idea to act scared shitless because they may
- assume you're a first offender and not bother to check your record. Don't
- antagonise the filth -- it is their personal discretion as to how bad you get
- busted.
- You are most likely to be charged with 'theft' if caught shoplifting, but you
- can be charged with 'burglary' as well if you don't have any money on you.
- 'Equipped to steal' is what you will be charged with if, for example, you have a
- slit in the lining of your jacket for concealing stolen goods. 'Obtaining
- financial advantage' and 'deception' are what you are likely to be charged with
- as well as 'theft', if caught exchanging stolen items.
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