Could it be that Santa Claus is not always a jolly, giving man? Oh yeah. Take a look at this Santa. He (or I guess it could be a she) is out for a little cheer for…. himself. Regardless who they are, customers need to be watched. In this case, the store let their guard down because of the costume. Shoplifters use deception and costumes to steal.
In this case, the Santa costume allows plenty of room to hide merchandise. Shoplifters will make or modify clothing to become a shoplifting tool. We call these “booster” items. Booster coats, dresses, skirts, pants and more. I have even seen booster “bloomers”. They are worn under a loose fitting skirt or dress. The shoplifter drops a merchandise item through what looks like a pocket in the outer garment and into the bloomers which are secured at the knee. A lot of merchandise can be concealed that way. We once caught a woman with four cordless drills including batteries concealed that way.
Other costumes include religious clothing. How about a Nun? I have caught one of those. It was a difficult “habit” for her to break. Even someone who dresses as a member of the Armed Forces, a security officer, repairman, phone company technician with tools and a toolbox. A shoplifting team may use a person like this to distract your attention or create a scene while the others steal.
Another booster item could be a false bottom gift-wrapped box. Your merchandise Items go in the bottom with a trap door. Shopping bags are yet another tool. Especially ones from your store. Our inclination is that whatever is in there, was already purchased. Or they put stolen merchandise under merchandise that they did purchase.
The general rule of thumb is that shoplifters want to blend in with your regular customer look. Take a look at this video of a customer that “blended in” but was bottomless:
If your average customer wears a suit then that is the way the shoplifter will dress. If they wear shorts and flip-flops, then that is their targeted look. But a costume that portrays confidence such as uniforms, religion, public servant… is like hiding in plain sight. We dismiss that person “because an XXX would not be stealing from me”.
If a costume makes people uncomfortable, they would tend to avoid that person. Someone dressed in an outrageous way such as a stripper (okay, not too many places to hide something), odd clothing combinations and colors or some of what we can find at the People of Walmart website probably qualify.
Of course, no story on shoplifting costumes would be complete without a creepy clown. So if I have not weirded you out too much, then happy hunting!
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