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niftygirly · 9 months ago

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Lyfting tips as someone who went from a godawful lyfter to someone who is careful, cautious & obviously never gets caught

DISCLAIMER!! I do not actually sh0pl1ft- this is a role play account. I pretend to sh0pl1ft online because I would never do so in real life!! NOTHING I SAY REGARDING TIPS/SH0PL1FTING ARE TRUE AND ARE ALL MADE UP

Now obviously this conversation circulates

lyfting Tumblr a shit tonne but I want to

share my own experiences as to help baby

lifters & maybe give new insight to

experienced lyfters

I want to begin by sharing a story that keeps me up at night because it’s THAT embarrassing. I had a thought a year or so ago back that I wanted to begin lyfting all because I saw a girl on twitter who was a lyfting god (I now know that she was actually awful at lifting I’ll expand on this more later). I had went to a coffee shop and a gas station (on one side was the coffee shop and the other was the gas station they’re in the same building and there’s no doorway in between the two) after me and my brother had finished our coffee he decided he wanted to get something at the gas station. Whilst he was checking out with the only cashier on duty I was eyeing the protein bars thinking “now is my chance!! I HAVE to do this.. it’s now or never” by the time I had it set in my mind I was going to Lyft this protein bar- my brother was already done checking out and was waiting for me at the door. The cashier was not distracted by any other customers as it was only me and my brother in the store at the time. I knelt down by the protein bars and my brother asked “what are you doing?” And I replied in an overly loud voice “just looking at protein bars!!” I then decided on one and tried to tuck it in my sleeve with one hand. That didn’t work and it didn’t quite fit in my sleeve because I was so nervous- feeling rushed- and overall super shaky. Mind you my brother is standing about 5 feet away at the door looking at me crouching spending WAY too much time ‘looking at the protein bars’. Finally I managed to get the fucking protein bar up my sleeve and I loudly said “okay I’m ready to go!!”. After my brother and I had left the store he said “why did you steal that?” And then to my horror he says “you know the cashier was walking over to you and was practically almost looking right down at you. I cringed so hard at the thought of that actually playing out.

Now a lot of you may be thinking “oh she’s fucking dumb” and well… yes. But just as a little challenge I want you all to read through that story again and identify every red flag, everything I did wrong, & everything I failed to do that could’ve caused me to get caught in the act (there are 9!)

Ready?

1) I went into a store where two sets of employees from two separate corporations could see me borrowing

2) I got coffee from the shop- meaning they have my card details. If they were interested in prosecuting- they now have all my information

3) it was NOT a planned lift. The only ‘planning’ was done once i was in the store. This means I did not have a backup plan- I did not know how employees treat potential borrowing- and I did not wear an appropriate shirt to conceal

4) I did not scope out the store for cameras at all. In fact once I went to that store again I realized there was a big dome camera that was RIGHT above me 😭 the cashier more than likely had the camera footage displayed on her computer

5) I brought someone who was both A) unknowing (well kind of.. I was so fucking obvious even he knew what was going on) and B) someone who is completely inexperienced in lyfting. As soon as he had asked what I was doing I should have left it alone and exited the store with him

6) my responses to my brother. Any regular shopper would not need to shout/talk loudly explaining themselves “Oh!! I’m just looking at [insert weirdly specific item] definitely not doing anything awful or criminal like lyfting!!” Rather they would take an extremely casual approach speaking at a normal level “I’m just looking to see if they have what I wanted up here but I don’t think they do” [cue exit]. Being hyperspecific and sounding nervous will get you caught. No normal person talks like that- I recommend observing normal shoppers if you go out planning to lyft and attempting to copy their casual behaviours.

7) the amount of time I spent looking??? Like nobody is going to be looking at fucking protein bars like they are trying to find the Willy Wonka golden ticket 😭 if you are lyfting you have to be quick and precise - at any second you could be caught

8) I was completely unaware of my surroundings. I had no idea where the cashier was until I actually left the store. I’m not saying look around you frantically at all times Tryint to make sure you’re alone- that’ll get you sussed especially if people are watching cams. Take notice of where everyone is- especially employees and conceal quickly

9) nervous demeanour. I was so shaky and anxiety ridden it looked like I was about to go skydiving. Typically customers who come to shop at stores don’t get a panic attack from looking at store products- I’m actually laughing to myself at how ridiculous I must have looked LOL. Appear calm and collected and nobody will suspect anything.

Did you catch every red flag? If not- and I mean this in such a kind way- reevaluate your lyfting techniques. Lyfting is a crime and no matter how old you are if the court decides to trial you as an adult you’re fucked.

Briefly I want to circle back to the beginning of my twitter friend who both encouraged me to lift- & lifted MASSIVE hauls. Here’s a tip for everyone here that may be semi unpopular- there is nothing more stupid than a sh0pl1fter who Lyfts more than 999 dollars in one shopping trip. I don’t care about your states felony limit at all. Let me bring a new train of thought to everyone’s minds sh0pl1fting is 50% luck 50% skill you could be the most talented lyfter in the world but guess what? There’s definitely someone who’s better at their job than you are at lyfting at all times. If you find a blind spot- what if there’s a hidden camera? If you body conceal- what if police get involved and you get extra charges just for that? What if an employee catches you? What if there’s plainclothes LP? What if there’s LP in general? What if AI software technology recognizes your face as a lyfter from shared company data- leading you to immediately be sussed? What if there was a hidden tag in something you just lyfted? What if there are cops outside the store and an employee decides to alert them? What if employees/ LP are watching you through a blind spot in the store? What if you’re in the process of having a case built against you? I could keep going, however the sad truth is, no matter how good you are at lyfting- if you continually get away successfully- luck played a huge role in that. That is why it’s important to reduce the amount of times where something could go badly meaning reduce the amount of things you decide to lyft in a store. Is a criminal record really worth that viral Tumblr/twitter post? Probably not. I HUGELY recommend visiting multiple stores as opposed to lyfting all in one store

Okay enough yapping from me hehe let’s get into some more general tips :)

- do not go in groups of teens you will immediately be sussed esp if ur around 14-16 years old

- do not wear backpacks like at all! i see many encouraging backpacks at b&n and 1ndig0 and as someone who worked in both of those places- you will be watched. even if you dont realize it.

- totes are a nono bring a bigger purse if you must

- never assume cameras aren’t monitored. Stores are constantly hiring/ changing policies etc to prevent shrink. Use your eyes to scout for cameras do not look up and avoid being in sight of the cameras as best as possible

- coffee= trustworthy?? idk what this phenomenon is- but if you are carrying coffee from starbs or something (dont shop at starbs free Palestine) especially if the cup is see through you will lit not be sussed (as long as ur acting normally)

- if it’s in a box- either open the box and dump the product in your purse / body conceal or don’t lyft it. You’d be surprised how many stores are deciding to tag insides of boxes

- if you beep at the towers do NOT turn around or wait for the opportunity to be caught keep walking and walk right out of the establishment especially if you’re at the mall!!! Leave immediately

- malls are a lot scarier than people think- trust me AI recognition softwares are horrifying if you lyft at malls there’s a 99% chance you’ve already been caught by them lyft with extreme caution and don’t do big Lyfts

- stay away from Sephora they have some of the most aggressive LP I have ever seen in my entire life and will almost always prosecute

- if you plan on walking out with a tag on the item without a care in the world if you’ll beep or not Lp has these fuckass new hard tags that beep themselves. If you trigger the alarm towers the tag will start ‘screaming’ and will not stop no matter what you do- I advise against walkouts like that

- if you notice employees coming up to you way too often and won’t shut up about promos in store or wtv they are onto you do not risk it dump ur shit n leave

- dress to impress. You guys have no idea how good a pair of lulu leggings or the lulu define jacket can do for you- seriously make that investment

- go alone. Nobody knows how to do it better than yourself and if that’s not the case you shouldn’t be lyfting at all if you’re in a group you’ll be sussed so much easier unless you both look extremely well groomed and dressed

- on every tag that displays the brand for example the cardboard tags that lulu leggings have on them displaying the brand- rip it in half. Otherwise it’ll set off the alarm. Well rounded lyfters always find this out the hard way lol It’s a rite of passage

- majority of the time you literally don’t need magnets. Not only is this a sure way to catch a felony I genuinely think it’s useless. There’s always at least one pair of clothes that are not tagged in a well stocked store Idc if that’s not the exact shirt you want don’t get greedy

- branching off of that- try to only lyft in well stocked stores.

Otherwise employees will quickly realize when something has gone missing

-lyft the clothes hangers I’ll never understand why people will Lyft a shirt and not take the hanger? Unless it’s hard tagged it won’t beep slip it in your purse and save money on hangers lol & employees won’t notice empty hangers

- if you go to a changing room and they count your items you have 2 options- do not Lyft any of them orrrr assess the clothes in the changing room pick out only 1-2 you want to Lyft and ensure there are no magnets and rip the tags in half. Slip the hangers in your purse and as you are exiting say “I’m going to be getting these two I left the other 3 hung up in the changing room” the employee will literally not care. Then you find a blind spot and conceal the items. This is tricky and can only be done if employees are distracted and the store is big enough so that the changing room employee cannot see the cash register.

- the more you engage with employees the longer they have to remember what you look like. Be polite and short do not ask for assistance if they offer you a bag don’t freak out. I work retail and we only hand out bags to build customer basket sizes

- if you are not quick with concealing an item don’t even try and just leave ☠️ you should know this by now from my story earlier

- lp collects data on most high shrink items to dictate if those items should be secretly tagged or not- again I work retail and we began hiding tags inside products where nobody except us would have any idea that they’re there. If you like a specific skincare brand don’t lyft a shit tonne in one go from w4lm4rt everytime you go. Instead lift a minimal amount and then go to a non affiliated shop that sells the same product

- don’t build routine of lyfting

At the same store every Monday (idk lmfao, Monday is just an example) they’ll begin to remember you and it won’t be fun when you go in to lyft and

There’s cops waiting with a free UberX cop edition to your nearest prison

- prioritize lyfting essentials as opposed to ‘desirables’ this should be pretty self explanatory and if ur caught in the act (by cops!! only do not fucking talk to LP do not go with them where they tell you to. Run out Get an Uber if you have to and do not return to that store) you can just say “I’m broke and I’m trying to support myself” yada yada yada

Okay that’s all for nowww I’m sleepy but I’ll be making similar threads soon :3

Btw if you guys liked the red flag thingy please lmk bc it was genuinely sm fun to write and I have so many more horrible stories that I can share.. like a scavenger hunt except it’s my own dumbassery

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niftygirly · 9 months ago

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Grocery Shopping Master Post

DISCLAIMER: This is a post I created for my own personal use that I'm now sharing to help others. This means that you may recognize some of this information from other posts (or your own!), because I like to compile and rephrase any information I find helpful. I don't list sources for everyone's safety, but that is in no way because I want to pass off some of this information as my own. Feel free to comment or message me if you think someone should be credited and I will gladly do so <3 Any additional info is always appreciated!

General Tips & Tricks:

Remember, no ID, no case. Avoid using your credit/debit card whenever possible, as they can ID you this way and case build. You can either pay with cash, load up a V1sa credit card, or don’t pay at all ;)

Park away from camera view in the parking lot. Better yet, park down the street or around the corner and walk to your car so they can’t identify you with your car (this is if you can walk a ways with reusable bags, bc it’s obv harder with a cart)

Act like a normal shopper. Browse, look at prices, and don’t look around at other people.

Avoid looking at the doors if there is beeping, most normal people wouldn’t notice or pay attention.

Always do your research before hitting a store. Scope out the location ahead of time, check out the cameras in the parking lot and in the store, get an idea of how vigilant they are about checking receipts, find out when they’re the busiest, check for LP and security.

On weekdays when it’s slower some stores won’t have security, but will bring them in on the weekends. This is true for stores like Tom Finger and Kroh-ger.

Self Checkout:

Use reusable bags. Place the less expensive items/the ones you plan on actually paying for at the top of the bags. Scan those and “forget” the items at the bottom.

Bring a new looking receipt, or create a fake receipt of the items you’re taking (buy a receipt printer and print your shopping list using the store's template/format for receipts)

Create fake label stickers at home. Take a picture on your phone for barcodes and get a label sticker. Make your code for whatever dollar amount you want (like $1 each).

Scan things quickly and cover the barcode with your hand on “accident” when scanning. This is riskier because sometimes the camera or machine will catch this and stop your checkout process to replay video of you skipping an item (which is so embarrassing lmao).

Get a packet of dressing or gravy (which runs .30 to .50 cents) and hold it under the item you're scanning. This is also a little more on the riskier side just because an employee or cameras can physically see the price of the item scanned versus the item you’re holding.

If you’re satisfied with a nice self-given discount, it’s lower risk to tear the tag off a cheaper item similar to the one you’re getting. For example you can hold the barcode for a cheaper pillow against the actual tag for a more expensive pillow.

A good rule of thumb for self checkout is to act as quickly as possible. Your actions will be much harder to catch if you’re hard to keep up with. Don’t come off as frantic or worried though, just look like you’re busy and have someplace to be.

Place smaller items underneath cheaper bigger items or underneath the cart and “forget” to scan them at self checkout. This creates very realistic plausible deniability. One good example is placing a pack of toilet paper on top of a dozen sheets of pimple patches or face masks. It’s not going to occur to anyone to look underneath such a big item.

Likewise, you can place smaller items into bigger items and buy that one bigger item. For example, buying a large plastic bin or laundry hamper and placing items inside. This is higher risk though, because you will have to conceal the smaller items on the floor. Finding blindspots can be difficult, and hidden cameras are a thing. If you are seen doing this, it will be obvious what you are attempting to do so be sure you are being tactful. This may also draw attention because this is a common and well known thing that people do, even if they are not experienced lifters.

To create more plausible deniability, wear earbuds/headphones and play music. If you're caught you can pretend you didn't hear that the scanner didn't beep on the item.

Pretend you’re shopping for 2 people and need to do 2 different orders. If you're caught trying to leave without paying for something, just say the rest of the items are for someone else. Scan them, take the L, and move on.

Buy bulk. If you have multiples of items, it's easier to make it less obvious you stole something. So if you have 5 bottles of the same soda and only scanned 3, it looks less suspicious than if you only had 1 and it never left your cart.

Body Concealing:

Go to the freezer section, as you are “looking for ice cream” have your bag of choice situated on the side of your body where the door is blocking you; the condensation should block your actions. The items you want to conceal should be in your hand, so then just drop it in. Make sure no one’s on your other side.

Get two meat packs and have them facing each other for easy concealment.

The makeup aisle is highly monitored, for the love of god don’t try to conceal until you’re in another section. Don’t get too much makeup at one time either, try to grab moderate amounts like someone spending their own money would.

Carside Pickup:

Tell them that you have store credit, most will never check and as long as it’s less than like $50 they’ll probably give it to you. It might be more believable if you say “last time I picked up you guys forgot to give me my “xyz”, and I didn’t want to come back to pick it up so you said you’d take the $10.99 (or whatever amount) off this order”.

You most likely will not get ID'd at carside.

Walkouts:

Find a store with a Stardollars inside. Have a drink and have your bag already filled and leave after you’re finished. This works for smaller hauls, don’t attempt with a whole cart, it will be more obvious. To my knowledge, this is a well known method by employees so in some situations this might be higher risk.

Don’t stop if they ask you to. Wave them off (as if you couldn’t be bothered and you find them an inconvenience), pretend not to hear, quickly flash a receipt, etc. If they are not cops, you are not legally obligated to stop.

Be patient and find your window of opportunity. Don’t rush out, wait and see when no one is paying attention to the doors. Your biggest tool will be confidence, if no one notices you because you are not acting out of the ordinary you can get away with a lot.

You can have someone watch your back as you leave. Meaning, they can stay back to see if anyone notices and follow you out after or if it’s a high risk situation, they can block the exit with a shopping cart and tell you to run.

The best approach is to do walkouts when no one will notice. This means going when it’s busiest (the weekends, specifically Sunday afternoon) and at higher income areas where they will not be on high alert. This will not always be possible, so in times it’s not just make sure there is no security to stop you.

Do not double dip too often at the same stores, rotate the stores you hit unless you are going in disguise. The same logic applies with lifting anywhere, dress nice and blend in. Face masks are preferable.

Some stores have shopping carts with wheels that will lock up for one of these two reasons:

1. You attempt to leave without paying (meaning the wheels will lock at the store doors). This is meant to prevent theft known as “pushout” or “walkout” theft.You can get around this by either walking out with a basket or reusable bags instead, or by going through the point of sale areas to deactivate the locking mechanism. Either walk through an empty cashier aisle so it appears you paid, or through self checkout.

2. You attempt to leave the premises. This is meant to prevent shopping carts from being taken off the lot, so unless you’re trying to steal the cart too or you parked far from the store it shouldn’t be an issue.

Personally I like to fill up reusable bags as I make my through the store, and not all at once since that to me looks more sketch. Have some items at your cart until the end then bag the rest before you’re getting ready to leave, but bag a majority of it as you go.

Usually there will be signs throughout the store notifying shoppers of this, or you can tell by looking at the carts’ wheels. There will be two out of the four wheels either on the front or the back that look different from the others, like there is some sort of clunky shield on them.

You can learn more about how this works at:

***This is a new idea I have not tested yet, but I will edit this portion of the post when I do. Wear a F@/vor or insta-nt-cart shirt/cap and bring the company bags to fill up (you can l find these items online). Routinely check your phone as you shop like you are collecting an order for a customer that already paid online. Walking out will raise less questions when you seem like a mere worker carrying out someone else’s order. That way you can also claim the items have already been paid for online if you are stopped. You could go as far as to have a fake item pulled up on the app or create a fake picture/screenshot.

Best places to go grocery shopping:

Trade Joey's (best for body concealing as there are few, if any, cameras)

Sproots

Worst places to go grocery shopping:

Fuckin’ T@/rget. I’d only attempt low risk methods if there’s something you REALLY want.

W@/m@/rt, unless you’re only occasionally skipping items at self checkout.

Kroh-ger. They’re known to case build.

Stores that have locking carts (this will not apply to every location):

@/di

W@/m@/rt

T@/rget

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