A SELF-DESCRIBED former Walmart employee has claimed that self-checkout stations are able to photograph customers and store their personal information.
"So you see those little machines rights there?" the ex-employee asked.
In the first clip of her video, she showed off a white counter space featuring two built-in screens. On its exterior, the station doesn't appear much different from a typical self-checkout kiosk.
"Let me just tell you, every time you run your card through a Walmart scanner, they have a note of it," she added. "They can find you through your credit card."
The woman went as far as to claim that Walmart keeps all their shoppers' personal information in the store's storage system as a permanent file.
She pointed out that the store has already been doing a similar version of this sort of surveillance.
"And before these cameras were a thing, they were already doing that my dude," she explained.
"Every purchase that you make with a card, they can pull up date and time information and pull up the camera footage and see what you purchased, when you purchased it..." she noted.
The Walmart critic also had a word of advice for anyone who may want to protect their information or may or not be doing "janky s**t."
"Use cash and cover your ID," she instructed. "Those cameras can read into your Wallet. And they do. F**k Walmart bro."
In the comments section, many of @AshtheTruth21's followers were also up in arms over the new technology.
"They paid for all this but can’t raise their minimum wage or hire enough people," one person noted.
Other people pointed out that the Walmart app already keeps shoppers' personal information.
"Yup, if I swipe my card in store my purchase will show up in my Walmart app. The app knows when u walk into the store," another frustrated customer added.
Some TikTok users suggested that Walmart's security system is not much different than other major retail stores.
"Target has been doing this for a while. They just made it super obvious. you can look at the screen above the register and see yourself," a third person commented.
@AshtheTruth21 and her followers are not the only people fed up with self-checkout stations.
The retailer has confirmed to Business Insider that it's using camera-based computer vision tech to deter theft and losses at its checkouts (including self-checkouts) in over 1,000 stores. They also have face camera. The cameras serve as a security measure for who is conducting the transaction. To watch for thieves.
"What you probably didn't know is that Walmart employees who work in the self-checkout area carry devices called TC Devices." Those handheld machines allow workers to see what people are buying at the self-checkout.
We spoke to a lawyer, who has represented clients in these kinds of cases, who said that while there is no provision in the law that requires you to stop, not stopping could give the store some probable cause they need to ask you to stop and detain you. They would need additional proof, too.
'Walmart has loss prevention officers at every store that watch for shoplifters. They are on the floor and in the back watching everyone on camera," the company shared. Loss prevention personnel are also watching the self-checkout lanes.
Major US companies like Starbucks, Walmart, and Delta Airlines are using AI firm Aware to monitor employee messages. The tool scans platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams for keywords indicating dissatisfaction, safety risks, or unionisation efforts.
The technology will alert shoppers when items were not scanned, according to company documents obtained by Bloomberg. TruScan cameras can also track people who repeatedly don't ring up items or don't scan them correctly, Bloomberg reported.
You could be charged with theft. If at the time, store security did not stop you, it is unlikely they will pursue this matter now. it is possible they were not aware of this, so there would be no reason for them to go back later and review the tapes.
Two stores—one in St.Louis, Missouri, and the other in Cleveland, Ohio—are scrapping the self-checkout machines in favor of the more traditional checkout service, according to reports. The change for customers in Missouri and Cleveland comes after a similar move by the supermarket giant in New Mexico last year.
Self-checkout, on the other hand, shifts the work to customers, making them feel less rewarded, the study found. “Extra effort required to checkout and bag purchases and the expectation of being served by the store were negative consequences of self-checkout and decreased loyalty to the store,” according to the study.
Target is changing its self-checkout policy at all of its stores, while Dollar General is shutting down self-service lanes at many locations. If you want to use Target's self-checkout lanes, you'll have to start limiting your cart to 10 items or less.
According to a recent Lending Tree survey of 2,000 Americans, theft at self-checkouts is a real issue, and individuals who engage in it are likely to repeat the behavior. Walmart has faced losses from retail theft, with estimates of 3 2021, 3billion in 2021,6.1 billion in 2022, and $6.5 billion in 2023.
Walmart, like many other retailers, has loss prevention personnel to monitor and prevent theft. These individuals may approach you if they suspect you of shoplifting. To detain you, store security usually needs reasonable suspicion or probable cause to believe you've committed or are about to commit theft.
(NEXSTAR) – Target plans to take a closer look at customers using self-checkout. According to multiple reports, the mega-retailer is adding cameras to self-checkout lanes in a move to prevent theft. The technology, called TruScan, can recognize when items are not scanned, reports CNN.
With over 5,000 stores worldwide, Walmart has an extensive and state-of-the-art camera surveillance operation. In their branded stores, all security camera footage is streamed back to a central monitoring station. There, trained surveillance personnel actively watch the video feeds in real-time on a 24/7 basis.
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