A lawyer in the US has warned followers about the risks of using supermarket self-checkouts.
Lindsey Granados took to TikTok to explain her stance following a spate of legal cases in America where shoppers at large supermarkets have been charged with larceny, or theft to you and I - even when they didn't intend on stealing anything.
The criminal defence attorney added that she refuses to use self-checkout systems due to the risk of being wrongly accused of theft.
Speaking on TikTok, Granados said: "Sometimes it's not a mistake from the shopper, but an error with the self-checkout machine itself that can cause a customer's arrest."
@ldbglawyer Self-scanning checkout machines: It’s a trap! Be careful! #larceny #legal #legaladvice #tiktoklawyer #Lawyer #lawyertiktok #walmart #target #shopping #watchout #becareful ♬ original sound - Lindsey
She continued: "If you somehow didn't scan something appropriately or the machine didn't pick it up accidentally when you scanned it, you could potentially be charged with misdemeanour larceny or felony larceny, depending on how big the item."
Granados went on to say that she has seen such incidents happen first-hand to her own clients, such is the commonality of the 'offence.'
She continued: "I can't tell you how many clients I've talked with that have been charged with larceny because one of those machines didn't scan appropriately."
Closer to home, supermarkets in the UK are set to introduce more advanced self-checkout technology to tackle genuine self-service shoplifting.
These new self-checkout systems are designed to detect unusual patterns in customer behaviour that should more accurately raise the alarm on shoplifters.
