A woman who says she is a lawyer has released a TikTok video telling viewers to beware of self-checkout machines.
“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 misdemeanor larceny or felony larceny, depending on how big the item was,” she said.
Although she only uses her first name in the video, shot inside her car, The Sun identified her as defense attorney Lindsey Granados. Her TikTok account has multiple videos related to the law.
“It’s really important that you take care when you’re using those machines to verify that every item has been run up appropriately,” she said.
“Because if you get past the point of sale and walk out that door, Walmart could charge you or any other store could charge you with larceny, and that could lead to you having a misdemeanor conviction on your record, potentially,” she said.
She said Instacart shoppers, who are shopping for someone else, are particularly at risk because they are in a time crunch. Forgetting to scan something accidentally can lead to a larceny charge, she said.
Charging Instacart shoppers is “utterly nonsensical,” she said.
“Why would you steal with someone else’s money who’s paying for it?” she said.
She said consumers need to be aware that scanners are imperfect.
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“The reality is, is those machines are faulty in a lot of ways, and they are not particularity sensitive, and they will unfortunately not scan items from time to time,” she said.
“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,” she said.
She said despite the lines, she has a cashier ring up her items.
“I don’t want to have any, any issues,” she said.
She noted that Walmart “aggressively prosecutes people that are charged with larceny.”
Walmart, she noted, has high-quality video.
“And they will come back, and they will prosecute you for other events that may have occurred in the past as well because they keep that video and they keep those register receipts,” Granados said.
Her warning: “They’re watching you, and they’re keeping track of you.”
