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This concern > opposed to turning private companies into arms of federal law enforcement agencies. does not explain this policy > “If you suspect fraud, compl

This concern > opposed to turning private companies into arms of federal law enforcement agencies. does not explain this policy > “If you suspect fraud, complete the transaction.” Sure it does. It's not Walmart's job to investigate fraud or any other crime. Their cashier's aren't trained in jurisprudence. And, frankly, a corporate policy of "deny service to customers who you suspect might be up to no good" is just a few racist employees away from another shit show entirely.

cornstalks 4y ago
There are many ways to handle suspected fraud. One completely reasonable approach would be to talk to customers about scams if fraud is suspected. You can still leave it up to the customer to decide to go through with the transaction. Other approaches exist too. But doing absolutely nothing and quietly proceeding with the transaction is just hostile to your most vulnerable customers.
Spooky23 4y ago
Funny, when Walmart’s money is involved, they have no problem having untrained staff harass, profile and intimidate customers suspected of not following store policy.
- bpodgursky 4y ago
  I feel like you are speaking without knowledge, because it usually take an extraordinary amount of blatant repeat theft for the loss protection team to act against an individual. Solo one-time shoplifters have close to a 100% chance of success without being apprehended.
  - Spooky23 4y ago
    There’s a well established, well documented pattern of conduct by Walmart that suggests otherwise. In a town near me, the store generates ~3000 arrests a year, to the point that the town has a police substation on the premises.
    - noptd 4y ago
      Comparing blatant theft of physical property to a possible financial scam, the latter of which the company has nowhere near the context required to make a determination on, seems a bit disingenuous, no?
      - ClumsyPilot 4y ago
        comparing theft of a $5 tshirt or whatever to scams worth thousands of dollars is what seems disingenuous. most of crime in the world is not petty shoplifting, its financial fraud amd much of it is done under corporate veil
    - phil21 4y ago
      > In a town near me, the store generates ~3000 arrests a year Of first time shoplifters? I find this incredible, as when I worked Walmart (admittedly eons ago) you had to be a very well known repeat offender to get caught. Everyone else would simply be yelled at to leave at best. Target (from friends at the time) even had a policy to simply let thieves do their thing and document until they hit the threshold for a felony - at which time they'd take action. Just that repeat offender list ended up with an arrest maybe every other day or so though. I find it amazing society has changed that much in such a relatively short time. I know every store/location is different but this stat definitely blew my mine.
      - thereare5lights 4y ago
        Depends on the location/state of the store
thereare5lights 4y ago
These are valid concerns. But both options are extremes. There's a lot of middle ground between don't complete any suspected fraud transactions and always complete suspected fraud transactions.

cornstalks 4y ago

There are many ways to handle suspected fraud. One completely reasonable approach would be to talk to customers about scams if fraud is suspected. You can still leave it up to the customer to decide to go through with the transaction. Other approaches exist too. But doing absolutely nothing and quietly proceeding with the transaction is just hostile to your most vulnerable customers.

Spooky23 4y ago

Funny, when Walmart’s money is involved, they have no problem having untrained staff harass, profile and intimidate customers suspected of not following store policy.

bpodgursky 4y ago
I feel like you are speaking without knowledge, because it usually take an extraordinary amount of blatant repeat theft for the loss protection team to act against an individual. Solo one-time shoplifters have close to a 100% chance of success without being apprehended.
- Spooky23 4y ago
  There’s a well established, well documented pattern of conduct by Walmart that suggests otherwise. In a town near me, the store generates ~3000 arrests a year, to the point that the town has a police substation on the premises.
  - noptd 4y ago
    Comparing blatant theft of physical property to a possible financial scam, the latter of which the company has nowhere near the context required to make a determination on, seems a bit disingenuous, no?
    - ClumsyPilot 4y ago
      comparing theft of a $5 tshirt or whatever to scams worth thousands of dollars is what seems disingenuous. most of crime in the world is not petty shoplifting, its financial fraud amd much of it is done under corporate veil
  - phil21 4y ago
    > In a town near me, the store generates ~3000 arrests a year Of first time shoplifters? I find this incredible, as when I worked Walmart (admittedly eons ago) you had to be a very well known repeat offender to get caught. Everyone else would simply be yelled at to leave at best. Target (from friends at the time) even had a policy to simply let thieves do their thing and document until they hit the threshold for a felony - at which time they'd take action. Just that repeat offender list ended up with an arrest maybe every other day or so though. I find it amazing society has changed that much in such a relatively short time. I know every store/location is different but this stat definitely blew my mine.
    - thereare5lights 4y ago
      Depends on the location/state of the store

thereare5lights 4y ago

These are valid concerns. But both options are extremes. There's a lot of middle ground between don't complete any suspected fraud transactions and always complete suspected fraud transactions.