Teen shoppers cheat security

Youngsters have found a way to lay hands on things they can’t afford. While smuggling accessories out of stores was once a rampant practice in the city, with tightened security, it has now become close to impossible. Instead, shoplifting has been given a clever twist.

Be it accessories or clothes, teenagers swap price tags of expensive items with that of cheaper ones. Since these items still retain the bar code, the billing machines simply record the details of the changed price tag. And with the item billed, it’s easy to walk out without getting caught.

Shirley Mistry, a class XII student of Chirec Public School, admits that this is a common practice in the city these days. “Young girls usually switch the price tags of trinkets like earrings because they can be easily removed from the packaging and placed into a different one with a cheaper price tag. What’s shocking is that it is affluent teens who resort to these petty crimes for cheap kicks.” Vaijanthi Kari, a student from Villa Marie, says she has even witnessed this at malls. “A popular brand for teen clothing comes with loose jute price tags which are just tied around the brand tag on the clothes. I have seen people taking the lowest price tag and tying it on an expensive item from the same brand.”

And with everyone around them doing this, some youngsters are put in a tight spot when they are in the company of offenders. Shruti Raju, a student from St Mary’s, says she had to deal with a cousin who swapped price tags when they went shopping together. “My cousin and I picked up similar tops from the same brand. while billing though, the cashier noticed that her top showed up a lesser price than mine. It was embarrassing as the cashiers looked at us rather suspiciously and then got the price checked by the manager.” Mall authorities admit that’s it’s tough to catch such offenders. “This happens in most malls in the city these days. Tags are usually changed in trial rooms where there are no surveillance cameras. this is common during sale period. we train our cashiers so they can identify price tags and avoid such nuisance,” says a spokesperson from Hyderabad Central.

Doc talk
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