A LOWE’S customer has been accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of items due to a popular self-checkout scam.
Police believe that Mohamed Nahas stole nearly $3,000 worth of items from a Lowe’s location in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania.
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The suspected criminal was accused of “barcode switching,” a shoplifting method that police say is growing in popularity.
“They’re removing the barcode from the cheaper item, leaving it behind, going up to the register with just the barcode, whether it’s torn off or a sticker,” Sgt. Andrew Bienemann with Northern Regional Police told local NBC affiliate WPXI-TV.
Nahas is believed to have committed the crimes over four months.
He is not in police custody, however, he’s facing felony counts of receiving stolen property and retail theft.
Bienemann believes that inflation and the increased use of self-checkout machines are the reason more people are turning to this method of shoplifting.
This is following the arrest of Vicky Popat, Christopher Abad, and Christopher Eduardo Baglin, who were accused of using the same tactic to steal from Home Depot locations across South and Central Florida.
The three were said to have switched barcodes of costly roof sealers for cheaper items.
“This group switched barcodes at self-checkout stations on expensive roof sealers for items that cost 95-97% less, and hit multiple Home Depot stores a day—ultimately stealing more than $100,000,” Attorney General Ashley Moody told My Florida Legal.
The alleged shoplifters are believed to have stolen 281 buckets of Henry 887 Tropi-Cool roof sealer within three years.
Henry 887 Tropi-Cool roof sealant costs between $248-$445 and the group was accused of replacing it with the barcode of Henry 345 Pre-Mixed Floor Patch, which cost $9.98.
Authorities claim that the group had stolen from two to three stores a day.
The three men were charged with one count of scheme to defraud over $20,000.
Additionally, Abad and Baglin were charged with one count of grand theft over $20,000, and Popat was charged with one count of grand theft over $100,000.
Another shopper, Grant Duss, has allegedly stolen more than $4,000 worth of goods from Target over four weeks, cops have said.
Authorities believe that Duss stole from the retailer on nine different occasions within that month.
They said he stole from the store five times in the same day and would go to his car to switch his clothes.
Duss had taken baseball and Pokémon collector cards for 79 cents each after switching barcodes.
Thanks to an employee, he has been charged with 14 misdemeanor counts of theft.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Lowe’s for comment.
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