Have You Heard About the Self-Checkout Scam at Texas Stores?

Someone who asked to remain anonymous shared a post about this self-checkout scam. This particular occasion occurred at a Spring, Texas Walmart location.

And as you and I both know, scams can spread like viruses. It's best to be on the lookout for such things, as it could easily happen in Longview, Tyler, or any of our East Texas cities.

To be on the safe side, the person who shared both the photo and this recent warning asked to remain anonymous, and we will respect that. But the information they shared is an important warning for us all.

Do you use the self-checkout kiosks at any of our East Texas stores?

According to the post, here's basically what happened:

The person who posted the incident said their friend had gone to the Walmart at 2978 and Woodlands Parkway in Spring, Texas, and used one of the self-checkout kiosks. The friend allegedly noticed that her items rang up to be more than they reasonably should have been. So, she double-checked the receipt and noticed a couple of red flags.

What were the red flags that alerted her that there might be something askew going on at the Walmart in Spring, Texas?

One of the things the friend noticed was an unknown charge for $20 on the receipt--the one you see circled in the photo below. The "item description" simply says "debit load." There was also reportedly a $4.94 charge for "Visa."

Concerned, the woman went to ask customer service about it, and according to the post, the Walmart employees told her it was a new scam going around. And here's how it allegedly works:

Someone will begin the process of purchasing a pre-paid Visa Card and then leave the kiosk without completing the transaction. They wait for someone to come and start checking out, hoping they'll remain unaware there's an unpaid card already in the system.

**BELOW EDITED FOR ACCURACY AS OF 12/30/23**

According to our anonymous source, the alleged culprit was still hanging around in the store and allegedly they were arrested.
We don't have the police report to confirm but have reached out to see if it may be acquired. The records office doesn't open until 1/2/24, due to the holiday.

**ORIGINAL POST CONTINUES HERE**

Bottom line? DOUBLE CHECK to make sure there aren't already items in the system before you checkout.

Have you heard of any more of these kinds of experiences here in East Texas? If so, please share if you'd like: tara.holley@townsquaremedia.com.