A Michigan woman has been arrested after she was accused of stealing items from Walmart because she did not scan all of them at the self-checkout.
According to authorities, TeddyJo Marie Fliam, 34, was using the self-checkout at an Alpena County Walmart when it became clear to loss prevention employees that she wasn't scanning every item.
Fliam denied the accusation when a loss prevention worker confronted her. Per Fox 2 Detroit, the woman subsequently left the store.
Following the incident, the store reviewed its surveillance recordings and saw that Fliam had allegedly failed to pay for more than $1,000 worth of goods since April as she did not scan the items.
Fliam was arrested at her Alpena home last month and was charged with first-degree retail fraud.
The Alpena County Walmart's loss prevention team has recently started cracking down on stealing at the self-checkout, with Michigan State Police recording two similar incidents in which customers were arrested after they swapped barcodes while purchasing products.
Walmart started using artificial intelligence to target potential thieves at its self-checkouts in 2019, using cameras to ensure that every product that had been bagged was scanned correctly.
The system, known as Missed Scan Detection, monitors self-checkouts as well as manned checkout stations and reports instances in which items have not been scanned, so an attendant can investigate.
Per The New York Post, a Walmart spokesperson said at the time: “Walmart is making a true investment to ensure the safety of our customers and associates."
The spokesperson continued: "Over the last three years, the company has invested over half a billion dollars in an effort to prevent, reduce and deter crime in our stores and parking lots. We are continuously investing in people, programs and technology to keep our stores and communities safe.”
