Stealing from a self-checkout is becoming more of a trend. It's theft in plain sight, yet the risk of getting caught is lesser.
Just last year, a Cape Coral woman and social media influencer, Marlena Velez, was accused of doing this exact thing, even posting the illegal shopping spree.
Liam Hoyo, a retail worker, has seen the trend increase with his own eyes.
"It's actually very, very concerning to see when I was working in retail," Hoyo said.
Florida Gulf Coast University supply chain professor Dr. Shah said the increase may be due to the increase in self-checkout lines.
"Thefts in stores which have self-checkouts are 16 times more than stores which do not have self-checkout," Shah said.
Shah said self-checkouts are removing employees from their jobs, leaving the remaining ones with less motivation to report theft. He said they often don't have the motivation to go above and beyond because they have seen their friends get fired.
Security cameras are a key tool in loss prevention, but he said it's not a solution to the problem, and it's costing the average consumer a lot.
"You have more thefts, you invest more, you still are not able to stop thefts," Shah said. "You invest more, and eventually, it causes the price for the products to keep going up because the costs have to be recovered. "
Shah said the best way to resolve this issue is by creating improved technology that works efficiently, increases business and improves customer experience.
NBC2 reached out to companies about self-checkout lines.
They either declined an interview or didn't respond.