A Best Buy employee breaks down the company’s thief tracking system after a repeated shoplifter targets his location.
In a TikTok with over 26,000 views, Dallas Ponzo (@dallas_ponzo) says his manager caught a heist prep in real-time by a seasoned Best Buy thief.
What happened?
“We’ve had to barricade every entrance and exit to the building after closing for the last five nights in a row because a customer cased the building,” Ponzo begins.
He says that a man who looked to be in his 50s or 60s first came into the store and began shopping like normal. Ponzo’s manager then suddenly makes an announcement on the walkie-talkie asking for an employee to help the man as he “looked a little lost.” Within 30 seconds of that announcement, however, Ponzo says his manager buzzed in again with a far more alarming message.
“My manager made another call and said, ‘This guy just went into our warehouse,’” Ponzo says.
A confrontation ensues
Ponzo says his manager then walked to the warehouse to confront the customer. When the manager asked the customer what he was doing, Ponzo says he replied, “Oh, I’m just looking for something,” while holding his phone and recording the room.
Ponzo says his manager put the man out and checked the store’s front camera footage to try to identify him and see what he might’ve been doing in the warehouse.
Ponzo says the footage showed the man immediately recording the room and the roof access latch, which is accessible by a ladder attached to the wall. He adds that the footage eventually showed a clear shot of the man’s face.
Best Buy’s thief tracking system
“Best Buy has a system where [for] any thieves that have ever stolen from Best Buy, they will put multiple different pictures and angles of these people into a record book with their names and descriptions of them so you can match them in case somebody’s stealing in your store,” Ponzo explains.
The sophisticated technology reportedly revealed that the man was not only already in Best Buy’s thief database but that he had been stealing from the company for the past four years without being caught.
“So, since then, we’ve just been barricading every single exit with washers, dryers, fridges, you name it,” Ponzo says as the video ends.
@dallas_ponzo Heist prep failed successfully
♬ original sound – Dallas
Viewers weigh in
In the comments section, viewers shared their opinions on the Best Buy thief and Ponzo’s store’s barricading system to avoid theft.
“Ain’t no way bro tryna pull a heist on Best Buy,” one viewer wrote.
“How do they not have better security? I feel they should be locked up like a bank every night,” a second viewer added.
“So you’re telling me your manager is blocking fire exits and putting people’s lives in danger because he’s afraid the billion dollar company might get stolen from?” came a third comment.
How does Best Buy catch shoplifters?
Best Buy CEO Corie Barry told CNN that the company, which boasts almost 1,000 locations, prevents shoplifting with “higher staffing levels in stores, full-service cashier lanes, security staff at entrances and other strategies.” Barry also mentioned that Best Buy employs asset-protection employees at its front doors to watch for shoplifters.
Ozzy Erod, a Quora user who claims to be a former part-time employee at Best Buy, explained some of the loss prevention team’s strategies, writing that in addition to the employees “checking for shoplifters on the cameras,” there is usually one employee on the floor “dressed like normal shoppers.”
“You’ll be confronted while ‘shopping’ around. They’ll ask you to hand them back the item that you hid. When that fails, to avoid giving up their covert position, the floor manager will get involved. … They’ll ask you again to return the item then leave the store,” Erod says.
Erod goes on to say if a shoplifter refuses to give an item back, the police will be notified. The loss prevention employees are not allowed to “physically hold on” to a thief and can “only attempt to grab the item back.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Dallas Ponzo via Instagram and TikTok direct message and to Best Buy via email for more information.
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