Shameless shoplifters sharing TikTok videos showing children how to steal from stores
SERIAL shoplifters are sharing TikTok videos showing children how to steal from stores.
They have racked up thousands of views with step-by-step guides on how to avoid being detected by staff, security officers and CCTV.
One account boasted of bagging £220 of goods from Boots.
Others highlight the easiest shops to target — and those which are too risky to try to steal from.
Users evade TikTok content filters by swapping the phrases “stealing” and “shoplifting” for “borrowing”. They hide their identity by using footage of other people.
Last month, TikTok faced a backlash after a viral clip suggested a mass shoplift in Oxford Street, London.
The crime costs retailers more than £950million a year.
Tesco said its staff would get bodycams after attacks went up by a third in a year.
Boss Ken Murphy called the violence “an insult”.
Tech expert Will Guyatt said: “The sheer volume of posts uploaded to these platforms it is very hard to moderate.
“This is a constant game of whack-a-mole. If the phrase ‘borrowing’ gets removed something else will take its place. There needs to be an easier way for police to liaise with social networks.”
TikTok removed the clips we flagged, and said: “We do not allow content which promotes criminal activity.”