Shoplifters’ nefarious ‘modus’ exposed

Most TV shows are watched because they entertain viewers; others offer more than mere diversion, dispensing helpful tips and cautionary warnings to protect us from shady characters’ nefarious schemes and “modus.”

One such show is Arnold Clavio’s “Alerto.” Last month, it bared the modus operandi of local shoplifting gangs who steal, in cash or in kind, from shop clerks.

CCTV footage is used to provide examples of shady behavior and nasty schemes and ploys to watch out for and guard against. Some shoplifters work in groups, with “watchers” assigned to keep an eye on security guards, others to distract cashiers, and point men who do the actual filching of cash, cell phones, goods, etc.

Chilling footage

With so many characters now out to make a fast buck by whatever means, we need more shows like this to shock us into well-informed action to protect ourselves.

On US TV, even more helpful reality shows bare how criminals operate, and show viewers what they can do to not end up as victims.

On “Sin City” recently, the host, a police investigator, went undercover to penetrate a smugglers’ ring dealing in illicit perfume deliveries. It was chilling to see how the crime rings had set up complex mechanisms to protect their schemes, which make hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Amateurs who try to penetrate these crime rings’ protective defense parameters end up bludgeoned—or worse.

Even more detailed and eye-opening was a reality show about a group of former policemen who specialized in solving big shops and supermarkets’ huge shoplifting problems.

Between the legs

The episode we caught used a lot of CCTV footage to show how pairs of “friends” would enter a store, pick clothing items to “try on,” and leave with their loot cleverly stashed in various parts of their bodies or in big tote bags.

Another telecast showed how some particularly daring and “athletic” shoplifters would “train” for their criminal sorties by building up their inner thigh muscles, so that they could carry big TV sets between their legs! Another exposé revealed how a big woman pretended to be pregnant so she could smuggle out a big appliance—with cool aplomb!

The best public service of all was provided by the program that bared how the investigators went not just after shoplifters, but also after the deceitful store employees themselves!

Sigh of relief

When the boss wasn’t looking, for instance, a female shop clerk went to the store’s warehouse and took out some expensive watches in a big box that she then brought to the building’s rooftop—and then down to an accomplice waiting below!

The heist was worth many thousands of dollars, but the shop clerk and her accomplice were caught red-handed and on CCTV—and the establishment’s stressed and financially-depleted owner could finally breathe a huge sigh of relief!