Blog

Oct 17, 2024

I went to a ShopRite self-checkout counter. I was on high alert when I left my credit card behind. - nj.com

My Sunday was an eventful one last week. After a few cups of coffee, I went to our local bagel store on the way to pick up our college freshman for a quick visit home. I paid cash for his favorite

My Sunday was an eventful one last week.

After a few cups of coffee, I went to our local bagel store on the way to pick up our college freshman for a quick visit home.

I paid cash for his favorite order — a classic sesame bagel with cream cheese — and then stopped to fill up my minivan’s gas tank before heading to the Turnpike.

But when I reached for my primary credit card to pay for the gas, it wasn’t in my wallet.

It was probably back at home in the pocket of the coat I wore the day before, I figured. When I returned home, while putting together a pot of chili, I checked the pocket.

It was empty.

Oh, crap.

I was on high alert because my family was once the victim of identity theft. Luckily, we were able to stop it before it got really serious that time. This time, we were lucky, too, but at the time, I didn’t know how it would turn out.

Losing a credit card is a dangerous proposition. While credit cards do offer protections if a card is stolen and you report it in a timely manner, at best, it takes time to resolve. At worst, a con artist can use the card to impersonate you for all kinds of mayhem.

I didn’t want to go there.

I quickly ran through my steps the day before. The local dollar store. I used my card. Then ShopRite, where I also used the card.

After that, I went home to stick the groceries in the fridge.

Hopefully, the card was still at ShopRite.

I called the store, gave my name and waited on hold while the clerk checked the store’s safe for the card.

While I waited, I checked my credit card statement online. There were no nefarious charges — a hopeful sign.

Then I recounted my trip to ShopRite, where I used a self-checkout counter.

Self-checkout counters have grown in popularity as retailers look for ways to cut costs, but they’ve also become a problem because of “skip scanning,”

Skip scanning is a form of shoplifting where shoppers scan lower-priced items but not the more expensive ones. Or they pretend to scan and hope to fool store security measures, walking out without paying for the items.

The practice gained some attention in January after a Middletown police officer was charged with shoplifting after he was accused of skip scanning during six different visits to multiple locations of a discount department store chain in December, including once while in uniform, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office said at the time. Authorities did not identify what chain was allegedly targeted.

The most recent survey by the National Retail Federation found shoplifting, which would include skip scanning, cost retailers $112.1 billion in losses in 2022, up from $93.9 billion in losses the year before. It did not have state-specific information for New Jersey.

Dollar General late last year said it was re-evaluating its reliance on self-checkouts, while Walmart removed some of its do-it-yourself lanes and Target decided to test out a 10-item limit for self-checkouts at some of its stores.

And ShopRite, where I used the self-checkout, now limits the lanes to 20 items.

When I use self-checkout lanes, I typically use my credit card to “tap” the terminal when it’s time to pay. For whatever reason, during my ShopRite visit, the machine didn’t like my tap — it’s happened before with different retailers — so I inserted the card, which worked just fine.

In my experience, those machines make a lot of noise if you leave a card in there too long after the payment is accepted, the alert making it less likely a customer will leave the card behind.

But that’s apparently exactly what I did.

The clerk came back to the line with good news. My card was in the store’s safe.

I picked it up an hour later, grateful for the potential headache I had saved.

I was also grateful to for the person — whether a customer or an employee — who found and turned in the card.

To whoever it was, thank you.

So shoppers, take this as a reminder to always double-check that you put your credit card back in your wallet. I know I will.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Karin Price Mueller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X at @KPMueller.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.