Fury as TikTok pranksters put up fake posters in supermarkets to ENCOURAGE shoplifting
TIKTOK pranksters have been putting up fake stickers in stores to encourage shoplifting.
Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Co-Op and Waitrose have all been targeted in the campaign despite soaring theft rates.
A fake poster in a London Co-Op store read: “Shoplifting is encouraged in this branch.”
Another at a Waitrose in the city read: “If you see someone shoplifting, no you don’t.”
The signs were made by self-professed art group Pattern Up, who previously put up fake posters declaring that Camden Council, in North London, had legalised cocaine and heroin.
All signs have since been removed.
It is not known if the posters have been linked to any thefts.
A retail source said: “These people make our jobs even harder by promoting shoplifting to thousands of young viewers.
“Taking them off will have caused extra work for someone.”
It follows a trend where users had posted shoplifting guides on TikTok, using the hashtag “borrowing” to evade a crackdown.
Sun analysis reveals they are still online despite the number store thefts last year hitting 1,200 a day.
Pattern Up accepted the posters might encourage shoplifting but told The Sun: “We have created these to spark conversation.
“It’s a comment on the lengths that people go to to eat due to the cost of living crisis.”