A 63-year-old Florida man has been arrested for allegedly stealing thousands of pounds worth of items from a grocery store using a self-checkout scam. Luis Felipe Lezcano is accused of employing a technique known as 'ticket switching' to defraud the store.
Ticket switching involves a thief scanning a cheap item while simultaneously moving an expensive item through the scanner, giving the illusion that the costly item was scanned. Doral Police Chief Edwin Lopez described it as a quick technique that thieves can become proficient at, but warned that they are likely to be caught eventually.
Police say Lezcano used this method over 35 times, stealing items worth thousands of dollars. Surveillance footage allegedly shows him passing one item over the scanner with his right hand while holding and scanning another item with his left, before placing both into his bag.
Lezcano was arrested on January 14 after allegedly committing a ticket switching scam at a nearby Walmart and being found in possession of multiple unpaid items. Chief Lopez cautioned that as technology advances, the likelihood of being caught increases, and warned potential offenders that they will be identified and prosecuted.
