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“Five-finger discount” is slang for shoplifting, typically by customers. It involves using one hand to pick up and hide items to remove them without paying. Shoplifting contributes to billions of dollars in lost profits annually, and can range from casual to organized crime. Prevention measures include anti-theft policies and surveillance systems.
A five-finger discount is a slang term for the crime of shoplifting, which is an act of theft typically perpetrated by individuals against a business or business. While it could potentially refer to employee theft or any form of theft in general, the term is more commonly used in reference to items shoplifted by thieves who appear to be customers. A five-finger rebate refers to the use of five fingers, or one hand, in picking up and hiding an item to remove it without paying for it, which constitutes a substantial albeit illegal rebate.
As a slang term, the history of the five-finger discount is difficult to establish, although its usage is prevalent in several English-speaking regions. There is some opinion that the term may be of Australian or British origin, but this is difficult to determine. Regardless of its origin, a five-finger discount today refers to shoplifting and theft from a place of business, typically a retail store.
In the United States, shoplifting is a serious crime that contributes to billions of US dollars in lost profits every year. This type of five-finger discount can take a number of different forms, from casual shoplifting to organized crime enterprises that involve multiple shoplifters working together and may even team up with employees to steal from larger companies. Occasional shoplifting often takes a seemingly harmless form, targeting small ticket items and only occasionally stealing, but these types of theft add up in the long run.
Professional shoplifters are more likely to target businesses with higher ticketed items, looking for products that can be resold easily for decent amounts of money. This type of five-finger discount is often applied to electronic devices, expensive clothing, sneakers and jewelry. Shoplifting laws can vary from country to country and even be different between various states or provinces within a country.
In some areas, a person suspected of shoplifting may be stopped while still in a store but appears to approach the store exit without paying for the items. Other areas, however, require a person to physically leave a store before they can be charged with shoplifting and prosecuted by law. The best way to avoid a five-finger rebate in a business is through prevention, often by establishing strong anti-theft policies and using tools such as video surveillance and Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) systems. These procedures can help ensure that products are more difficult to pick up unseen and detect hidden items on a person as they attempt to leave a store.
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