Ticket switching and scale fraud
Ticket switching is fraud in which a product is charged with the barcode, label or weight of a cheaper item. It happens with labels stuck on packaging, at produce, bakery and meat scales, and with codes keyed in at the register. The receipt records a different item from the one taken.
How it happens
A label from a cheap product is stuck over the one on an expensive item, produce is weighed under the code of another product or with a hand resting on the scale, or the cashier keys in the code of a similar item. It can involve a customer, an employee or both together. The system records an ordinary sale, with a product and price that look consistent.
Warning signs
Weight that does not match the volume
The recorded weight is lower than the volume leaving the scale.
Cheap code used too often
A low-value code shows up unusually often at the scale or the register.
Layered labels
Packaging reaches the checkout with more than one label or signs of a swap.
Same scale, same time of day
Discrepancies concentrate at one scale or on one specific shift.
Where it shows up
It shows up where weighing happens away from the register and the label travels with the product, such as produce, bakery, meat and deli, and wherever codes can be keyed in at the POS.
How the Bewacher agent is designed for it
The agent is designed around each store's scales, departments and product mix. Every label printed and every item scanned at the register is matched with what the video shows at the scale and the checkout, such as product type, volume and the moment of weighing. The validated case reaches loss prevention with the record and the video together.
Terms in the glossaryFrequently asked questions
Is scale fraud committed by customers or employees?
It can be either, or a combination. A customer swaps the label in the aisle, a counter clerk weighs under another product's code, or the two work together. The agent reads the event without assuming a culprit: it compares the weight and code with the video and hands the case to the team to validate.
Does it work in produce, bakery and meat departments?
Yes. Those are the departments where weighing happens away from the register and the label travels with the product to the checkout. The agent compares the scale record with the item scanned at the register and checks on video whether the product matches what was weighed.
How is a switched label spotted at the register?
A switched label shows up as a difference between the product crossing the belt and the code the POS records. When the item seen on video belongs to a different category than the one on the receipt, the agent flags the entry and builds the case with both records.
Next step
See what the reading finds in your chain.