Thieves share TikTok videos of items they have stolen - and encourage others to share 'borrowing hauls' too

Shoplifters are taking to TikTok and other social media platforms to show off the items they have stolen from shops in a new trend called ‘borrowing hauls’.

The videos have appeared on the sites just days after people began using TikTok to share their tips on how to successfully shoplift. Now, it appears that thieves who are following these tips want to brazenly boast about the items they have managed to steal from stores after following these tips. 

These videos are being shared using various hashtags, including #borrowing, #borrowingideas and #borrowingitems. These are also accounts which have been set up specifically for the purpose of showing off these “hauls”.

One video was captioned “why pay £100 when I get it for free”. It shows multiple bags of items, including clothing and make-up. The video received mixed reactions from fellow TikTok users. One told the poster that they “had skills”, while another asked them to teach them how to get so many items in one shoplifting spree.

One person, however, commented with a cautionary tale. They said: “The cops came to my house. It’s not worth it.” Another person added: “Many people are gonna go through this phase because why not, right? But it's seriously not worth it.”

Thieves happy to post films of stolen items - and their faces

Another video also shows bags of stolen items from stores such as Primark and Boots and encourages viewers to “come borrow with us”. While most videos do not show the thief themselves and only focus on the items they have taken so that their identity is not revealed, some people do show their faces. For example, one TikTok user known as Guerita smiles at the camera as she shows off the “little” haul she has taken, including branded make-up.

In the comments, someone told Guerita that her haul was “impressive”, and she replied: “ahhh thank you it took alot of years to be slick and good.” One person did ask “did you really just show your face? Companies look up shoplifting”. She replied: “Did you really just waste your time commenting this?”

TikTok isn’t the only platform which is being used to share these “borrowed hauls”. There are also videos being shared on other social media such as Youtube. One video short is called “first shopping haul!!!!”, but bizarrely has the hashtags #stealingisbad and #dontsteal, alongside #borrowinghaul.

TikTok states in their community guidelines that: “We do not permit anyone to exploit our platform to take advantage of the trust of users and bring about financial or personal harm. We remove content that deceives people in order to gain an unlawful financial or personal advantage, including schemes to defraud individuals or steal assets.” However, it would appear that users are able to bypass their guidelines by using the word “borrow” and a replacement for the word “steal”.

In addtion, according to TikTok, they have a zero tolerance policy for content facilitating or encouraging criminal activities, including theft. They also say they have over 40,000 safety professionals who are dedicated to keeping TikTok safe, and that they review content flagged to them and remove any which is found to violate their community guidelines.

TikTok also admit that they won't catch every instance of violative content, but say that it is wrong to categorise content of this nature as a TikTok-specific issue as it can be found on other platforms.

Videos removed from TikTok - but more are appearing

TikTok are, however, taking steps to take down these videos. At the beginning of September, NationalWorld reported that videos were being shared under the phrase ‘borrow tips and tricks’, but now if this term is searched on the platform a message appears which reads: “This phrase may be associated with behaviour or content that violates our guidelines. Promoting a safe and positive experience is TikTok's top priority.

Youtube also states that “instructional theft videos posted with the express intent to steal physical goods or get something for free” are banned under their harmful or dangerous content policy. 

The videos are being posted at the same time major retailers are coming together to introduce Project Pegasus, a system where they pay police to scan shoplifters' faces through the Police National Database, which uses facial recognition technology. Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose and the Co-op are among those taking part in the scheme, which they hope will help combat theft from their stores.

It also comes as independent shop retailers warned that shoplifters are filming their criminal acts so they can post about it on TikTok, and called on the government to help them with the financial issues they are having as a result of thefts from their shops.

This is also not the first time TikTok has been used to encourage crime. In August, plans for anti-social behaviour on London’s Oxford street were organised via the site.  Several people were arrested after the incident, which took place on Wednesday 9 August, and the actions of those who took part were condemned by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and also Donna Jones, the chairwoman of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, who said the event was “incredibly worrying”.

NationalWorld has contacted TikTok, who told NationalWorld they will be investigating the videos shared in this article which we brought to their attention. NationalWorld has also contacted Youtube and are awaiting their response.