New theft trend keeping people in clean clothes?

Generally when people think of theft, they think of a crime wherein a suspect takes money, jewelry or an automobile. But new reported theft trends from Maryland and other parts of the country involve more domestic products, including a top laundry detergent.

Tide could maybe use the fact that thieves are specifically stealing its product now to boast about the desirability of the detergent, but that would be inappropriate, of course. Consumers might find that the already high prices of their favorite detergent and other home products will go up due to a string of thefts related to the products across the country.

According to the Today show, thieves are stealing Tide off of the shelves of stores in order to sell the product online or on the side for less money. Sources report that Tide costs an average of $15 per 100 ounce bottle right now. Thieves can profit by stealing large quantities of the product and then selling the bottles at a more competitive price.

In Maryland, a suspect was recently caught stealing about 20 bottles of Tide. And in another state, a man was arrested for taking $25,000 worth of detergent. Due to the now reported trend, more and more stores have their eyes on the product and other popularly stolen goods such as infant formula, shampoo and more.

Reporters attribute the growing rate of these somewhat unusual thefts to inflation and the overall tough economy during recent years. Inflation has caused the prices of home products to soar, which can lead to desperation among the public to find better deals or steal to get what they need.

Grocery stores and supermarkets are on to the new schemes and will be more vigilant about cracking down on potential criminals. Consumers should also be careful about what they are buying and whom they are buying from.

Source

Today: “Loads of Tide thieves clean up nationwide,” Eve Tahmincioglu, Mar. 13, 2012