Shoppers have been warned that a tactic to save money at a self-checkout could land them with a criminal record.
Self-checkout tills have divided shoppers since their introduction into our supermarkets - as Manchester Evening News reports.
While it means that there is less chance of a huge queue building up as you complete your shopping at stores such as Aldi, ASDA, Tesco, Morrisons or Sainsbury's - it still is reliant on customers being truthful about their purchases.
READ MORE: New laws for shopping in Tesco, Asda, Aldi, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Home Bargains from July 19
Although there are measures in place to stop people cheating the system, one shopper has been warned that their tactic to save some cash could get them in serious trouble.
A woman wrote into News.com.au sister site, which allows people to put their legal conundrums to sisters and lawyers Alison and Jillian Barrett, about a disagreement she had with a friend.
She said that when her friend uses the self-service checkouts, she regularly puts more expensive fruit and veg - such as an avocado - through the system as a brown onion instead.
The friend believes that it isn't stealing as she's still paying something for it, and claimed the supermarkets work the cost of self-checkout fraud into its prices because "everyone does it".
The lawyers replied to state that this is against the law.
They said: "It doesn’t matter how your friend tries to justify her behaviour, her deceitful conduct in intentionally not paying full price is against the law.
"Your friend’s technique of using the self-service checkout to pass off more expensive items as cheaper ones cheats the system by underpaying. Her fraudulent behaviour is just one of many tricks employed by self-service thieves to avoid payment."
Alison and Jillian, based in Australia, said the 'tricks' are costing supermarkets a fortune every year and are actually pushing up the prices of stock as a result.
Self-checkouts can weigh items to check you're being truthful, and supermarkets often employ staff and security guards to ensure they are being used correctly - but they also rely on the honesty of their customers.
They warned that "an excuse like getting avocados confused with brown onions is likely not going to cut it" if her friend is eventually caught, and she could being left facing a range of punishments.
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