SAITAMA (TR) – Police in Kawaguchi City are hunting for two suspects who stole merchandise from an unmanned vintage clothing store after faking a smartphone payment, reports Fuji News Network (Aug. 18).
Security camera footage from the store, named POOCH, captured the pair’s brazen heist at around 11:30 p.m. on August 12. The duo was seen cheerfully trying on clothes and hats in front of a mirror before approaching the self-checkout register.
In an apparent attempt to cover their tracks, one of the suspects left a message in a notebook on the counter, writing: “Buying 26,000 yen worth of Ralph Lauren!” The suspect then initiated a QR code transaction and held the smartphone up to the security camera to show the 26,000 yen total. However, the pair promptly left the store with the merchandise without ever displaying the final payment completion screen.
Store manager Hitaka Shimotani later checked the payment logs and confirmed that no such transaction had been processed during that time.
“I think they wrote the note as a backup, so they could use the excuse that the payment failed by mistake if they were caught,” Shimotani said. “They showed no remorse and seemed highly accustomed to doing this.”
The manager also revealed that a suspect closely resembling one of the pair had visited the store at around 4:00 a.m. on August 9. During that incident, the perpetrator used the exact same fake-payment tactic to make off with three polo shirts and a pair of pants valued at approximately 18,000 yen.
“Since they’ve come twice and specifically targeted high-priced items, this wasn’t just a sudden impulse. I want them caught,” Shimotani added.
Police are currently investigating the incidents as a case of theft.
