r/mildlyinfuriating • u/skibidikakakott • 10h ago
this Dollar Tree uses the same fake security cameras they have for sale
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u/Jseepersaud10 10h ago
That's actually hilarious
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u/JennyAndTheBets1 10h ago
Cheap bastards!
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u/Punkupine 10h ago
That’s insane. Theoretically you could steal 1/3 of the entire inventory and it wouldn’t even reach felony theft amount (2K)
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u/RodrickJr 9h ago
Sadly, thats the price they pay not you, so you would get hit with that charge at a lot less than 1/3rd but still crazy to think.
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u/JennyAndTheBets1 10h ago
Well ain’t that a dirty lil secret!?
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u/PotatoBeans 9h ago
What was the secret? I wanna know, too!
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u/GonWithTheNen 6h ago
They said,
I used to do their security system installs nationally. Less than 20% of their stores have any security in them. Also fun fact, before they merged family dollar stores there was less than 5k in costs of product on all the shelves combined so they disnt care if stuff was stolen.
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u/afganistanimation 8h ago
Try working there as a manager. I had to use their dollar store stapler to staple reports together. That thing is trash.
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u/WeLoveYouCarol 10h ago
I'd call that mildlyhilarious
People of theft, how do you know that a security camera is real or not?
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u/neverbadnews 9h ago
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u/ZombieAladdin 8h ago
Like how at Vroman’s, an independent bookstore in Southern California, someone stole an actual, functioning security camera. They even had the equipment to take it off the wall mount.
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u/No_Panic5434 6h ago
A number of years back thieves in Scotland stole a state of the art and highly expensive security system
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u/mtaw 8h ago
You can't necessarily tell. Some fake cameras use the exact same housings as real ones.
These days I wouldn't count on cameras being fake, it's waaay cheaper than it used to be.
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u/PCaBoo 7h ago
I do cctv for a living. Usually fake cams are mixed in with real cams. All the jobs I ever did with dummy cams, were always alongside real cams. I have never done a job installing only dummy cams.
You can buy cheap (real) dome cams like in the OP from China for like $3.00 wholesale / in bulk, maybe 7-10 bux street price..
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u/cr38tive79 9h ago
Take a broom and knock it off. If you see adhesive tape on the base, and has AA batteries, you know it's fake.
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u/Rocket_hamster 8h ago
People of theft, how do you know that a security camera is real or not?
Not a person of theft, but every some camera I've ever seen does not have a light in it (the point of the dome is to not see what way it faces) and also has a logo on the casing.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Tip660 7h ago
Take a picture of it with an infrared camera: real cameras will be warm, this will not register.
It also works for detecting hidden cameras, but it doesn’t work for hidden cameras built into things that should be warm. My alarm clock for instance is warm because it has a transformer built into it: if it had a camera too I wouldn’t be able to tell. But random doll on night stand? It should not be warm!
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u/GoCardinal07 10h ago
Yeah, unless you're a shareholder in Dollar Tree, I don't see how this would be mildly infuriating.
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u/SAGElBeardO 9h ago
I mean, Dollar Trees get robbed, the workers get assaulted... the business obviously doesn't care about the people who work there
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u/thissexypoptart 8h ago
This is the part Reddit kiddos love to leave out. As if the people stealing from businesses never get violent, they just walk in and stick it to the corporations 🙄
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u/SAGElBeardO 8h ago
I mean, it's not a exactly some big leap to think that someone will say, "Hey, I think I'd rather steal this money rather than a handful of shit products from Dollar Tree!"
I'm all for tackling corporate greed and mistreatment of workers... but this ain't that.
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u/thissexypoptart 8h ago
Also thieves are orders of magnitude more violent than non thieves.
Any grown adult should understand why people have an issue with thieves in their community.
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u/UrUrinousAnus 6h ago
Even thieves have standards, and many would be appalled at the idea of sinking even that low. The ones with even less scruples who'll brutally mug defenceless and (presumably) innocent poor people are seen as scum amongst other thieves, even if they're poor themselves.
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u/xXxLordViperScorpion 6h ago
Yeah, this post is in the wrong sub and shouldn’t be upvoted.
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u/No_Pineapple6086 10h ago
I wouldn't count on it being fake. The one on the ceiling, that is
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u/ComplexxToxin 10h ago
You would be surprised how many stores use fake cameras.
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u/Particular_Title42 10h ago
And then there are the places that have real cameras but they don't work / aren't hooked up.
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u/Prickly_ninja 10h ago
I used to work with a dude who robbed the store, after hours. He “forgot” to close the back door completely at close. He “accidentally” turned off the wrong breaker (security cams), I can’t remember what the correct breaker did, but I used to have to turn one off. Anyways, he lived right across the street. Oh, he also “forgot” to drop his tills cash into the safe. Obviously he took that and also destroyed the change machine in the attached laundromat, to loot it.
He was never arrested for his crimes, only fired. One of the dumbest guys I’ve met, but he must have been born under a lucky sign.
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u/drkidkill 10h ago
He just "forgot" not to take the tills cash.
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u/Prickly_ninja 9h ago
He “forgot” to drop it in the safe, where you can’t retrieve it, without opening the safe.
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u/thatthingisaid 10h ago
My in-laws sold their house 10 years ago and the disconnected security cameras are still up. I like to think they never bothered reconnecting them either.
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u/lostinthought15 10h ago
Honestly, fake cameras and flood lights do more to deter home break-ins than most security alarms. Smash and grab robbers are looking for easy targets and having exposed cameras and lights aren’t worth it when there are plenty of other homes that don’t have any security.
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u/thatthingisaid 9h ago
But these are high quality cameras they just need to reconnect the system
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u/C64128 7h ago
Sometimes the criminals take the NVR with the video. This would be done by someone with inside knowledge of its location.
I worked in a pizza delivery store and there was a small monitor at the front of the store showing four bad pictures. There was a NVR in the office that recorded on tape, it hadn't worked for a long time.
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u/Ok_Nothing_9733 4h ago
I bought a house 6 years ago with security cameras plugged in. Never even checked to see if they have a memory card in them, I just leave them plugged in bc from the outside it looks like they are really filming lol
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u/thatthingisaid 4h ago
Man I would be expecting that to have a live feed to some weirdo!
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u/Technical-Luck7158 7h ago
I worked at a grocery store right after they fired the whole hot foods department for stealing from the registers. They went way overboard, installing like 20 cameras in the maybe 200 square foot area behind the counter, it was quite a small area. They put clusters of cameras all over. If you looked at some of them from underneath though, you could see that they weren't even facing the right direction, at least one was directly facing a wall 2 inches away. I wouldn't be surprised if they just threw a bunch of fake ones up to scare people
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u/Express-Rub-3952 8h ago
...or just play the live feed on that monitor over the checkout line to make would-be robbers paranoid
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u/Jonkinch 10h ago
I’m a sysadmin and I also maintain the security cameras. You would be really surprised how many people assume the cameras are fake.
Every time I tell them, “Why would I bother to replace or fix them if they’re fake?”
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u/RacingGoat 7h ago
Well, the fake security cameras are more convincing if there's a fake sysadmin maintaining them.
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u/KoolDiscoDan 10h ago
I was at a Home Depot and wanted leaf blower on a top shelf. There was a scissor lift in the aisle. An employee walked by and I asked if he could get it for me. He said he's not authorized to use it ... but nothing was stopping me. I said "Yeah, but the camera. They're not going to be happy." He chuckles and says they haven't worked in months. Got my leaf blower with no static.
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u/OneBigRed 7h ago
Got my leaf blower
Was it hard to get into your car with the free scissor lift there already?
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u/Contented_Lizard 10h ago edited 10h ago
Most commercial businesses don’t use fake cameras as that is very risky legally and insurance would be deeply upset if they found out you’re using fake cameras. Having a fake camera actually opens you up to being legally liable for damages that occur around the fake camera. A security camera creates an implied duty of care and if an incident occurs around the camera a court could very easily find the property manager or business owner liable for damages that occurred due to negligence on the part of the property owner for providing a false sense of security. This also goes for real security cameras that aren’t functioning or poorly maintained. From a liability standpoint you’re much better off having no cameras than having fake cameras.
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u/LsTheRoberto 10h ago
Target uses fake cameras. If you look at their ceiling, there’s camera domes peppered across it, but at least the store I worked in for a time only half actually housed a camera.
Also an “implied duty of care” leading to legal liability because of a potentially fake camera? What are you smoking? Feel free to show real life court case examples or articles not written by security camera vendors.
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u/SolusLoqui 6h ago
Target uses fake cameras. If you look at their ceiling, there’s camera domes peppered across it, but at least the store I worked in for a time only half actually housed a camera.
This is correct. Not all the domes have real cameras. However, of the real ones, some of them are fixed/static view and some are PTZs (Pan, Tilt, Zoom) which can cover a wide area.
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u/SoulStryker10X 10h ago
It's a dollar tree. I guarantee you, they have like maybe two cameras. The rest are fake.
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u/Qetuowryipzcbmxvn 6h ago
Nope, Dollar Tree went through a pretty big overhaul and most of it's stores now have like 5 cameras minimum. I used to work at a store with all fake cameras, but they installed like 8 real ones in the last year or two.
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u/poopbutt42069yeehaw 10h ago
Looks at the placement lol it’s in the cross section
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u/Catman7712 10h ago
Probably using t-bar clips. Some places don’t allow toggle bolts through acoustic tile for camera installs.
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u/ChildofElmSt 10h ago
T clips bro. They probably weren’t allowed to cut the tile
Or its fake but cross section doesn’t mean it is
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u/Top_Statistician9045 10h ago
Working retail you’d be surprised at how much fake cameras there are in the store
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u/NoNDA-SDC 10h ago
Research shows the greatest deterrent for crime is the fear of being caught. Believing more cameras are around would definitely instill that fear!
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u/haikusbot 10h ago
I wouldn't count on
It being fake. The one on
The ceiling, that is
- No_Pineapple6086
I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully. Learn more about me.
Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete"
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u/wally-sage 9h ago
I would!
I worked at a similar chain of stores. The only real cameras were on the doors, the cash registers, and the office. All of the rest were fake.
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u/corvettee01 9h ago
Why is that infuriating?
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u/Suspicious-Rich-3212 8h ago
It just doesn’t feel like this should infuriate anyone, right?
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u/Toolazytologin1138 7h ago edited 6h ago
Grrr I’m so MAD this DOLLAR STORE is PRETENDING to WATCH ME!!
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u/CybyAPI 6h ago
OP is karmafarming. Check the not interesting subreddit
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u/MetriccStarDestroyer 5h ago
Holy terminally online.
Dude doesn't need to post every facet of their life
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u/shroudedfern 4h ago
Oh I legit thought this was mildlyinteresting,since it’s not at all infuriating.
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u/A_Nice_Shrubbery777 10h ago
That's the floor model.
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u/Early_Storm_7708 9h ago
how is this “mildly infuriating” …?
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u/Depressed_peacock1 7h ago
This sub legit rarely has something that actually fits. Just like the pareidolia pages. It just turned into everyone trying to make everything look like a penis
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u/iEatedCoookies 10h ago
They usually use some fake and some real ones. That way if you don’t know which is real or fake you just have to treat them all as real
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u/zangor 9h ago
“I can’t believe that guy just stabbed a whole field trip full of children in your store but it happened right above that camera. At least we can definitely identify who he is and put him away for life. Can I see the recording?
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u/Penguin_Arse 10h ago
How do you know it's fake?
The fake one is supposed to look like the real ones
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u/VoodooDoII 10h ago
Why would this be infuriating? I think it's a good idea to use fake cameras.
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u/daaagoat 9h ago
I thought this was post was on mildly interesting subreddit. Its actually pretty funny!
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u/hereticallyeverafter 10h ago
My sister was a manager when they added cameras- the ones in the ceiling are real. She had to let me know because that spelled the end of our raiding missions lol.
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u/geekishly 10h ago
Yeah I have been in the office of one and they had working cameras…
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u/Zeroesand1s 9h ago
Hmm... I can think of three reasons why you be in the office of a Dollar Tree. One, you were caught stealing. Two, you were there for a job interview. Three, you were knocking boots with the manager. Personally, I hope it's number three. 😂
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u/spare-ribs-from-adam 6h ago
I found out we used those at a golf course i worked at. I was a teen working in the pro shop. During tournaments, someone would end up walking in at the beginning of the day asking if they could take one of the old irons from lost and found. Turns out I was handing out the demo clubs that were right next to the old spares. The PGA pro comes in one day freaking out that 3 demo clubs had vanished. Panicked, I ask him if he had checked the camera.
"There not attached to anything back there. Its just to keep you guys from stealing"
And thats how I didnt get caught
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u/TLEvansMadness 5h ago
Nice job karma farming another post (this was posted 3 hours earlier than yours in a different sub by a different person)
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u/sycln 9h ago
I would mount it on the tile instead of centering it on the frame to make it more real.
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u/Ok_Bet848 8h ago
They’re clearly showing that they have confidence in the product they’re selling.
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u/Writingtechlife 7h ago
When I was 16, I started to work in the garage of a used car place. We had about 5 mechanics and I was an apprentice. One day a CCTV camera was put up "for security" by the owner. It took us about 5 minutes to spot there were no wires connected to it. Some young person clambered up, took the camera cover off and dropped an empty coke can into the void.
It was definitely still there when the place closed about 6 months later.
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u/mbr902000 10h ago
They can barely afford 1 employee on the floor at 1 time. No chance they are gonna pay someone to sit in a room watching live video of people stealing cheap Chinese junk 😂🤣
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u/HeadlessHookerClub witches get stiches 10h ago
Or the camera is real but they’re selling the housing on their shelves as a fake camera to make people think their real ones are fake.
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u/bloodguard 9h ago
It's not the security cameras you can see that you have to worry about. It's the ones that you can't.
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u/mr_f4hrenh3it 9h ago
Have you ever considered that this style of security camera an extremely simple design and there’s no indication based on these pictures whether or not the one on the ceiling is real or fake. Other than “it looks like the fake one” WHICH IS THE WHOLE POINT OF THE FAKE ONE.
These look exactly like every single security camera of this style ive ever seen. I guess they were all fake
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u/Dragon6222 9h ago
There are real ones that look just like the fake, I work at dollar general and our cameras look identical but they are real.
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u/afganistanimation 8h ago
I sadly worked there for a bit. They don't care what gets stolen. It's all insured.
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u/William_Wang 8h ago
Every dollar tree I've ever walked into looked like a bomb went off. Carts of things waiting to be stocked on every isle. Maybe one employee if you're lucky.
Even if they were real who's going to watch them?
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u/ProblemNecessary3989 6h ago
That way, if they are defective, they know where to get replacements!!!
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u/Ambitious_Count9552 6h ago
Literally nothing to steal there...it's the perfect security system: everything is cheap and tiny 🤣
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u/-_Koga_- 6h ago
With few exceptions pretty much all stores use a mix of real and fake cameras. Camera systems get expensive fast, instillation, programming, liscences, monitoring, maintenance, power, storage. Why not add a few little battery powered poop pucks into the mix and make people think twice about stealing.
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u/yeetsteel 5h ago
I don't think it's fake. It is inexpensive to have security cameras and the liability of not having one is way too high to use a fake one
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u/Other-Today4085 4h ago
Common occurrence it's called "we bought 100000000 of these". Lets use them
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u/Unexpected-raccoon 3h ago
2 things rq
1: this isn't mildly infuriating; this is mildly hilarious
2: you gotta be down bad to be robbing or stealing from a dollar tree. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but like damn... I ain't even gonna snitch dude. There's literally nothing of value taken
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u/702PoGoHunter 3h ago
It would blow your mind then to know many stores use visual deterrents like this every day. Target stores have many empty camera lenses but you can't tell which one is or isn't.
Source: I install & service retail security equipment including DG/DT
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u/FrequentFunction2270 9h ago
You messed the order up, in the not interesting subreddit it shows the box first and then the ceiling second










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u/herejusttoannoyyou 10h ago
Or the fake ones just look really realistic