I stole for over 4 years as a merchandiser and got away with it.

I am so ashamed of this. I was a merchandiser in college and they hired us out to many different projects. If I remember correctly it was something like a 20 hour work week for 18 an hour, but had 100% medical, dental and vision insurance. I was 19 and single. I had 2 brothers and a sister and was able to support myself fairly well off that and I very rarely had to buy groceries because my parents would buy them for me sometimes. <br><br>Anyway, I was part of the merchandising crew that was adding security tags to children’s clothes at target. This was not a one time encounter either, it was an ongoing project. Anyways, the first 2 days were boring as hell and I did not like having what felt like a gun at my side. <br><br>However, it was my job and I was going to do it. So everytime I had to tag an article of clothing I made sure to put the tags through 2 articles of clothing. I would then, using the security tag remover, pull the tags off and steal the clothes. At first it was just taking one thing a day. But over time I became more brazen and would take like 10 things in one day. I did this for over 2 years. <br><br>I’m not good at math so it’s hard for me to figure out, but I’m pretty sure I stole over $10,000 worth of clothes. <br><br>I was able to provide for my entire family for multiple Christmases, birthdays and other holidays. Also, I never wore the same outfit once and was able to get a lot of my friends some new clothes and shoes. <br><br>It didn’t stop there. I did this for different companies and different products. I stole perfume and make-up from sephora. I stole clothes from the gap. I stole deodorant and toothpaste from Walmart. I stole protein powder from Costco. I stole some fucking expensive fucking shit.<br><br>Edit: I didn’t buy it. I stole it. Also, I am a different company than the actual employees. I wasn’t an actual target employee. I was contracted out to do that work. I also wasn’t the one who did the initial inventory. I came in after merchandising was finished and I did not do the inventory for it. <br><br>I was able to do so much for my family because of my thievery. But watching my mom open her presents on mother’s day from her children with tears in her eyes because she thought she was getting something that we thoughtfully bought her is how I cracked and was able to stop.<br><br>I am now in a management position in a different job for a similar company and I keep seeing all these people get fucking fired without fail. I have been able to stop but I can’t imagine living my life with that kind of paranoia on a daily basis. <br><br>I did it. I take full responsibility for it. But it is fucking crazy how easy it is to steal and how easy it is to get away with it.