Customer shocked over Woolworths’ new surveillance system after discovering he is being filmed at the self-serve checkout
- A customer discovered he was being filmed at a Woolworths self-serve checkout
- He was shopping at a supermarket in Fitzroy, central Melbourne, this week
- The recording is a digital reflection that is trialling a new security measure
- Twitter users slammed the new security initiative as an invasion of privacy
A customer was stunned to discover he was being filmed at the Woolworths self-serve checkout.
Branwell Travers was shopping at a Woolworths supermarket in Fitzroy, central Melbourne, when he noticed a recording of himself on the screen.
‘I got half way through scanning my basket of items and saw in the corner of my eye a little video,’ Mr Travers told PEDESTRIAN.TV.
A customer was shocked to discover he was being recorded (pictured above) at a Woolworths self-serve checkout in Fitzroy, central Melbourne, this week
Mr Travers posted an image of the self-service screen on Friday and asked: ‘For how long has Woolworths been filming me while using self-checkouts?’
The picture revealed how a small square showed a live recording of Mr Travers at the top right hand corner of the screen.
Mr Travers said he was confused as the supermarket had not given any indication that a new camera system was in place.
He also noted that no alerts or messages had appeared on the touchscreen during his transaction.
A Woolworths spokesperson said the surveillance was a new security measure aimed at keeping customers accountable.
The spokesperson explained: ‘We know the vast majority of our customers do the right thing at our self-serve checkouts.
‘This is a new security measure we’re trialling for those that don’t.’
Woolworths (pictured) said the recordings were not stored and the surveillance is a new security measure aimed at keeping customers accountable
The spokesperson said the vision is a digital reflection of the customer that is not recorded.
The cameras cannot view the PIN pad and comply with payment and security standards.
It is unclear how many stores are trialling the new system.
Twitter users quickly slammed the security initiative as an invasion of privacy.
One commenter said: ‘I won’t be using self-service anymore.’
Another user joked: ‘Appears to be an ‘anti-privacy measure.’
One commenter pointed out that ‘Coles supermarkets do it too’.
He shared an image of a Coles supermarket that had smaller screens displaying a live feed of the customers above the self-service checkout machines.
A Coles spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: ‘While the large majority of our customers do the right thing, it’s not fair that a small number of people get away with doing the wrong thing.’
‘Coles is currently trialling new security technology in a small number of stores to help us reduce the occurrence of assisted checkout theft.’
Twitter users slammed the new surveillance initiative as an invasion of privacy and one commenter observed that Coles supermarkets also filmed customers (pictured)