‘Taco Seasoning Bandit’ Sues Target for $1M Over Alleged Self-Checkout Scam

A couple of years ago, criminologists at the University of Leicester wrote a report about self-service checkout machines, and why so many of us have no problems trying to screw them over. Their research found that the very idea of a self-checkout made it easier to steal from a store because of the lack of human interaction, because the stores can't always identify whether customers are trying to steal or they're just crap at scanning, and because if you get caught, you can always just shrug it off as a problem with the technology.

Self-checkout scams have become so prevalent, some of the most commonly used techniques have cute-if-predictable nicknames, like "the banana trick" of scanning a cheaper item instead of a more expensive one, and "the switcheroo" which involves physically swapping the bar code or price tag on higher priced items.

Alaina Alejandra Villa, a 31-year-old Spring, Texas woman, has been accused of "the banana trick," although her alleged cheap product of choice was two packets of taco seasoning mix. But regardless of what you'd call it, Villa says she didn't steal anything, and she's filed a $1 million federal lawsuit against Target in an attempt to prove it.

According to the Houston Chronicle, a woman who has been referred to as "the Taco Seasoning Bandit" was seen on surveillance video holding a 99-cent spice packet and scanning its bar code instead of the codes on a $152.99 air purifier, an $89.99 duvet, a $189.99 vacuum cleaner, and more than a dozen other home goods. On a second Target trip, the woman used a different 49-cent spice packet to buy 19 products for $20.88.

Villa was charged with misdemeanor theft by the Harris County district attorney, and although she turned herself in, the charges were ultimately dismissed because neither her guilt nor innocence could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Despite initially turning herself into the authorities, Villa has maintained that she is not the woman who was seen on the store camera. She also insists that she doesn't drive the car that store security identified as belonging to the Bandit, that she's never had dyed purple hair like the woman in the video, and that she doesn't have any of the items that Target says she stole.

In her lawsuit, Villa has accused both Target and the store's chief security officer of "defamation, malicious prosecution, wrongful imprisonment, and negligence." She is also asking for monetary damages because she says that, as a result of these accusations, she couldn't take a job at a local credit union and she is not allowed to volunteer at her kids' school.

A spokesperson for the Minneapolis-based chain told the Chronicle that the company "was aware" of Villa's lawsuit, and that they were looking into it. VICE has reached out to Villa's attorney for comment.

The Taco Seasoning Bandit could still be out there.