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System and methods for preventing fraud in retail environments, including the detection of empty and non-empty shopping carts

  • US 5,883,968 A
  • Filed: 02/09/1996
  • Issued: 03/16/1999
  • Est. Priority Date: 07/05/1994
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A method for use in preventing fraud in a retail or like environment in which customers utilize carts to bring items to be purchased to a checkout station having a cart aisle through which the carts pass, said method comprising the steps of:

  • (a) providing empty cart image data representing at least one image of a cart that is known to be empty;

    (b) when a customer arrives at said checkout station with a cart to perform a transaction for the purchase of selected items, obtaining an image of said customer cart;

    (c) comparing the image of said customer cart to said empty cart image data, and determining from said comparison whether said customer cart is empty;

    wherein said items to be purchased have identifying codes associated with them, said method further comprising the steps of;

    detecting the codes associated with items to be purchased in said transaction as said items are removed from said customer cart;

    if said cart is determined not to be empty, determining whether a code has been detected for an item that is permitted to be in the cart; and

    if no code is detected for an item that is permitted to be in the cart, initiating an action to deter a possible attempt by the customer to leave the premises without paying for an item in the cart.

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