Video of Cashier Confronting Man Lying About Being Short-Changed Leaves Internet Divided

Last week, a cashier under the username @AngelCorado2 posted a video to his TikTok page that shows an elderly customer claiming to have been short-changed at the register. Corado claims in the post's caption that it was the third time the customer had falsely claimed to have been short-changed at the Urbana, Illinois store. The post has received 1.6 million views, and while some believe the TikToker was right for exposing the man's "con," others felt sympathy for his story and thought Corado shouldn't have recorded the incident.

The TikTok captioned "short change con artist gets caught" shows the elderly customer approach Corado and say, "that's only $6," implying that he should have received more in change.When the customer again states that the $6 was all he received, Corado reaches into the man's front pocket and pulls out a $10 bill. The man apologizes but then claims that he did not put the money in his pocket.

The cashier quickly rebuts, "You put it there," while still holding the $10 bill. When the customer asks him to return the money, Corado replies: "You want to do this again?" When the man expresses his confusion, Corado continues to ask, "remember last time you did it?"

Corado alleges that the man has lied about being short-changed before. The two go back and forth, and when Corado finally asks the customer why he lies about being short-changed, the man very bluntly confesses, "I'm broke."

"I live on social security," he explains. "I have to do that to eat."

Eventually, Corado returns the $10 bill to the man but asks him to stop stealing money from people who work "day and night." The customer nods and walks away.

Commenters felt torn on the issue. While most agreed that the customer was in the wrong for lying about being short-changed, some felt it was inappropriate to record the man and share his struggle with the world.

"I understand it's harmful to your business," said one commenter, "but you shouldn't record someone at their lowest."

"Did you happen to catch his name," asked a commenter named Melanie. "I'd be happy to help him instead of making fun of him for the world to see while he's trying to figure out ways to feed himself and asking 'why you broke?'"

"What he did isn't right by any means, but why not offer him some help instead of making fun of him," she continued.

Others supported the cashier in posting the video.

In response to one commenter who expressed he felt bad for the customer, TikToker Kyle asked: "Since when was exposing thieves bad?"

"How is he being made fun of?" asked another TikToker named Miguel. "Anyone should be held responsible for a scam. No matter what."

In a follow-up post, Corado shared the security footage that shows the man pocketing the money before returning to the register to claim he'd been short-changed.