A FORMER security supervisor has taken to Reddit to educate shoppers on what employees must see before asking to check a shopper’s bags and receipts.

The Redditor (@neoengel) used the platform to tell shoppers that employees in Ontario who conduct such checks must have the appropriate security license to do so.

They wrote, “If loss prevention duties are being performed by associates without the required Ontario security license, that’s bad.”

The post comes after shoppers in Canada complained about an uptick in bag and receipt checks at the big box store.

Walmart customer, Paula Fletcher said after she checked out she wasn’t given the option to offer whether an employee could inspect her receipt and shopping bags or not, as reported by CBC.

“I don’t like being treated as a criminal,” she told the publication.

“If they don’t trust us, they shouldn’t have self-checkout.” 

In the Reddit post, the former security supervisor warned Walmart patrons that employees must meet these four criteria to ask a customer to check their items and receipts.

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• They saw the customer select the items
• They saw the customer conceal the items
• They saw the customer avoid payment
• The employee had a complete line of sight of the customer from start to end

A customer took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to voice their annoyance about the bag and receipt checks.

The big box brand responded that they enforced the checks “to make sure the transaction went smoothly.”

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) is reportedly investigating the practice, concerned that how the policy is enforced may jeopardize customers’ rights, per CBC.

Michael Bryant, CCLA’s executive director and general counsel, said employees should get consent before checking shoppers’ items and receipts.

However, customers have the right to refuse.

“Their right is to say, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’ and walk away,” Bryant told the publication.

“Some people feel strongly about their privacy and, in fact, the way our laws work, that privacy and liberty is protected,” he continued.

In a 2016 ruling on a case involving a suspected shoplifter, an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled that a retailer has the right to detain a suspect if there are reasonable grounds, but consent must be given in order for a search to take place.

The U.S Sun reached out to Walmart for comment and did not get a response.