Theft videos from Concord cosmetics store go viral

Unity – Surveillance videos of shoplifters at a Concord cosmetics store have gone viral on TikTok, with some posts being viewed millions of times.

Most thefts at Lis Cosmetics in Sunvalley Mall in Concord involve people putting eyelashes or lipstick in their bags, say store owners Hilda Perez and her son Edwin Ramirez.

“Most of the time they hide it and then just walk away and pretend no one will find out,” Ramirez said.

But thousands and millions of people learned about it after Ramirez and his mother posted videos of the thefts on their TikTok accounts.

“This is a digital footprint. Once it's on social media, it never goes away. And ultimately, it's unfortunate that we have to do this to protect ourselves,” Ramirez said.

Perez said: “TikTok definitely has more, a lot of traffic from people, all people are watching TikTok and some little thing goes viral.”

But they don't send those viral videos of lipstick or eyelash lifts to the Concord Police Department.

“There’s no reason to call them and waste their time, but at the same time, it’s not fair to us as business owners,” Ramirez said.

Instead, Ramirez hopes the videos will deter thieves, especially if they are identified.

“People reach out to me and say, 'Hey, we know that this person or this person went to my school,'” Ramirez said.

Shoppers are greeted with a sign warning them that thefts are being posted on TikTok. Ramirez says the sign itself has had a deterrent effect.

“They see it, get alarmed, just walk around and immediately disappear,” he said.

The sign was also the target of thieves.

A video shows a group of teenagers in the store, one of whom steals the sign.

While the number of page views is increasing, the number of thefts is decreasing.

It used to be once a day or every other day.

“Now I’m happy to say about every two weeks or once a month,” Ramirez said.

Henry Lee is a crime reporter for KTVU. Email Henry at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan