A Target Shopper Suspected She Was Being Followed by a Store Walker So She Turned the Tables on Him

A quick trip for lip stain turned into a real-life game of cat and mouse. Texas TikTok creator Teash (@teash_duetqueen) walked into her local Target for a routine shopping run, but by the time she reached the checkout line, she was convinced someone had been quietly tracking her every move through the aisles. What she did next made her video take off online. 

A Man Dressed Just Like Everyone Else

Teash says she first spotted him on her way to find e.l.f. lip stain. He looked like any other shopper, nothing about his outfit stood out. But something about the way he moved past her felt deliberate. She would later describe him simply as a “storewalker, but dressed like everybody else,” a detail that stuck with her as she kept browsing.

The Radio Gave Him Away

The first real red flag came through sound, not sight. Teash says she heard a radio crackle to life near her, and the man quickly tried to turn the volume down. Moments later, he ended up walking down the exact same aisle she was standing in. For Teash, it was the kind of coincidence that felt like anything but.

A Detail That Confirmed Her Suspicion

Teash says she caught part of a radio transmission mentioning someone in a “bright shirt.” She happened to be wearing a light purple top that day, and the timing was hard to ignore. She insists she had not done anything wrong, but the pieces were starting to add up in a way that made her increasingly uneasy.

Following Her to the Makeup Aisle

Still hoping it was all in her head, Teash headed to the cosmetics section to look for her lip stain. The store did not have it in stock, so she turned to leave. That is when she noticed the same man circle back around near her again. “I said, ‘Hmm,'” she recalls, growing more certain she was being watched on purpose.

One Last Pass Before Checkout

Teash made her way to the register, paid for her items, and turned around, only to find the man walking down the aisle behind her once more, his back turned as if to avoid eye contact. “I said, this just don’t sit right with me,” she remembers thinking as she decided she would not let it go.

She Pulled the Ultimate UNO Reverse

Instead of rushing to her car, Teash grabbed her bags and did the opposite of what most people would do. “I grab my stuff, and then I started following him,” she says. The tables had officially turned, and the man who had spent the last several minutes trailing her now had someone walking a few steps behind him.

What Exactly Is a “Store Walker”?

In retail loss prevention, a store walker typically refers to a plainclothes employee who moves through a store like an ordinary customer while watching for theft, according to the reporting from The Mary Sue. They are also known as floorwalkers, and unlike uniformed security guards, their presence is meant to blend in rather than stand out. 

Confronting Him Face to Face

When Teash finally caught up to him, she asked him directly what he was doing. “‘Cause now the both of us about to do your job,” she told him, according to her account. She says the man barely responded, only offering a brief denial. Similar encounters have played out at other Target locations, where shoppers say loss prevention floorwalkers followed them closely enough to prompt confrontations of their own. 

A Tactic Other Shoppers Swear By

Teash is far from the only shopper to try flipping the script. Commenters online say they use similar tricks, from asking loud questions to leaning on a suspected floorwalker for help finding items. Whether it defuses tension or simply calls it out, turning the tables has become a go-to move for shoppers who no longer want to be the only ones being watched.