Are you a micro-criminal?

A survey has revealed a wave of tiny crimes sweeping the nation, from abusing supermarket self-checkouts to lying about your age for a better deal.

Pollsters YouGov have found that 74% of British people are ‘micro-criminals.’

The most commonly committed micro-crime is paying someone cash-in-hand knowing that they won’t pay tax, with 43% of us confessing to this micro-crime.

After this, the next most commonly committed micro-crimes were illegally streaming (28%) and downloading (25%) TV shows, movies or music.

Illegally streaming or downloading music were found to be common crimes

Unsurprisingly, younger people are far more likely to have done this, with 57% of 18-24-year-olds admitting to illegal streaming and 48% admitting to illegal downloading, compared to respectively just 8% and 6% of those over the age of 65.

Supermarkets can rest assured that their self-service checkouts aren’t a beacon for criminals as the least commonly committed micro-crime on the list was putting a product through on a self-service till for less than it should actually cost, with just 9% of people admitting to this – and only 1% saying they did it frequently.

The loss of plastic bags should be of more concern to the supermarkets, with 17% of people saying they have taken a plastic bag without paying for it. YouGov predicts we’re stealing £4.2m worth of plastic bags a year.

Here are the 10 most common micro-crimes:

  • Paid someone cash-in-hand so that it costs less, knowing they won’t pay tax: 43%
  • Illegally streamed TV shows, movies or music: 28%
  • Illegally downloaded TV shows, movies or music: 25%
  • Avoided paying for a fare on public transport: 24%
  • Told someone a food order was take away rather than eat-in because it costs less: 22%
  • Lied about your own age/situation to get a cheaper deal on something: 19%
  • Taken a plastic bag at a supermarket without paying for it: 17%
  • Lied about your child’s age to get a cheaper deal on something: 16%
  • Refilled your drink without paying extra: 16%
  • Eaten loose fruit/pic n’ mix at a store without paying for it: 12%.#

How many are you guilty of?

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