‘But how did the security not see him doing this??’: Woman goes shopping at Target. Then she realizes she’s being secretly recorded
A woman’s horrific experience at a Phoenix Target may have led her to forgo shopping in person for life. TikToker Jaz (@realbadjaz) issued a PSA for women in a 9-minute video relaying how she was secretly recorded without her consent–and women rallied everywhere for Jaz to get justice.
As of Saturday, her story has earned more than 700,000 views on the platform.
A horrific Target run
Phoenix, Arizona-based Jaz begins by sharing how she doesn’t shop at Target for personal reasons. However, she had a stye infection and needed to grab some medicine and Target was the most convenient store for her at the time. She and her dog Dora popped into the Target for the meds. On her way to the pharmacy, Jaz was sidetracked by some “cute” pajamas that had caught her attention.
Jaz noted how there were about “10 security guards” roaming the store but thought nothing of it.
While checking out the pajamas, Jaz noticed a man near her who she described as “sketchy.” She continued to peruse the clothing when she heard something fall behind her. Turning, Jaz noticed the man had dropped his phone and she had a suspicion he was taking photos of her. Jaz attempted to confront him, but according to her, he pretended to be on a phone call so she waited until he left the area.
At this point in the story, Jaz reveals what she was wearing during her shopping trip: black shorts and a white tee.
On her way to the dressing room, Jaz says she saw the same man sitting there with no employee in sight. Deciding to come back later, Jaz set off for the pharmacy to get the meds for her stye. Upon her return to the fitting room, an asset prevention employee was there and let her in. Jaz promptly leashed her dog on a purse hook and began to try on the pajamas that were a tad too big.
Caught red-handed
Things went sideways when she tried to make sure Dora’s leash was still attached to the purse hook. Jaz searched the floor when she saw something that made her stop short.
There, underneath the fitting room door, was a phone angled toward her, filming her.
Enraged, she banged the door open, startling the man who Jaz says was the same one from before. According to Jaz, the man ran out, and she had a hard time chasing him because of the pajamas falling down her waist. Besides, her dog was still in the fitting room, and she didn’t want to leave her unattended.
No employee stopped the man as he ran out, which Jaz says infuriated her further.
“I just felt so helpless. Nobody tried to stop him, nobody came to ask me if I was OK,” Jaz says.
“I’m not even surprised that men are like this,” Jaz continues. “I don’t know what this guy is going to do with this video.”
With the man fleeing in a plateless car, Jaz had no leads and ended up calling the police.
A trail leading nowhere
Jaz ended up waiting three hours for the cops to show up and filed a police report. In her follow-up posted on Wednesday, Jaz says she still had no photos or videos of the man because she had to wait until the police uploaded the report.
“They told me it could take up to 10 or 15 days [for it to be uploaded,]” Jaz says. Her worry with that timeframe is that the culprit could do the same thing with many other unsuspecting victims. She also warns her female viewers of a website where men purportedly upload photos they took of women without their consent. She says she tried to see if she was on there, but had a hard time creating an account.
@realbadjaz I’m so mad and will be following you girls on his face and car photos when I them #relateble #girls #foryoupage #fyp #realbadjaz #phoenix #womensaftey #target #arizona ♬ original sound – JAZ
Viewers are appalled at Target
Aside from being horrified for Jaz, many viewers were upset at Target’s lack of action.
“How did target not catch this they’re so quick to catch shoplifter but couldn’t catch what was going on,” one top comment read.
Another wrote, “WTF WHAT IS SECURITY FOR IF THEY JUST STAND AROUND AND DO NOTHING?”
A third user urged Jaz to sue Target, to which Jaz replied, “I called 10 law firms and none are interested in taking my case.”
As of Saturday, Jaz has not posted an update. The Mary Sue reached out to her via TikTok for comment. The Mary Sue also reached out to Target via email.
Update June 23, 2025:
In a direct message to the Mary Sue, Jaz said she posted the video to spread awareness because “this can happen to anyone.”
She said she planned to make a video showing the man but the police would not share with her because it’s “evidence.”
“The comments have been bittersweet. There’s been a lot of love and support, which I’m so thankful for,” Jaz said. “But then there’s also been a bunch of women saying they’ve been through the same thing… and that just makes me so upset. I hate how common this is.”
She continued, “It feels like everyone’s ‘listening,’ but no one’s actually hearing me. There’s zero urgency. And I feel like I’m just being dismissed.”
Jaz said she was shown a lineup of six men and none of them was the man. She told the Mary Sue that she hadn’t gotten updates from the police, but in a video posted on June 19, she updated her followers that the man had been arrested.
“I want to add that there has been NO JUSTICE YET,” she wrote in a comment. “He was only arrested and still has to be given a sentence so right now this is only the beginning.”
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
