‘Y’all want to see something cool not many people know about?’: Former JCPenney employee reveals secret surveillance room
A man went viral on TikTok after revealing a secret room allegedly for loss prevention—unknown to even current JCPenney employees.
“Y’all want to see something cool not many people know about?” user Han (@hanl552) asks as he films himself strolling through a JCPenney location.
Next to a full rack of shirts is a full-body mirror, which the TikToker pulls open like a door. He records the small security surveillance room, which he claims was used before the age of video cameras to monitor customers for loss prevention. According to Han, most current JCPenney employees don't know about this secret room.
@hanl552 Loss prevention hidden surveillance room in the wall at our local mall’s JC Penny #mall #lossprevention #shopliftingisbad #secretroom ♬ original sound - Han
The video has racked up 227,000 views as of Monday, with many users in the comments claiming to be former JC Penney employees confirming the use of the hidden room.
“Can confirm! I worked at JCP in the 90s and we caught so many people with this lowtech security!” one viewer wrote.
“I can verify this as accurate. I ran a JCPenney Loss Prevention department back in the 90s i can tell you more,” a second agreed.
Even other department stores used this method to monitor guests, according to commenters.
“We had them throughout the walls when I worked at an old Sears in high school. We used to (smoke emoji) up there,” one person revealed.
“MainStreet (which became Kohls) had these too. Also the chrome strips along the top of the ceiling was a 2-way mirror that LP would use to observe,” a second shared.
“I used to worked at Mays Dept Store in 1982. They used to have these also,” a third said.
Han posted a follow-up video explaining what he showed in the video. The room contains a platform as well as fake air vents on one side of the wall, which he claims security would look through to surveil guests and catch shoplifters. He claims there's still binoculars in the room.
@hanl552 Replying to @rhmimages ♬ original sound - Han
In an additional video, Han clarifies that these surveillance rooms were not used to monitor dressing rooms, at least in any of the JCPenney locations he worked at.
The Daily Dot reached out to Han via TikTok comment and JCPenney via email.
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