Non-confrontational employee exposes an office thief, crafting a glitter trap to call them out during the company meeting: ‘A little harmless embarrassment to solve the problem without getting HR involved'

Author image for Jesse Kessenheimer
Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Jan 24, 2026 10:00 AM EST

Maybe it's just a pen, but they were HER pens, expensive ones at that. 

Office supplies can get expensive. There's a reason that most of us use the office printer to do our taxes, and we somehow end up with a house full of company-branded pens and notebooks. While it's one thing for employees to use equipment and supplies paid for by the company's deepest pockets, stealing from your coworker is just low. You should be supporting your fellow colleagues, and considering you likely make the same salary as your cubiclemates, thieving from the desk of a close comrade is some employee-on-employee crime that cannot be tolerated.

For this reason, it's important to call those freeloaders out, but for a non-confrontational personality, sometimes buying new packs of pens is easier than the confrontation, but not forever. As something of a non-confrontational individual myself, I'm personally quite proud of the office worker in this next story because they crafted a perfect workaround to a classic problem. I'd nearly quit my job before confronting a thieving coworker directly, but setting them up for some public humiliation is the perfect lighthearted middle ground for us non-confrontational types. Without getting HR or any managers involved in a stupid cubicle dispute, this worker figured out a way to catch a thief in real time: Glitter. 

Impossible to erase and as persistent as this office thief, glitter ink presented itself as the perfect Pink Panther-style trap for this employee. Surely, after getting caught with the infamous ink on their hands, there would be no more pens stolen from their neighbor's desk. 

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  • 01
    Women working together in an office.
    via Ivan S

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Being civil with a coworker that you detest is an art form. Trapped all day in the same workspace, tolerating the tomfoolery of an unlikeable sort requires patience, wisdom, and some personal meditation. May you channel your inner chi to handle your most irritating coworkers, spinning up wild, Looney Tune traps to catch them in their erroneous ways, hoping that the public pressure of exposure will halt their poor behavior. In this case, the glitter explosion might just be enough to ruin this coworker's thieving reputation in the next company meeting. 

  • 02
    WIBTA if I swapped my pens with glitter ink to catch the coworker whos been stealing them
    via Imaginary-Frame4873
  • 03
    I work in an office and I keep a few nice pens at my desk. Nothing crazy expensive just gel pens that I like using because they write smooth and I enjoy having them. The problem is they keep disappearing. Not all my stuff just the pens. And always the ones I actually like.
    via Imaginary-Frame4873
  • 04
    I have a strong suspicion its one specific coworker who sits near me. Ive seen her using pens that look exactly like mine a couple times but I couldnt prove they were actually mine so I didnt say anything. I just kept replacing them and hoping maybe she would stop.
    via Imaginary-Frame4873
  • 05
    Then last week during a meeting I saw her writing with my purple gel pen. The same one that went missing from my desk the day before. I said hey I think thats mine and she just laughed and said oops didnt even notice. She didnt give it back or apologize just kept writing with it like it was nothing.
    via Imaginary-Frame4873
  • 06
    Untrustworthy employee working in the next cubicle.
    via Ivan S

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 07
    So now Im planning something. I ordered some cheap refillable pens that look totally normal on the outside but Im going to swap the ink cartridges with glitter gel ink. They write fine
    via Imaginary-Frame4873
  • 08
    but when the ink dries it looks sparkly and ridiculous like. something a kid would use. Im going to leave them on my desk where my pens usually go. missing and wait.
    via Imaginary-Frame4873
  • 09
    My thinking is if she takes them shell start using them in meetings or for notes and someone will notice her sparkly handwriting and shell be embarrassed. And maybe thatll be enough to make her stop without me having to actually confront her or go to a manager over something as dumb as pens.
    via Imaginary-Frame4873
  • 10
    DarkAndSparkly NTA. I bedazzled my work scissors with rhinestones because they kept disappearing. Guess who kept the same pair of scissors for 6+ years?
    via DarkAndSparkly
  • 11
    teamglider YWNBTA, but work on addressing things in the moment as well. When she says oops and keeps writing with your pen, you say, actually that's one of my favorites, you can use this one (generic office pen, always carry an extra). These people count on others not saying anything, but she can hardly object to giving your pen back when you're offering a replacement.
    via teamglider
  • 12
    No-Lifeguard9194 Definitely do it - but steal all your own pens back from her desk first, before you put down the practical joke ones. Do you want to get your own pens back before she knows that something's up.
    via No-Lifeguard9194
  • 13
    Electrical-Beyond688 Its pens not something serious and you already tried the direct approach. A little harmless embarrassment to solve the problem without getting HR involved is honestly the most reasonable move here. Go for it
    via Electrical-Beyond688
  • 14
    Training Tour7601 Just take your pens back. But also, do the glitter pens.
    via Training Tour7601
  • 15
    Blazing_AbbyNormal NTA. But, if she's not embarrassed to be seen writing in purple ink with a stolen pen, I don't think she will be embarrassed by glitter ink. I would recommend leaving leaking ink pens on your desk for her to steal instead of glitter Or use nail polish pens. . to mark your I would also take back all the pens she stole from you. Go through her desk when she's gone or ask to "borrow" a pen, daily, since yours keeps "disappearing". Good luck
    via Blazing_AbbyNormal
  • 16
    RedYamOnthego You can order pens with your name and a short message. But glitter ink is silly and fun!
    via RedYamOnthego
  • 17
    shannamatters Glitter pens are childish? I use them at work for personal notes, etc, because they're fun to use! | use plain blue pens for anything official but stuff only being seen by me? Fun all the way.
    via shannamatters
  • 18
    grey-green-eyes Also get some sticky labels and label every single one of your pens. I've done this in my office for my pens, then there is absolutely no question if she takes your pen and you can and should ask for it back every single time.
    via grey-green-eyes
  • 19
    No-Train-1152 I put a lanyard on my personal pen and wear it like a necklace LOL.
    via No-Train-1152

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