Probably Stolen augs are customers taken over by a rogue AI chip, and you are expected to shoot them. The Steam store page puts it this way: Augs look like everyone else until they do not, every faction agrees on the policy, and you have the gun to enforce it, but missing the signs or misreading them carries its own price. The developer has not published a tell list, so this page collects what the patch notes state and what players on the Steam forum report, and labels each.
Probably Stolen augs: what the developer says
Three facts are official. First, the Augmented ending, a loss for letting too many Augs through, stopped applying outside Hard Mode in playtest patch 48.3.10, and patch 48.3.12 fixed shooting an Aug on Hard Mode still moving the game-over meter; the result is on Probably Stolen endings. Second, Update 049 says an Aug no longer costs you reputation when you offer it a mislabeled item (labels and fakes are covered in the Probably Stolen appraisal guide), and that Dr. Jackson used to keep offering the Aug Scanner after Security declared the Aug threat over. Third, the Aug Hunter achievement asks you to shoot 10 augmented customers; only 0.8% of players had it on launch day, as listed in Probably Stolen achievements.
How to spot Probably Stolen augs
These tells come from players, not the developer, and some forum posts say they are less obvious in 1.0 than in the demo.
- What they ask for: a forum poster lists asking to buy medical or material supplies as the first tell. A demo-era vendors guide agrees: its Aug customers buy [Medical] or [Material] and [Energy cells].
- How they talk: an unnatural or robotic way of stating a budget. Others warn that bad grammar alone is not a tell.
- How they look: a small triangle above the right ear, a fixed smile or squint, tremors, eyes that seem to flash, or standing completely still with no idle animation.
- What they wear: clothes that do not match the faction tag, such as a pharmacist in a chef's hat. Players warn of red herrings: a corporate representative in fancy clothes is a real citizen, and upper-level servants often dress like lower-level customers.
- When they arrive: one player says Augs announced by Security that morning blend in better than those who arrive without warning.
The demo-era vendors guide adds that an Aug disguised as a display-case buyer inherits that buyer's faction, budget and chemical scanner, and that Augs do not call out label scamming unless they are disguised as a display buyer. That guide is marked as missing 1.0 information, so treat it as a clue and not a rule.
The Aug Scanner and the Aug Menace perk
The Aug Scanner is the safe way to check. The Rock Bottom winner buys it from Dr. Jackson's shop for questionable customers; the demo-era machinery guide lists it at 200 credits and says double-clicking it tells you whether the current customer is an Aug, at a cost of 25 energy per use. The same winner's perk setup used Aug Menace, which makes Augs active from the start and pays for every kill, and the guide says that missing too many loses the run. That winner shot more than ten Augs and no innocent citizens. A forum player adds that shooting Augs gave them Security reputation. Perk and tool details are in Probably Stolen Rock Bottom.
Item windows hide while you are in shooting mode, a detail on Probably Stolen controls. Shooting a human is the cost of a wrong guess; one player reloaded the day after it happened, and the sources do not state the exact penalty. Players also mention an end-of-day notice that you were visited by an Aug you let go; one saw none after holding fire on a suspect and took that as proof the customer was human. For a calmer first week, Probably Stolen tips and tricks sets out which start to pick.
Probably Stolen Augs FAQ
What are augs in Probably Stolen?
Customers controlled by a rogue AI chip, according to the Steam store page. They look like ordinary customers until you notice the signs, and you shoot them.
How do you identify an aug?
Players name unusual requests for medical or material supplies, robotic budget wording, stillness or tremors, odd eyes, and clothes that do not match the faction. The Aug Scanner confirms it.
Can augs make you lose?
Only on Hard Mode, since playtest patch 48.3.10, when you miss too many.
Does selling mislabeled items to an aug cost reputation?
Not since Update 049, which removed the reputation loss.