To identify Augs in Probably Stolen, examine customers for unusual eyes, visible implants, unnatural movements, and suspicious dialogue. Augs are people controlled by rogue AI, and they can visit your shop disguised as ordinary customers. The safest way to recognize them is to compare their appearance and behavior with the Augmented Identification Guide, then use Dr. Jackson's scanner when you're unsure. Acting on a single suspicious detail can lead to mistakes, so knowing which clues to check is important.
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All Aug Warning Signs
How to Identify an Aug
How to Confirm With the Scanner
What Happens If You're Wrong?
All Aug Warning Signs in Probably Stolen
There are eight known indicators that can help you recognize a disguised Aug. Some involve physical details, while others require watching how the customer behaves or paying attention to what they say.
| Warning Sign | What to Check |
|---|---|
| Visible Aug Chip | Look for an unusual implant or visible chip on the customer. |
| Unusual Pupils | Examine the eyes for abnormalities. |
| Uncanny Expression | Watch for facial expressions that appear unnatural. |
| Twitching | Notice unusual or involuntary-looking movements. |
| Unnatural Stillness | Watch for a customer remaining unusually motionless. |
| Robotic Wording | Read dialogue for mechanical or unnatural phrasing. |
| Excessively Formal Speech | Pay attention to dialogue that sounds unusually stiff or rehearsed. |
| Faction Clothing Mismatch | Check whether their outfit makes sense for their faction. |
These clues aren't all equally straightforward. A visible implant may be easier to notice than an unusual expression, while formal speech can be difficult to distinguish from an ordinary customer's dialogue.
I'd start with the physical details before spending time interpreting more ambiguous behavior.
How to Identify an Aug in Probably Stolen
The most practical approach is to inspect customers in three stages. This keeps you from missing an obvious physical clue or relying entirely on a suspicious sentence.
1. Check the Face and Head
Start by examining the customer's eyes, facial expression, and any visible implants.
These are useful first checks because they don't require you to interpret the customer's intentions. Compare anything suspicious against the in-game Augmented Identification Guide rather than assuming every unusual-looking person is an Aug.
2. Watch Their Movements
Next, observe whether the customer moves unnaturally. Twitching and unusual stillness are both documented Aug indicators.
This step becomes especially important when the customer's face looks ordinary. An Aug doesn't necessarily need to display every possible warning sign.
3. Compare Their Dialogue and Clothing
Finally, read what the customer says and consider whether their appearance matches their faction.
Robotic vocabulary or excessively formal dialogue can raise suspicion. However, one odd sentence isn't enough to establish that someone is controlled by an AI.
Faction identification can help with clothing checks. Customer text colors indicate faction affiliation, including red for Security and gray for the Lower Levels. If someone's clothing seems inconsistent with their faction, treat that as another reason to investigate.
The goal is to build a consistent picture from the available evidence, not to assume that any single unusual detail automatically confirms an Aug.
How to Confirm an Aug With the Scanner
If you're uncertain about a customer, Dr. Jackson sells an Aug scanner that can help confirm their identity.
This is particularly useful when the clues are subtle or contradictory. Instead of risking an incorrect decision based on appearance alone, use the scanner to resolve the uncertainty.
The scanner is tied to the active Aug threat. Once Security declares that threat over, Dr. Jackson no longer offers it for sale.
What If You Can't Identify the Customer?
Not every suspicious interaction needs an immediate decision based on guesswork.
Use this approach when the signs are unclear:
- If the customer has an unusual expression but no other obvious indicators, check their dialogue and movements.
- If their clothing seems wrong, verify their faction rather than treating the outfit alone as proof.
- If their speech sounds robotic but their appearance seems normal, consult the identification guide and use the scanner when available.
- If the scanner confirms an Aug, you can make your decision without relying on uncertain visual clues.
There isn't a confirmed universal rule that exactly two suspicious signs, or any other fixed number, automatically identifies an Aug. The actual nature of the clues matters.
What Happens If You Identify an Aug Incorrectly?
Probably Stolen treats Aug identification as more than an ordinary customer inspection. The station's policy requires eliminating confirmed Aug threats, but wrongly attacking an innocent customer also has consequences.
There are three important things to remember.
Don't Confuse Wanted Criminals With Augs
A customer appearing on a wanted poster doesn't automatically mean they're an Aug.
Wanted criminals belong to the game's Security and reporting systems, while Augs are identified through AI-related physical and behavioral clues.
Keep those two decisions separate. A criminal record isn't a replacement for the Augmented Identification Guide.
Hard Mode Makes Missed Augs More Dangerous
On Hard Mode, allowing too many Augs to escape can eventually lead to the Augmented game-over ending.
Earlier updates restricted this particular ending to Hard Mode, so the same failure condition does not apply universally across every difficulty.
The exact number of missed Augs required to trigger that ending isn't established by the available information. Don't rely on a fixed allowance when deciding whether to ignore a suspicious customer.
Decide How to Handle an Aug Before Blackmailing
Aug encounters can also involve ordinary trading and blackmail opportunities. However, blackmail can affect which actions remain available during the interaction.
If you intend to eliminate a confirmed Aug, avoid starting a separate blackmail interaction first. It may prevent you from using the shooting option afterward.
My recommendation is to finish identifying the customer before experimenting with other dialogue choices. That keeps the identification decision separate from whatever trading opportunities the customer presents.
The easiest way to recognize Augs consistently is to follow the same inspection routine every time: check their face, observe their movements, read their dialogue, and confirm uncertain cases with the scanner. Learning those eight warning signs makes it much easier to catch suspicious customers without turning every unusual interaction into a dangerous guess.
