Protecting Yourself After The Holidays

December 29, 2016 by Leave a Comment

The busiest shopping season of the year is almost done.  The gains  and loses of the year will be accounted for, and if you had a good year, it will show on the gains column.  Preventing shoplifting or minimizing shrinkage in your store does not end at the end of the year.  Shoplifting is a continuos problem for retailers, and the loss prevention team in your store.  The beginning of the new year though, offers you a unique opportunity to start over, study the loss prevention team’s effort, and make the necessary changes for a better year.

Read the following articles for more about this and other stories.

Could Amazon Go Eliminate Shoplifters? Customers ‘Just Walk Out’

Amazon Go is a new idea in retailing, now being tested at a store in Seattle, that eliminates the need for customers to go through a checkout line. The so-called “just walk out” experience depends on “the world’s most advanced shopping technology.” Customers simply enter a retail store, choose the goods they want, and leave. The checkout process is automated: The selected goods are charged to the customer’s account automatically.

Solving Shoplifting

Most of the information I have read about the system emphasizes its benefits in terms of customer convenience. However, another huge benefit would be to essentially “solve” the problem of shoplifting. Anyone – criminal or not – who enters the store, takes items and leaves will be charged for the goods.

Shoplifting has been a huge and intractable cost for retailers for decades. Solving it is no small feat, and the potential money savings could help to pay for wider use of Amazon Go technology. After all, the high costs of the system are cited as one obstacle to wider implementation.

Amazon Go Smart Phone App

The Amazon Go system involves a smart phone app that identifies the customer as he or she walks into the store (presumably through a turnstile). In addition, there are computerized systems in place that automatically identify which customers pick up which items from the store shelves, and keep a running, real-time tally of who buys what. No need for check-out lines; it’s all automatic. Customers only need an Amazon account, a supported smartphone, and the free Amazon Go app.

Tips for avoiding holiday theft after the gifts are opened

JOPLIN, Mo.

Joplin Police officers say you can keep your holiday gifts from getting stolen by not putting those empty boxes in your trash, alerting people what you just opened. Instead, go to a dumpster and dispose your trash, especially those in bigger boxes like a TV or a laptop.
You can also use a generic-looking box or a black trash bag to hide your gift trash.

“Every day, citizens can be a target or a victim of identify theft or anything like that, so you want to do everything you can to prevent the prevent that likelihood that you become that target,” explained Sgt. Dan Haskins of the Joplin Police Department.

BBB: Ten consumer tips for the upcoming year

Better Business Bureau is proud of our mission: to be the leader in advancing market place trust. In order to fulfill that mission, every year BBB offers thousands of tips for consumers to help them find a business they can trust.

BBB helps people find and recommend business, brands and charities they can trust. Better Business Bureau serving Central, Coastal, Southwest Texas and the Permian Basin compiled the top 10 consumer tips to help you fight scammers, prevent identity theft and save money in 2017:

  • Do your research. Always check a business out with BBB before you buy. For any business, visit bbb.org to view their BBB Business Profile, which includes contact information, complaint details and customer reviews.
  • Protect your identity. Always shred paper documents that include sensitive financial data and dispose of computers, cell phones and digital data safely. Safely store all personal documents, such as your Social Security card. Pull your credit report at least once a year, and check your credit and debit card statements frequently.
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Tips To Secure Your Home And Family

December 29, 2016 by Leave a Comment

This magazine is dedicated to helping you, the business owner/manager secure your business from threats to your bottom line. However, since the holidays are over, I want to help you with some tips to secure your home and family. I live, eat and breathe this kind of stuff. It is another of my long term experiences.

We tend to look for solutions from technology but in many cases we need to get back to basics. Here are a few quick items to review:

Light-When someone is looking to do no good to your property, they feel more secure if it looks like no one is home. The key is to confuse them and make them feel unsure. Remember, most burglars are lazy. If they are not sure about your house, they will move on. So you should have at least two light timers (three is better) set up and running seven days a week. These should be in different areas of the home and should come on and off at different times. Use the random or security feature found on most timers. This will vary the on/off time every day just a little in case someone is watching the house for a pattern.

This also has another benefit. It is an elegant look for a home. It also is convenient. For example, if you have a small table lamp in your foyer or stairway, you can have that lamp come on in the evenings until past the time you go to bed normally. The light does not need to be really bright. Maybe just a 40 watt bulb. Or use an LED bulb in these lamps instead. Your energy consumption will be almost nothing in the overall picture.

Sound-You may want to hook a timer up to a TV or Radio. A TV’s changing screen/light and sound will cause someone that is outside your home and maybe close enough to hear to have pause. This works best if the window coverings are closed or it is on the second floor. You may not want this option on all the time but it is a great idea for when you are on vacation or gone for a few days.

Mail/Newspaper/Flyers/Trash cans left at the curb-NOTHING says “I am not home” like these accumulating. Have a neighbor pick them up or put them away DAILY.

Safe-Mount a small in-wall-safe in the master bedroom closet behind your hanging clothes and below shoulder level. You can pick up a good little safe for around $100. These safes are mounted between two studs. They only require that you cut the sheet rock (usually a paper template is supplied) and screw the side into the studs on both sides. This allows you to keep cash, jewelry and more, secured and very well hidden.

Water-This really does not have anything to do with security. But if you are going to be gone for a few days or more, shut off the water supply to all toilets, sinks, washing machines and outside faucets (if possible). The average washing machine hose has a life span of five years. You really do not want to come home to a flooded house and an astronomically high water bill.

Alarm Systems-On the higher tech side a basic home alarm system is a great investment. When you have a system, you should cover every outside door and the door from the garage to the inside of the house. Install several motion detectors in areas such as hallways. You do not need to overdo it. What you are trying to do is create a trap effect. The bad guy should not be able to move very far without tripping a motion detector.

Basic alarm monitoring for your home system should be no more than $19/month. If it is more, you should shop around.

I strongly suggest that you have your alarm control send its signals to the Central Station via cellular not over wired phone lines or the internet. Most troubles with an alarm system are usually as a result of wired phone line problems. Cellular (GSM) resolves most of that. Also there is no wire for the burglar to cut. There will be an added monthly cost for monitoring for GSM (cellular).

Newer alarm controls have the ability to be connected to your PC or hand held smart device. This can only happen if your alarm control is connected with GSM (cellular). This is a very nice feature. It allows you to do almost anything remotely that you can do at the alarm keypad in your home. Arm/disarm, bypass….. This feature will also add to your monthly cost.

Cameras-Several cameras mounted around the outside of your home give you the ability to check in via your PC or smart device at any time. This used to be costly with traditional CCTV systems. Now you can put up Wi-Fi cameras that have long life batteries by yourself for a very reasonable cost. Shop around for quality units. A few things to consider when purchasing:

  • Battery life should be measured in years. You do not want to be on a ladder any more than necessary.
  • Is there a battery low indicator that will be emailed to you? The last thing you need is a dead camera when you need it the most.
  • Get cameras that have Infra-Red (IR) illuminators. This allows you to see in total darkness.
  • Be realistic on what you want to see. No camera is as good as the human eye. Two cameras may be needed to see what you want to see in one area.
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Suggestions On How To Improve Inventory

December 29, 2016 by Leave a Comment

Each year retailers take inventory of their merchandise, counting what they have in the store, reconciling that information against sales receipts, vendor credits and receipts and markdowns.  Usually the result is some amount of shortage or merchandise shrink due to merchandise that cannot be accounted for and losses due to certain markdowns and damaged products.  I have in rare instances seen overages, but those are usually the result of offsets from prior year shortages often attributed to paperwork errors.  The store objective each year should be to improve upon the prior year inventory result.  Certainly the best case would be to have zero dollar shortages every year, but that is not a realistic expectation. I try to explain to employees that if one package of gum were to be stolen during the year, you have incurred shortage. There are steps a store owner or manager can take to work towards that yearly improvement and shoot for a zero dollar shrinkage year.

 The first step to improve inventory is to look at merchandise protection strategies in the store.  Are retail anti-theft devices being used to prevent shoplifting as well as employee and vendor theft?  A theft prevention system includes having an electronic article surveillance (EAS) system installed.  This would encompass EAS antennas at entry/exit points, EAS soft tags, labels and hard tags on as many pieces of merchandise as possible and deactivation pads and detachment tools at checkout lanes. By protecting merchandise with retail anti-theft devices, shoplifters and potential dishonest employees are deterred from trying to steal.  EAS protected merchandise also activates alarms if a shopper forgets about an item on the bottom of the shopping cart that has not been paid for and a tag is not removed or deactivated.  Remember, if merchandise hasn’t been paid for, regardless of the intention of the customer, it is shortage.

There are other things that a store can do to improve inventory results from one year to the next:

  • Consider offering incentives to employees who deter a theft through great customer service.  Employees on the sales-floor are your first line of defense against shoplifting.  If they are walking their areas offering assistance, they will walk upon a customer attempting to conceal merchandise, remove items from packaging or tamper with EAS tags.  Offering assistance, remaining in the area and communicating with managers is an effective method of deterrence without accusing someone of stealing. An incentive for reporting this type of activity may be the purchase of a drink or putting the employee in for a weekly or monthly drawing for a $5 gift card.  Be creative.
  • Education/Training – Make sure employees know what your inventory results are and how much was lost in the last inventory.  I always made it a point to share that information and celebrate it when we had good results.  Let your employees know that they make a difference.  Employees also need to know how to properly respond to EAS alarms and recover merchandise without making accusations.  When training is not continuous employees become complacent and begin to wave people out the door who set off an EAS alarm.  Eventually that complacency turns to ignoring the alarms altogether and the system is rendered useless.  Alarm activations also need to be recorded so managers can review for trends and ensure there are no malfunctions.
  • Make employee receipt checks and bag checks mandatory for EVERYONE.  Managers should be the first to show their purchases to an employee for verification.  When employees see that no one is exempt, they will not mind doing it themselves.  Accountability helps prevent theft.
  • Have a program in place for marking merchandise that is purchased for store use.  If  you have to get a pack of pens from your sales-floor for office use, purchase it or account for it through a ledger and then keep the package and mark it with a date and write “store use” or put a sticker on it.  It is easy for merchandise to start being used and not accounted for and it will accumulate in offices from the sales-floor.  Account for EVERYTHING, even a paperclip if it is store use.
  • Small, independent stores may not have corporate markdowns sent to them.  These stores need to evaluate their merchandise and if it isn’t selling, mark them down, but do it incrementally.  Start at 10 or 15% and see if you can move it.  You don’t want to lose profit margin.

Improving inventory is not an impossible task.  Utilize EAS technology to deter and prevent theft.  Educate and train employees and empower them with knowledge on shortage issues and how they impact it.  Profit from reduced shrinkage! 

      

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In An Economy Predicted To Improve Here Are Some Things You Can Anticipate

December 29, 2016 by Leave a Comment

After a long and contested election cycle, a new president will be inaugurated and with this result, some experts are predicting the economy will begin to improve significantly.  If the rebound is as strong as these experts are predicting retailers will be one of the beneficiaries, with an increase in customers and sales.  Likewise there may also be more shoplifting activity that takes place.  An increase in sales would seem to make sense given that there would be more people with jobs and potentially more money in their pockets, but why would there be an increase in shoplifting?  There are a couple of possible explanations, for example during those periods when the economy is slumping retailers tend to order less merchandise.  The result is shelves may stay empty longer or there may be fewer high ticket goods available for criminals to steal.  Less product displayed can translate to less opportunity and opportunity is one of the necessities for a theft to take place.  There is also the chance that with fewer customers in a store, employees are more readily available to offer customer service to shoppers and this is certainly a deterrent to shoplifters.  One of the first recommendations I always make for improved shortage results is for a store to focus on customer service.

Along with increased sales and the potential for more shoplifting, what are some other things you can anticipate with an improving economy?  You may find you are in need of more employees to help in your store.  Cash stands that may not have been very active could start to see new life as lines begin to increase.  Customers don’t want to wait for service so it is important to have enough staff to meet the demand.  Sales floor coverage will likely be stretched thin again impacting shopper perception of wait time.  Hiring could be crucial and in an improved economy you could be fighting for talent.  Don’t settle on a warm body, ensure you conduct pre-employment screenings so you can be confident that the person you hire is the right fit for your team and has no hidden skeletons in the closet.

An improving economy means more transactions and that means cash registers have more money in them and credit card swipes.  Make sure credit cards are the only thing being swiped and then only during the customer transaction.  More cash in a register is a tempting target to an employee who may be experiencing a personal financial crisis.  Make sure your front end or cashier supervisors are doing random cash drops at the registers, taking most of the money and leaving enough in to continue ringing sales.  Watch for cashiers who may be tempted to swipe a credit card and forget to hand it back to the customer.  If you see credit cards lying beside a register, question where it came from and pick it up and retain it in a lost and found.

Anticipate the need to replenish shelves more quickly.  During slow economic times merchandise doesn’t always sell quickly and so filling empty spaces on shelves and fixtures may have been able to wait until the next truck load of freight arrived.  If sales improve as predicted it is important to have plans in place to address “holes” more quickly.  Prepare to monitor for out of stocks during the day and get it refilled from your stockroom quickly.  If you are selling a lot of vendor supplied product, such as soft drinks, bread, cereals and snacks, etc., partner with your vendor representatives to increase deliveries and representative visits.

If you require an increase in floor replenishment, don’t forget to protect product with retail anti-theft devices before it gets to the selling floor.  Remember I mentioned there could be increased shoplifting with an improving economy.  It is easy to overlook the protection of merchandise as it flows from the stockroom.  I should note that I would prefer to see merchandise protected as it arrives to the store, but some stores do wait until it gets sent to the sales-floor before applying Checkpoint tags and labels.

The potential for growth in sales is exciting for retailers.  Don’t miss the boat by not being prepared for it.  Have a plan to meet the needs of an expanding customer base. Be ready to fill your sales-floor and don’t forget to prevent shoplifting by protecting your merchandise before it gets to the floor.  Going green will take on a whole new meaning in the coming years!

     

     

     

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Can An Improving Economy Lead To A Case Of “Keeping Up With The Jones’s” And An Increase In Employee Theft?

December 29, 2016 by Leave a Comment

Have you been keeping up with the news? It appears the stock market is on the verge of breaking new records.  People are gaining confidence now that some economists are expressing optimism that we are about to see a jump start in economic growth.  Does that mean EVERYONE is going to benefit? Unfortunately, the answer is no. There are many people who will continue to work in their current jobs and experience little personal benefit in their own eyes. What do I mean, “In their own eyes?” Just this, there are some people who are not satisfied with their job, or financial situation, or any number of things in their life and do little or nothing to try to change that. What they WILL do is get jealous when they see others who do well. It may be a co-worker who gets a promotion, a friend who has received a pay raise, a relative who has purchased a new car, there are lots of things that people can get jealous over. Sometimes this jealousy turns into an attitude of “Keeping up with the Jones’s” and can result in someone engaging in dishonest activity so they can have new things too. Frequently those who steal because they haven’t gotten that raise or promotion will try to justify their actions by rationalizing that they deserve it and aren’t being recognized for their contributions.

So what does this mean for the employer? You are excited about increasing sales, selling more merchandise, perhaps hiring more people and even expanding your business. First, you have to be alert to the people you currently have working for you. You should also include involving your supervisors in this since they may be closer to your workers and more likely to hear scuttlebutt than you will in the various work areas. If you have an employee who has been passed over for promotional opportunities make sure you explain to them why they were not chosen and provide feedback and even create a professional development plan with that employee if they express interest. If they don’t want feedback and don’t seek input on their development, they are probably not really interested and may be looking for a promotion for the sake of a promotion. Often this is the employee who will go back to their work center and complain and gripe. You must address this quickly and if the behavior continues get rid of this type of worker, they can create a negative work environment and it does influence others who may normally be great workers.

Watch for employee theft, especially from the disgruntled workers. There is a tendency to see themselves as victims and deserving of something, even if they have to steal it to get it. You may start to see extra money in your registers in an improving economy. You could have a disgruntled cashier who sees that money and since they only received a 2% pay raise on their last review, they decide they are going to give themselves a raise. Watch for all cash shortages, some stores make a minimum of $5 missing before it is addressed. In many instances I had cashiers who stole two or three dollars for lunches for quite a while before moving up to greater amounts of cash theft.  If you start to see any trends, you need to address it early.

Then there is the employee working in the electronics department (as an example) who sees friends or acquaintances buying new televisions, laptop computers, or the latest techy gadget. This is the employee who gets green with jealousy because they aren’t making “enough” and can’t afford these goodies. It is unfortunate but it happens and I have apprehended employees in very similar circumstances. When it came down to the bottom line, after all the excuses were done it was usually a case of, “I just wanted it.” Employee package checks and receipt checks and the use of Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) retail anti-theft devices often discourages much of this behavior.  I would still suggest you have a discussion with an employee if you hear them complaining or get word of it. You may get a better feel if it is just idle chatter or a potential problem waiting to happen.

An improving economy is exciting for store owners but watch out, those Jones’s may have what your employee wants and that could come at your expense. Make sure you spend time with your employees and listen to what they are saying. Your investment of time may save you headaches in the future.

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Preventing Shoplifting This Holiday Season; Inform Your Employees

December 20, 2016 by Leave a Comment

Many stores, public places, and government  buildings display firearms law posters on the wall where everyone that enters their place will undoubtedly see it.  Some retail stores display their shoplifting policy where customers can see it.  But, many of these places though, fail to educate their employees as to their store policy when stopping a shoplifter.  Who is responsible of making sure every single employee knows the policy of the store? When is this supposed to happen? At the time of hiring?  For many retail stores, preventing shoplifting begins by educating their employees about the policies and procedures they need to follow when stopping a shoplifter.

For more about this and other  stories, follow the links below.

Home Depot employees fired after following suspect

PALM COAST, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) – Four former employees at a Home Depot in Florida were fired after they attempted to stop a shoplifter in November.

Jeffrey Miller, 59, George Ippolito, 56, Joe Spector, 29, and Jazmin Kelly, 27, all worked together at a Home Depot in Palm Coast, Florida. On November 19, the 4 employees attempted to track down a customer who appeared to be shoplifting at the store.

However the co-workers did not know that their act to prevent crime went against company policy.

The Home Depot released a statement in regards to the incident: “Pursuing shoplifters in the store or in the parking lot is extremely dangerous and risks the safety of everyone, which is why we only allow trained security personnel to do so. We’ve had instances of serious injury and even fatality in our stores. No amount of merchandise is worth risking the safety of others.”

The employees expressed shock by their termination as Fox 35’s Kelly Joyce reports from Flagler County in the video above.

The suspect has been identified as 22-year-old Brandon Charles Edward Mullins Lowe of Hastings, Florida who allegedly admitted to stealing close to $1,000 worth of tools from the store. Lowe was being held in the Flagler County Jail on grand theft charges.

Police: Shoplifting doubles near holidays

As shoppers hit area stores for the impending holidays, so will shoplifters, say area police.

“It probably doubles during the peak of the holiday shopping season,” said Logan Township Police Chief Tim Mercer, referring to the number of retail theft calls the township’s officers will handle.

Mercer said officers typically get one to two calls each week, and with the increase in retail thefts also comes increases in other crimes related to shopping, such as identity theft, where people are opening up credit cards in other people’s names, and thefts from vehicles.

Most of the incidents of retail theft and other thefts occur at two highly concentrated shopping areas — Logan Town Centre and the Logan Valley Mall, Mercer said.

Stores are reluctant to talk about shoplifting, either out of a fear of calling attention to their stores and becoming targets or because they don’t want to divulge exactly how they deal with retail thefts.

One store manager of a longtime township store, who spoke only if his name of business wasn’t published, said stores take two approaches to dealing with shoplifters — either they try to catch them or they try to prevent them from stealing in the first place.

Five Steps to Recruiting the Right Loss Prevention Professionals

The success of any organization is determined by the talent of its people. In his book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t, Jim Collins put it this way: “People are not your most important asset. The right people are.”

Whether it’s a company, a loss prevention and safety department, or a sports team, the more talented people within the organization, the greater chance it has to succeed. Loading any organization with talented loss prevention professionals requires a comprehensive five-step people strategy.

Want an awesome LP career? Download this FREE Special Report, How to Find the Best Loss Prevention Jobs and Build a Successful Loss Prevention Career.

Recruiting. The first component of this strategy is recruiting. It all starts with a sound recruiting strategy to ensure there is a sufficient pool of applicants.

 

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How To stop A Shoplifter?

December 13, 2016 by Leave a Comment

Police Departments across the nation are busy this holiday season launching operations aiming at catching shoplifters.  Serial shoplifters go from store to store stealing hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise from each store.  Police and retailers alike have been working together to stop this vicious and financially crippling crime.  Shoplifters are not necessarily from the area where they commit their crime, there are serial shoplifters that go from state to state, and from store to store, stealing as much as they can.  For a retailer, the hundreds of dollars stolen from their store is a financial burden, and jeopardizes their ability to stay open for business.

For more about this and other stories, follow the links below.

How local law enforcement are working to stop organized retail crime

BUFFALO, N.Y.–

Organized retail crime is rising across the country, according to the National Retail Federation. In Western New York, local law enforcement said they’re constantly working to stop it.

“They’ll steal goods and products from various stores, sometimes taking orders,” Officer Craig Johnson, field intelligence officer for the Amherst Police Department, said. Johnson said organized shoplifting rings operate locally and even statewide.

“[They’ll go] down the thru way through the major cities, Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, even to Erie, Pennsylvania,” he said. HE said the thieves use stolen ID’s and credit cards to rent cars. They’ll even sometimes steal a license plate from another car to put on their rental. Then they spend hours stealing from stores, including items like clothing, medication, baby formula and even appliances. They then move on to another city by the time law enforcement is notified.

“They could be from different states. They could be from downstate New York. It’s very hard to find out that information of who these people are,” Johnson said.

Serial Shoplifters Target Burlington Stores 

It was a busy day for Amanda Bean. First, she stole several hundred dollars’ worth of merchandise from a store that shares her surname — L.L.Bean. Burlington police cited her for retail theft and released her. Two hours later, Bean allegedly stole goods valued at several hundred dollars from the Skirackon Main Street. Bean was again charged with retail theft and let go.

Since that day in April, Bean, 33, of St. Albans, pleaded guilty to the L.L.Bean theft, but her stealing apparently hasn’t stopped. She has been arrested on similar charges twice — including on October 22, while she was serving a community-based furlough for the L.L.Bean theft. All told, Bean has been arrested more than 20 times and has at least nine retail theft convictions, along with convictions for other crimes.

Downtown merchants are frustrated with frequent fliers like Bean. While other crimes such as burglary are declining in Burlington, retail theft is escalating, police say. Between 2012 and 2015, annual retail theft calls to Burlington police increased from 341 to 423. This year, the trend continued. The number of calls between January and November 1, 2016, totaled 404, compared to 374 over the same time period last year.

‘Operation Blitz’ To Target Professional Shoplifters

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — As we look to get started on our holidayshopping lists, police will be looking for professional shoplifters.

Beginning on Black Friday, more than 30 Twin Cities law enforcementagencies will launch “Operation Blitz.”

The first-of-its-kind partnership in the state will target organized retail theft and financial fraud.

Police showed WCCO how these professionals do their best to avoid detection.

Take what police say happened at a St. Paul CVS two weeks ago, when a man walked in with a gym bag and loaded it with cleaning supplies. He was out of the store in under 40 seconds.

 

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Avoid Being A Victim This Holiday Season

December 7, 2016 by Leave a Comment

woman

Happy Holidays! Or, are they really?  Retailers are not the only ones that suffer from theft during the holiday season.  Yes, shoplifting, employee theft, and merchant thefts occur more during the holiday season than at other times of the year for retailers, but people around the country are more and more vulnerable to theft that occurs at their front door.  Have you bought anything online? Has it been delivered? There are many stories of packages being delivered, but never actually received by the recipient.  Where is it?  Some of them at least are at the hands of thieves that go prowling neighborhoods in search of delivered packages left at your front or side door. If you ordered something online and won’t be at home during the day, asking a neighbor to accept the package for you is not imposing, it is just neighborly. Take precautions this holiday season to avoid being the victim of theft. 

For more about this and other stories, follow the links below.

Chamblee Police: Tips to Avoid Becoming a Holiday Crime Victim

Chamblee, GA, December 5, 2016 – The Post Reports – The Chamblee Police Department provides the following information on why thieves love the Holiday season and what you can do to prevent becoming a victim.

Why Thieves Love the Holiday Season

All the hustle and bustle going on over the holidays gives thieves what they want, almost as much as an unlocked bank vault and that is the opportunity to become invisible. Thieves can move through big crowds of rushed and distracted people without anyone noticing them. They can pickpocket and shoplift and when their victims realize that they have been robbed, they will have no idea who did it.

Thieves Feed on Opportunities

Thieves know that the police are overloaded during the holiday season and they take full advantage it. They thrive on the fact that the police and stores’ loss prevention staff have their hands full with amateur thieves who are hauled to jail for trying to steal from the electronics departments or waiting for the parents of teenagers who pocketed the latest video game.

In the meantime, the professional thieves are busy breaking into cars in the parking lots to steal gifts, cell phones and electronics or stalking and robbing. Some thieves prefer burglarizing homes. They spend their time walking neighborhoods, looking for houses that appear that the homeowners are away. Darkened homes nestled between neighbors with front yards bursting with holiday lights will draw their attention.

Albany police encourage businesses to be on constant crime watch

businesses should increase their vigilance, watching for crime in their stores, as shoplifting and thefts increase during the holidays.

It’s a serious issue, because a large theft in a small store could mean a merchant having to go out of business.

Chuck Roberts has owned John Ross Jewelers at his Dawson Road location for 30 years, and one reason he has been so successful is he was already thinking about criminals when he designed the shop.

“We built this store the way it’s built, to stop the shoplifting,” explained Roberts.

Police said that during this time of year, shoplifters and thieves increase their activity, because stores have more customers to hide among, and there is more on hand to steal.

“They have more merchandise available. So there will always be someone who is looking to find an illegal way to acquiring that merchandise,” said Albany Police Chief Michael Persley.

Roberts has well established trade practices to deter thieves and lots of surveillance cameras watching customers, because he has thousands of dollars worth of jewelry in his store cases, and knows crooks will go to almost any length to steal them.

Consumers beware of holiday crimes

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) – The winter months cover a time of seasonal giving and cheer.

Unfortunately, crime doesn’t pause for the holidays.

Especially after major online shopping events like Cyber Monday.

Ryan Adamson with the Terre Haute Police Department says you have to watch out for the occasional Grinch looking to steal.

He says, “Thefts of packages increase this time of year. Somebody is at work, they get a notification on their phone that UPS, or Fed-Ex, has dropped off a package. They get home and lo and behold, it’s not there. So be mindful of where your packages are going.”

Criminals are looking for an easy steal, so what is easier than an unattended package on a door step?

Adamson suggests, “If you can have it delivered to work, do so. Or, try to have them sent to a friend’s house or a relative’s house. Just somebody that’s going to be home. Or, make it to where somebody has to sign for the package, so the package is verified that somebody is there for it.”

Adamson also says to be careful where you place your presents once wrapped.

He says, “Don’t put your gifts in plain view right in front the window where everybody can see. Don’t put your big expensive TV right in front of the window. If you’re not going to be home, let your neighbor know. Have somebody check on your house for you to make sure everything is okay.”

Unfortunately, your car isn’t safe from winter scrooges either.

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(SOME MORE) TIPS TO PREVENT ROBBERIES

December 5, 2016 by Leave a Comment

moneyIn the previous article, I gave some great tips on how to prevent and prepare for a robbery. Like many things, it’s impossible to provide a solution that is all encompassing. After I penned that article I couldn’t help but think that there was more that I could share; more that I should share. I draw on over a decade’s time spent in the LP field and this is one of those topics that I just can never stress enough to my store managers. So, what else can you do to limit a robbery and/or cash loss?

When do you (or do you) conduct a cash drop? I know, some of you may be scratching your head after reading that. What’s a cash drop? Most stores have a safe where money from the day is stored prior to it being picked up by the armored carrier/dropped in the night deposit at the bank. When a cashier has so much money in the till, some cash is taken out, and then stored securely in the safe. Think about it, would you want any cashier to have several thousands of dollars in cash in their till? It’s December and Christmas is right around the corner. A few grand in cash in one till is not out of the realm of possibility.

If your store, or company does have a drop policy, then make sure your cashier leadership is following it. For the company I work for, we set the threshold at $500. Our cashiers start with a bank of $200. Once they have $500 above their original bank, they are required to get a supervisor to drop the additional funds. You should also monitor this throughout the week and coach those cashiers that are failing to meet the expectation. If by some chance, you don’t have this practice, I suggest implementing this yesterday.

Not only does this prevent a criminal from robbing a cashier, you also prevent yourself from being exposed to a quick-change artist. You may know them by a different name, but this guys and girls can quickly scam a cashier out of hundreds of dollars. The basic scam has them pay a small ticket item with a large bill ($100 mostly). After the cashier gives change and before the drawer is closed, they begin confusing the cashier by asking for different change. A quick palm and some sleight of hand later, you’re out a few hundred bucks.

Again, training and policies can help you to avoid this. First, as mentioned above, make sure to keep the amount of cash in the till at a minimum. Second, train your cashiers to immediately close the till once change is given. I see cashiers let their tills linger open far too long quite often. As soon as the change is removed and before they tear the receipt off the spool, that drawer needs to be closed. The criminal needs the drawer to remain open to steal your money. You can easily beat them at their own game. Second, forbid your cashiers from even giving change. That’s how it is at our stores. If a customer needs change, we’ll be more than happy to oblige, but they must walk to the service desk where a supervisor assists them.

Cash drops are an important tool to fight against a robbery attempt. They take away that added liability of excess cash in the drawer and help protect against quick change scams. Remember, they most important thing you can do to prepare for a robbery is to prepare for it, every day. Prepare by training your managers to open and close as a team. Prepare by teaching your staff to comply with a robber’s demand. Prepare by dropping excess funds in your safe. Prepare by training your cashiers to do something as simple as closing their drawer quickly. By taking a few simple steps, you can shrink the size of the target on your store.

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Protecting Yourself While Holiday Shopping

December 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment

bags

Retailers during this time of year prepare for the holidays by hiring more people to help them in their stores with customers, and with  their security as well.  This is a very busy time for the loss prevention team of a retail store, shopping mall’s security, and the local police.

Shoplifting occurs inside the stores, but theft also occurs when you leave the security of a shopping mall.  Parking lots around shopping malls tend to be illuminated, but is always safe to take precautions when leaving a store at night, or to make sure other customers are leaving before venturing outside by yourself.  Be safe and alert this holiday season.

Police: Shoplifting doubles near holidays

As shoppers hit area stores for the impending holidays, so will shoplifters, say area police.

“It probably doubles during the peak of the holiday shopping season,” said Logan Township Police Chief Tim Mercer, referring to the number of retail theft calls the township’s officers will handle.

Mercer said officers typically get one to two calls each week, and with the increase in retail thefts also comes increases in other crimes related to shopping, such as identity theft, where people are opening up credit cards in other people’s names, and thefts from vehicles.

Most of the incidents of retail theft and other thefts occur at two highly concentrated shopping areas — Logan Town Centre and the Logan Valley Mall, Mercer said.

Stores are reluctant to talk about shoplifting, either out of a fear of calling attention to their stores and becoming targets or because they don’t want to divulge exactly how they deal with retail thefts.

Crimestoppers: Be alert this holiday season

The holidays are upon us, and Christmas shopping often means an increase in crime.

The best way for businesses to prevent shoplifting is better customer service, according to Jackson Hole Crimestoppers.

“The best defense against shoplifting for merchants is to offer attentive service,” the nonprofit organization said in a press release. “Greet all shoppers as they enter the store and show an interest in helping the patrons find what they are looking for.”

The last thing a shoplifter wants is to be noticed, the release said. “Jackson Hole Crimestoppers points out that shoplifting hurts everybody, with increased costs of merchandise often resulting to help cover losses,” it said. “Both shoppers and merchants should remain alert for such thieves.”

Why Did CVS Employees Hide and Call the Cops When These Men Asked for Sliced Cheese?

Let’s kick this off with a Choose Your Own Adventure scenario. You’re a CVS employee who has just been stopped by a customer and asked whether the store carries sliced cheese. Do you A) shake your head no, but direct him to the refrigerated items anyway, B) show him a wide variety of shelf-stable snacks instead, or C) freak out and hide from him in a locked room in the back of the store?

If you selected C, you probably work at the CVS in Richmond, Virginia’s Carytown district. According to Ricky Berry, he and his roommate, Philip Blackwell, went to that particular drugstore on Thursday night to pick up a package of sliced cheese. The two of them asked an employee where to find the cheese and, after telling them that the store didn’t carry it, the evening took a turn toward the WTF.

 

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