retail security and monitoring

Shoplifting Prevention

March 12, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

According to the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, getting caught while shoplifting is 1 in 48, and calling the authorities to turn the shoplifter into their hands is1 in 2. The costs associated with prosecuting the shoplifters have been one of the major reasons why retail and small business stores opt out about pressing charges, or taking any more measures against them. A “Don’t come back to our store” is not a deterrent to the shoplifter and the likelihood of his returning to your store again or another similar one is highly probable.

Read more about the most recent stories about shoplifting.

Special skirt allegedly aided family in multi-state shoplifting spree

Three family members were arrested in connection with a shop lifting and fencing spree that spanned nearly a decade, at least three states and valued $7.1 million dollars.

58-year-old Branko Bogdanov and his 52-year-old wife Lela and their 34-year-old daughter Julia of Northbrook have been charged with interstate transportation of stolen property, according U.S. Attorney’s Office.

According to a statement, the Bogdanovs’ “shopping odyssey” began on February 17 in Oklahoma, continued in to Texas and ended in Louisiana on February 20^th. They were arrested Tuesday in the Northbrook home.

According to the complaint filed, the family targeted Barnes and Noble and Toys R Us stealing items that included American Girl dolls, Furbies and Legos. The complaint states that Lela wore a long skirt “that appeared larger and fuller when she exited” the stores than when she entered. The skirt was seized as part of the investigation and continued a lining “capable of containing multiple rectangular objects.”

The family worked with another person who acted as their “fence” and sold the items on eBay, the statement said. Over the last decade, their merchandise had a “retail value of $7.1 million and sold for a combined total of $4.2 million,” according to the statement.

Employee accused of stealing more than $70,000 from DeKalb business

A 46-year-old Naperville man is accused of embezzling more than $70,000 from his DeKalb employer over more than two years, court records show.

Joseph Lendino, of the first block of Alma Lane, was charged Monday with theft and forgery. DeKalb police say he stole more than $70,000 using employees’ names without their authorization on checks from Hearing Help Express, 105 N. First St., DeKalb, from April 2011 to July 2013.

A 46-year-old Naperville man is accused of embezzling more than $70,000 from his DeKalb employer over more than two years, court records show.

Officers do diaper duty on shoplifting call

WATCH THE VIDEO BY FOLLOWING THE LINK

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: anti-thefts devices, Employee Theft, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Training, retail security and monitoring, security devices, Shoplifting Prevention

Shoplifting Prevention

March 7, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

There are countless of on line sites that tell you what to do in a shoplifting situation. Do you know how to spot a shoplifter? Do you want to know how they behave at the store? They can give you a list of the so called facial expressions, activities, and so on about them when they are in your store. They can tell you the steps to take when you are confronting a shoplifter, the guides and law about detaining a shoplifter. When you are dealing with an amateur shoplifter, the protocol is different than with dealing with a professional group of shoplifters. A shoplifting prevention seminar could be a preventive solution for your business to take into consideration, it is not only advisable, but financially responsible. Read more shoplifting by following the links below.

Family Accused of Selling $4.2M Worth of Shoplifted Goods

Three members of a suburban Chicago family are accused of stealing $7 million in merchandise during a decade-long “shopping odyssey” and later selling the items on eBay.

Branko Bogdanov, 58; his wife Lela Bogdanov, 52; and their daughter Julia Bogdanov, 34, were arrested by Secret Service agents Tuesday afternoon at a home on Weller Lane in suburban Northbrook, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court.

The trio is accused in a recent string of thefts that began on Feb. 17 in Oklahoma, continued two days later at malls in Texas and wound through Louisiana Feb. 20. But officials allege the three are connected to similar instances that have occurred over the last 10 years, and have sold stolen property on eBay for a combined total of $4.2 million.

According to the complaint, loss prevention executives at Barnes and Noble, Inc. and Toys R Us, Inc. recently told Secret Service agents that their stores were experiencing a huge loss in merchandise, including American Girl dolls, Furby robotic toys, Lego blocks, baby monitors and baby carriers.

Teen Shoplifting: Minor Thrills, Major Punishment

Teenagers are fearless – they are more likely than any age group to drink and drive, try drugs, make radical changes to their style, or commit to something as permanent as a tattoo in a heartbeat. In their quest for adventure and adrenaline, they seem to stop at nothing. But recent studies indicate they are in no way less capable than adults to make rational decisions and acknowledge danger. So why are they behaving in such a reckless and irrational way?

A growing body of research suggests that teens are more sensitive to rewarding feedback than grownups, and that their brains can actually feel more pleasure from social acceptance than adult brains. As a result of peer pressure, teens may appear more confident in social interactions or feel motivated to study harder. At the same time, their peers can influence them to commit violent and even criminal acts, among which the most pressing is shoplifting.

When someone is caught stealing from a retailer, the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention (NASP) is called in to handle court-mandated educational programs for the guilty party. Since the beginning of the housing market crash and the recession, the need for NASP programs has increased by 37%. In response to social anxiety and peer pressure, teens are swiping items from stores at alarming rates, and they’re not looking back.

Virginia’s Quik-E Foods Cuts Losses with March Networks Retail Video Surveillance Solution

March Networks^®, a global provider of intelligent IP video solutions, today announced that customer Quik-E Foods of Lynchburg, Virginia is upgrading to its next-generation retail solution for enhanced security and loss prevention. The March Networks solution integrates high-quality video, audio and transaction data to combat point-of-sale (POS) fraud and other threats to the business. The powerful solution has already helped Quik-E Foods improve operations and resolve serious incidents across its chain of 12 convenience stores and five automated car washes.

“We caught a cashier who was pausing transactions and then pocketing the money once customers left the store. The scam was adding up to more than $6,000 in losses,” explained Quik-E Foods Vice President Todd Burgess. “With the deep POS integration and search tools in our March Networks solution, those transactions showed up as voids, and we also had the video evidence to verify what was happening. There wasn’t a need to search for hours and hours. It was instant.”

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Employee Theft, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Training, retail security and monitoring, Shoplifting Prevention

The Two-Headed Monster: Employee Theft and Shoplifting

March 4, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

The big news is that in 2013 the rate of retail shrinkage continued to grow because of the continuing economic crisis.

Employee theft and shoplifting still take the largest bites out of a retailer’s profits out of all categories of shrink, combining for 66 percent of the total.

Comparing the two, employee theft and shoplifting, most people would expect shoplifting to lead the way. Statistics from the Global Retail Theft Barometer for the United States, shoplifting does win the theft race at 34 percent of the total to 32 percent for employee theft.

In frequency of instances, there are far more shoplifters than employee thieves, but the average amount stolen by employees is estimated to be 6 to 10 times the average amount taken by shoplifters.

The crime of employee theft should be easier than shoplifting for the retailer to control: After all, the employee is a known quantity (why would any business owner hire a thief?) and his/her actions are apt to be examined at any time by management or storeowners. Yet, employee theft continues.

If there are any recurrent themes in employee theft cases, they are these: The employee began stealing on a small scale and increased both frequency and amounts as he/she became bolder; and the employee is generally in a position some of degree of trust and is not audited or checked up on regularly.

No retailer should assume that he knows his employees well enough to say, “Sally Salesclerk will never steal from me. She’s my most trusted employee.” A statement like that will only lead to disappointment. The Retailers who make these types of statements are naïve to the retail environment. There is always a threat of both employee theft and shoplifting. What separates good leaders from bad, is awareness and action.

If you are not aware of how and why employees steal you will never see it unless it hits you in the face. The very nature of employee theft is behind the scenes. So unless you know what to look for such as specific employee behavior, actions and attitudes, you will have lost a lot of money and merchandise and it will be too late. We can provide you with training that is both easy and affordable. Arm yourself with these techniques and you will win the employee theft battle.

When it comes to Shoplifters the best attack is to make their life difficult enough that they go down the street to someone else who is not prepared. This is not that difficult to achieve. Shoplifters by their very nature require anonymity and brief privacy to do their “job”. Customer service will take care of much of this. However, as retailers we cannot provide enough customer coverage as we would like because of payroll limitations. And we cannot be everywhere at one time. Camera systems are passive and are not a threat to the shoplifter and they know it. That is where a Checkpoint System comes in. A Checkpoint System is working 24/7, no holidays, sick time, breaks…

Regardless of the shrink figures, no retailer should relax his standards. Continue to educate staff members on shoplifting prevention, install a Checkpoint System and have training and controls in place to eliminate the possibility of employee theft. Then react quickly when it is suspected. We can teach you how!

Take steps now to avoid having profits eaten by the Two-Headed Profit Monsters, employee theft and shoplifting, and reduce your shrinkage losses. Call us today at 1-770-426-0547 or email us at [email protected] and fix the problem once and for all.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: anti-thefts devices, Employee Theft, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Training, Loss Prevention Workshop, retail security and monitoring, Shoplifting Prevention

Anti-Shoplifting Devices

February 28, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Shoplifting affects everyone. Shoplifters affect the retail store or small business store they enter, the individual consumer and employee of the store. Increase in prices is something stores do to outset the revenue they are losing due to shoplifting. Stores around the world invest heavily in security systems, security personnel and anti-theft devices to deter shoplifters from entering their stores and costing them revenue losses that ultimately affect everyone.

How Anti-shoplifting Devices Work

Let’s imagine for the moment that you own a large department store, and you are having a big problem with shoplifting. (You’re not alone — retail stores lost $26 billion last year to shoplifting!) What are you going to do? You cannot let it continue, because every month your accounting system tells you that you are losing thousands of dollars to theft. It forces you to raise your prices, and that means you have to charge more than the store next door. That can make it very hard to compete, especially if the store next door is successfully discouraging shoplifting.

As a retailer focusing on the problem of what’s known in the industry as loss prevention, you basically have three methods at your disposal to slow the shoplifters down: (1) You can watch everyone in the store like a hawk and make sure they don’t steal anything. You can do that using security guards and/or video surveillance systems; (2) You can make things hard to remove from the store by bolting them down, attaching cables, putting things in display cases and behind the counter; (3) You can use a system that attaches special tags onto everything so that an alarm goes off whenever a shoplifter tries to walk out with an item. In this article, we’ll look at each of these options in more detail.

Virginia’s Quik-E Foods Cuts Losses with March Networks Retail Video Surveillance Solution

a global provider of intelligent IP video solutions, today announced that customer Quik-E Foods of Lynchburg, Virginia is upgrading to its next-generation retail solution for enhanced security and loss prevention. The March Networks solution integrates high-quality video, audio and transaction data to combat point-of-sale (POS) fraud and other threats to the business. The powerful solution has already helped Quik-E Foods improve operations and resolve serious incidents across its chain of 12 convenience stores and five automated car washes.
“We caught a cashier who was pausing transactions and then pocketing the money once customers left the store. The scam was adding up to more than $6,000 in losses,” explained Quik-E Foods Vice President Todd Burgess. “With the deep POS integration and search tools in our March Networks solution, those transactions showed up as voids, and we also had the video evidence to verify what was happening. There wasn’t a need to search for hours and hours. It was instant.”

Milestone Systems Expands Device Support with More than 3,000 Supported Devices

Milestone Systems, the open platform company in IP video management software (VMS), has released Device Pack 7.2 for partners and customers using Milestone XProtect® security solutions. Device Pack 7.2 has deep driver support for more than 3,000 devices, which means that Milestone has added more than 2,000 supported devices since 2011. This speedy development has only been possible due to Milestone’s dedicated efforts to drive the uptake of open platform technology in the physical security industry.

The Milestone Device Packs include optimized drivers that enable all the relevant capabilities of a camera or other hardware device to be managed fully by the XProtect software. Milestone works closely with the device manufacturers in the Manufacturer Alliance Program (MAP) to achieve the optimal interaction between their devices and the XProtect VMS . This ensures the highest quality for a video surveillance solution – very important for total system operability, efficiency and stability.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: anti-thefts devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, surveillance

Shoplifting Programs And Info.

February 27, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

For any retail store, shoplifting is a crime they have to protect themselves from and find solutions to prevent possible incidents from happening in their stores. Shoplifting has been rising in some cities and the laws that some communities want change concerning shoplifting prevention are not there yet. What are some precautions that as a retail store owner or manager you need to know to prevent shoplifting incidents? Please follow the links below to find more about this topic.

Shoplifting spike prompts new program

Crime is falling in most categories in Carthage, but one category is spiking, and that’s got Carthage law officers’ attention.

A big increase in the number of shoplifting cases in Carthage over the past two years prompted the Carthage Police Department to get creative and use some new tools to catch the thieves and alert business owners to who might be coming into their businesses with sticky fingers.

Carthage Police Chief Greg Dagnan said the numbers told the story.

The department investigated 44 cases of shoplifting in 2011, 99 in 2012 and 148 in 2013.

“It’s a huge climb and of course while I can’t list everywhere where shoplifting occurs, the most, if you look statistically, it’s the bigger retailers,” Dagnan said. “The Walmart, the Dollar General, the Price Cutter, the bigger retail places in town are typically where these are occurring.”

6 Simple, Low-Tech Ways to Reduce Shoplifting

It’s our instinct to turn to technology first, when solving a problem. However, when it comes to preventing theft in your store, low-tech solutions can be very effective. These low-cost and often free ideas can sometimes even require less employee training and resources.

Here are 6 low-tech ways to prevent theft in your store:

1. Put out the welcome mat. Shoplifters want to be anonymous and make as little contact with store employees as possible. One of the most effective ways to deter shoplifters is to greet every customer that walks into the store. “Don’t just shout “Good morning” over your shoulder, but make eye contact and greet customers like you are happy to see them,” says Chris McGoey, security expert and founder of Crime Doctor, a security firm. “Not only is it good customer service, a simple greeting can make potential shoplifters change their mind about stealing from your store because they know you can identify them.”

Common shoplifting techniques

Hiding the Merchandise

Favorite Shoplifter Devices

A large open bag is a common shoplifter tool. It is placed at the thief’s feet, and objects are casually dropped into it. Be on the lookout for the “bad bag” — a paper bag that is dirty and wrinkled. Also keep an eye out for shopping bags that are not from local stores. Preventing this is why many stores staple bags shut. Other stores require customers to leave their bags by the front door when they come in.

Women sometimes use purses to hide stolen items. There is little you can do to stop women from carrying purses and handbags. The best prevention in these cases is to watch the customers very carefully.

The baby carriage or stroller is a great tool for shoplifters. There are always blankets, toys, and other things in strollers (including the baby) that merchandise can be hidden under. Some thieves have even built false bottoms in baby carriages.

A newspaper can be used to hide small objects.

Umbrellas with handles are handy for shoplifters trying to steal small items. A common tactic is to keep a closed (but not snapped) umbrella hanging on one’s elbow or leaning against a counter, and then to drop items into it.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Employee Theft, Loss Prevention Seminar, retail security and monitoring, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, surveillance

Employee Theft

February 23, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

Employee theft is considered and perceived as one of the biggest crimes affecting the retail industry today. Billions of dollars a year are lost due to employee theft and shoplifting crime. Many retail stores seeking to prevent losses employ security devices to counteract this ever present issue hopping to increase their revenues and decrease their losses. For a retail owner, preventing shoplifting loss is of the utmost importance. Shoplifting is a crime that continues to increase yearly, and owners need the most current technology in the market to counteract this devastating crime. What are some of the anti-theft devices your business should be using? From Jewel Lok’s, Shark Tags, Spider Wraps, Nano Gates and clothing alarms to video surveillance, these are some of the devices businesses would benefit from to decrease their losses. Visit Our Web store at www.RetailLossPreventionStore.com for more information.

7 Ways Your Employees Are Stealing From You

You don’t know it, but one of your employees may be stealing from you. But why would anyone want to steal from you? Don’t people think you’re a nice person?

Not him. He doesn’t show it, but he thinks you’re kind of a jerk. He thinks you’re too demanding and that you don’t treat him with the respect that he deserves. He thinks he’s underpaid and overworked. He thinks you’re clearly making the big bucks, driving around in that new, expensive car and mysteriously disappearing for “business meetings.” He’s got a family and expenses to consider too.

Yeah, he thinks he has every right to steal from you. And you will probably not even notice. He’s got some tricks up his sleeve to put a few extra bucks in his pocket.

He may collude with a fellow employee. If he’s frustrated, then maybe someone else is too. He’s going to try and find someone a little higher up on the food chain, someone who has authority to approve expenses. They’ll create a fake supplier — a little shell company equally owned by both of them. Then they’ll fabricate a few invoices and write checks to that company and split the money — your money.

6 Tips to Reduce Employee Theft

Storeowners don’t want to think their employees will steal from their store. But every day merchants discover that their trusted staff members have done exactly that. According to a retail theft survey conducted by Jack L. Hayes International, a loss prevention consulting firm, one out of every 40 employees was apprehended for theft by their employer in 2012. The survey also found that on average, employees steal 5.5 times more than shoplifters on a per-case average ($715.24 vs $129.12).

Thankfully, there are ways to surround yourself with staff you can trust. Here are six tips from our experts:

1. Weed out bad apples. Run a background screening and a drug test on all potential hires. Employees with drug addictions are at higher risk for stealing to support their habit. “I believe that past behavior is a good predictor of future behavior,” says King Rogers, chief executive officer of the King Rogers Group, a loss prevention and security management consulting company. “If someone has been convicted of theft in the past, then you don’t want them handling your money.”

Use the buddy system. Often theft happens when one employee is alone in the store or at the register. Doyle recommends having two employees work for both opening and closing to limit opportunity. Always have refunds and voids witnessed by a second employee or a manager as well, says Mark Doyle, president of Jack L. Hayes International. Rotate the employees paired together and avoid having close friends witness transactions for each other.

5 Technologies to Help Reduce Employee Theft

According to an investigation by CBS news, most companies lose about five percent of their revenue to an inside job: Employee theft. The Department of Justice asserts that 33 percent of employees commit some type of fraud and–not surprisingly–about 33 percent of all companies that file for bankruptcy are directly put into that position by employee theft. However, the US Chamber of Commerce cites an even scarier statistic: 75 percent of employees will steal from their company at some point, and many do it repeatedly.

Employee theft can range from seriously toying with accounts to taking home a stapler from the office, but it all adds up. The first thing to do in order to prevent employee theft is to simply expect it. Employers should also be firm, and institute a zero-tolerance policy for theft. Theft will happen inevitably, but here are 5 technologies to reduce the occurrence of it.

1. Remote Monitoring

Remote monitoring involves placing cameras throughout a work environment, which is especially useful for businesses with lots of inventory, such as retail stores. Whether or not the employees know about the monitoring is up to the discretion of the employer. However, letting employees know they’re being monitored can help sidestep any potential “privacy violation” finger-pointing down the road.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Employee Theft, Loss Prevention Training, Loss Prevention Workshop, retail security and monitoring, Shoplifting Prevention, surveillance

What Are Thieves Looking To Steal In Your Business?

February 21, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

According to studies done by the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, Shoplifting is a relative common behavior. People with a history of shoplifting can be associated with a psychological disorder, and men in particular can experience an anxiety episode before committing the crime. Some of the thefts are done unpremeditated and although there are many reasons for these individual thefts, we cannot compare thefts done by organized crime. What are the things that individuals and organized crime leaders fancy when entering your business? Follow the links below to read more about this topic.

The 10 Weirdest Things Thieves Steal

1. Laundry detergent

Procter & Gamble and Arm & Hammer are not the only ones to discover the value in laundry detergent. Thieves have too. This relatively expensive everyday household product is found in nearly every home, which can partly explain its appeal as a stolen good. Consistent demand makes a product much easier to sell. In particular, Tide — a recognized, easy to spot brand — is traded on a regular basis for drugs, other illicit items, and sometimes right back to stores looking for better profit margins. Additionally, the lack of serial numbers on the packaging makes detergents very difficult to track.

2. Allergy medicine

Among organized retail crime gangs allergy medicines in particular have become quite popular, according to a 2013 crime survey conducted by the NRF. Part of the value of allergy medications may be the consistently high demand for the product, as many people suffer from allergies. According to Rich Muller at the NRF, however, people are often more willing to suffer through allergy symptoms than buy antihistamines. As a result, a cheaper, boosted product has more success among consumers. While recreational use of antihistamines could be another explanation, stolen allergy medicines are re-sold primarily for intended use.

5 weirdly tempting targets for thieves (and investors)

High prices for some basic commodities have thieves stealing a lot of stuff that might not seem worth the trouble, such as cattle and manhole covers. So lock up your Nutella, and remember that hot products can make for good investments.

Some of the hottest items are commodities

Smartphones, jewelry and cash are among the things we expect thieves to target. So we take precautions and lock them up.

Fewer people, though, are as careful with laundry detergent and steaks. But a lot of everyday, ordinary items have become hot commodities with thieves.

Some items on this list may seem like unusual targets because their value is not readily apparent. For example, thieves love to steal catalytic converters from cars because they contain rare metals, including platinum. Frank Scafidi of the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) also gives the example of manhole covers, which municipalities have been known to leave lying around in the street. Yet the number of thefts of manhole covers has risen considerably in recent years, as has the theft of copper pipe from homes, because of the rising price of the metals they contain.

Rising Tide Thefts Leave Colo. Retailers Airing Dirty Laundry

Retailers in Colorado are cracking down on Tide laundry detergent thefts by locking up the product and hiring undercover security guards to patrol their aisles.

The Colorado Retail Council hopes that such measures will help protect retailers from people who are shoplifting laundry detergent at an alarming rate.

“It’s a very large problem that we have to spend a lot on and, unfortunately, that cost gets passed on to the costumer,” Chris Howes, president of the Colorado Retail Council, said.

Police in Colorado are searching for a man they believe has stolen more than $8,000 worth of Tide laundry detergent in the Ft. Lupton area in Weld County. Police said the male suspect has been caught on surveillance video knocking off six different stores, taking Tide and expensive face lotions.

Tide is one of the most recognized laundry detergents with its bright-orange container. With a retail price from $10 to $20, Tide has become liquid gold on the streets. It can sell on the black market for half the price and it’s impossible to track.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Employee Theft, Loss Prevention Seminar, retail security and monitoring, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention

Shoplifting Control Through Web And Mobile Technologies.

February 7, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

For some consumers, it is a bit hard to understand the shoplifting issues facing the retail industry today. It is a surprising and scary fact that the retail industry losses approximately $13 billion dollars in stolen goods yearly, and the uncollected taxes along with them. Retailers across the nation invest in theft-prevention technology to help them deterred the shoplifter without involving the authorities. Some of the technology involved includes smart tagging, source tagging and entry sensors. For more about the impact of web and mobile technologies on shoplifting prevention, click on the links below.

The Impact of Evolving Web and Mobile Technologies on Retail Fraud Control

As the separate tracks of online and mobile technology continue to evolve and converge, the challenges and the opportunities facing fraud control professionals are maturing at a similar rate.

The main shortcoming of traditional search engines is that they are almost totally dependent on hyperlinks and keywords to identify what data is available online. However, less than 10 per cent of the open-source data stored on the Internet is accessible in this manner and only about 27 per cent of that is in English.The phrase “Deep Web” refers to that part of the Internet that is not indexed by traditional search engines. Estimates vary, but it is commonly thought that the data held in Deep Web repositories is 500 times greater than that normally searched by conventional means.New technologies, or the application of existing technologies in new ways, can bring both risks and rewards. Fraud control teams and investigators need to come to terms with an emerging new world order in which, not only consumers, but also autonomous devices, are responsible for some transactions, and where threats from other sectors such as banking and the unregulated payments space are increasingly relevant to anyone engaged in e-commerce.

5 Ways Businesses Can Prevent Retail Theft

Retailers in the U.S. lose nearly $US45 billion annually as a result of theft. That’s a lot of money walking out the door.

“Retailers have a challenge,” says Steve Sell, director of marketing for North American retail at Tyco Integrated Security. “They can put everything out on the sidewalk and everything is going to be stolen, or they can lock everything up and nothing will get bought. No matter how quickly loss-prevention technologies evolve, the criminals will evolve just as quickly. There will always be a need to increase visibility and manage theft.”

The solution is to make it harder and riskier to steal things, according to Dr. Hayes, director of the Loss Prevention Research Council.

“Retailers spend so much money on technology that is hidden,” says Dr. Hayes. “That doesn’t work.” Thieves need to understand the danger, which means having technology in plain sight. Difficult-to-open packaging can act as a deterrent, as can eye-level cameras. Hayes also advocates “benefit denial” — making products useless unless they are purchased legitimately.

Beeping baskets new retail tool

Supermarkets are electronically tagging baskets after thousands started disappearing out the door.

Pak ‘n Save Petone has used the electronic tags since late last year, and is believed to be one of a number of supermarkets who are tracking their baskets.

Several Countdown supermarkets are also keeping a closer electronic eye on their baskets.

Pak ‘n Save Petone owner Leo O’Sullivan said the store had lost about 2000 baskets in 15 years but, since the tags were introduced, not one had gone missing.

He did not know why anyone would want a supermarket basket, but suspected many were taken absent-mindedly, rather than maliciously, and never returned.

“There must be a graveyard of baskets somewhere in Petone.”

Filed Under: Security News Tagged With: Employee Theft, Loss Prevention Training, mobile POS loss prevention, retail security and monitoring, Shoplifting Prevention

Shoplifting In America- The Silent Crime Nobody Wants To Talk About

February 5, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

According to the National Association for shoplifting prevention, shoplifting has become one of the most prevalent crimes in the U.S. Averaging 550,000 incidents and 35 million in losses daily. The silent crime that affects people in all walks of life. Shoplifting not only affects the business and people involved, but as a nation we loose million of dollars in uncollected taxes hurting the local and national economy. According to the Association for Shoplifting prevention, 1 in 11 Americans shoplift today, and even with all the security measures and technology retailers invest in, shoplifters are only caught once for every 49 times they steal. For more news about this topic, read more by following the links below.

Shoplifting Cop Charged on Two Counts of Retail Theft

On Wednesday Jan. 8, a New Jersey cop was caught shoplifting over $200.00 worth of gun accessories at a Cabela’s sporting goods store in Pittsburgh, Penn.

According to the Associated Press, State Trooper William Carvounis, 35, was arrested after paying for a few of the items, but attempting to steal the remaining merchandise in his pockets.

A Tilden officer reported the crime after discovering that the trooper had a concealed pistol magazine and handgun grips in his possession.

According to Chief William McEllroy of Pennsylvania, at the time of questioning Carvounis implied special treatment from the police officers, which was “more or less one cop asking another cop for a break multiple times.”

The Shoplifting Problem In The Nation

Shoplifting is our nation’s “silent crime”. Parents don’t want to believe it, schools don’t address it, retailers don’t want to talk about it, police don’t want to respond to it, courts don’t want to deal with it and the people who do the shoplifting either rationalize it as “no big deal” or are too ashamed or too afraid to admit it.

As a result, shoplifting has become one of the most prevalent crimes in the U.S., averaging about 550,000 incidents per day resulting in more than $13 billion worth of goods being stolen from retailers each year. That is more than $35 million in losses per day. Current estimates are as high as 1 in 11 Americans who shoplift in our nation today.

Even with all the advances in security measures, shoplifters are only caught once in 49 times they steal and when caught, turned over to the police only 50% of the time.

3 Arrested After Home Depot Shoplifting Turns Into Assault

Three men were arrested after shoplifting from Home Depot, which turned into an assault.

According to police, the suspects filled up a shopping cart with power tools worth more than $1,000 and attempted to walk out the door. When employees tried to stop them, one of them displayed a Taser and threatened them with it.

The suspects fled in a white Crown Victoria. Officers spotted the car on Rt. 50 near Rt. 424. Officers pulled the car over and confirmed that they matched the description of the suspects.

Officers charged Tyrone Freeman and Ruston Hopson with first- and second-degree assault and theft over $1,000. The third occupant wasn’t charged with anything related to this incident but was arrested on outstanding warrants for trespassing.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Employee Theft, Loss Prevention Training, retail security and monitoring, Shoplifting Prevention, surveillance

Technology Solutions For Your Business

January 30, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Staying abreast of the latest technology your business can utilize to enrich the customer experience, as well as your employees is vitally important to the profitability of your business. Nowadays consumers look for a more personalized experience when doing business with your company, having the technology available to do so, can offered them the customer experience they are looking for while providing your business with better security intelligence. Read more about the new technology solutions you can integrate in your place of business.

Verint Supports the Retail Value Chain

Building on Verint’s vision of delivering solutions that drive the utmost consumer experiences, Verint supports the entire retail value chain – from bringing enriched technology experiences to engage with customers, to delivering products and solutions that enable retail businesses of all types to deliver improved experiences for customers, vendors and employees.

With the Verint portfolio, retailers are able to bring scalable and integrated solutions into their businesses that boost enterprise and security intelligence including:

· Voice of the Customer Analytics
Verint’s Impact 360® i s a comprehensive voice of the customer analytics (such as speech analytics, text analytics, and enterprise feedback management) application used to gain a better understanding of the shopper experience, workforce performance and the factors underlying business trends. Voice of the customer analytics solutions help analyze and categorize customer interactions automatically through voice, email, web chat, customer surveys and social media in order to detect patterns and trends that can significantly impact the business. These solutions provide a new level of insight into important areas such as customer behavior, sentiment, satisfaction and loyalty, as well as staff effectiveness, including the underlying causes of business trends in these critical areas.

Ninth Annual Report from the Retail Equation Sheds Light on Growth in Return Fraud

NINTH ANNUAL REPORT FROM THE RETAIL EQUATION SHEDS LIGHT ON GROWTH IN RETURN FRAUD; IMPACT ON SALES, JOBS AND SHRINK

Study Shows Merchandise Returns Account for Nearly $270 Billion in Lost Sales; Ranking it Third on the Fortune 500 if it were a Company.

The Retail Equation, the industry leader in retail transaction optimization solutions, today released its 2013 Consumer Returns in the Retail Industry report, which analyzes results from the National Retail Federation’s annual survey on merchandise returns and the 2012 Canadian Retail Security Survey from The Retail Council of Canada (RCC) to provide insights for North American retailers to minimize the effect of return fraud and abuse on their business.

According to the NRF, merchandise returns in 2013 cost U.S. retailers more than $267 billion in lost sales. In fact, as a company, this would rank third on the Fortune 500 and higher than household names such as Chevron, General Motors and General Electric. Retail fraud and abuse accounted for $9.1 billion to $16.3 billion in the United States, an increase of 2.6 percent from last year.

“In the competitive world of retail, it is critical to understand how returns and return fraud reduce net sales and contribute to shrink – clear causes of lost profits,” said Mark Hammond, chairman and CEO of The Retail Equation. “The results within this report offer the industry’s best look at merchandise return policies and procedures, as well as potential fraud and abuse. This information can be used by loss prevention professionals to compare and contrast their own program results to those reported here, with an eye toward reducing losses.”

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Employee Theft, Loss Prevention Seminar, mobile POS loss prevention, retail security and monitoring, surveillance