Out Of Your League

A Professional Shoplifter is the hardest category of thief to thwart. The professional shoplifter is well equipped and has the ability to create a devastating financial loss in a single incident of theft. After evaluating how the professional works, some solutions will be provided.

The professional shoplifter is one that is seen as looking to steal specifically to make a profit off of their heist. These are the criminals that do this for a living. It is a full time job for them, so don’t even think you can wait them out to make them go away. Professionals are often well connected. They are frequently part of a larger organized crime ring. That means that the person inside your store is simply an employee of a larger organization of criminals.

These thieves can be addicts or homeless people paid to do the dirty work of stealing. It can also be people who have been doing this for years and have no fear of getting caught. Either way, each theft is big, quick, and the merchandise is selected ahead of time since they know how or where they will sell it later.

Professionals typically commit, grab and run. It is a simple but effective scheme. The shoplifter loads up bags or carts of merchandise. They linger by exit doors and wait till the coast is clear. Then they run out the door, into a getaway car that is waiting for them.

Professionals will also use tools like foil lined bags to thwart EAS devices and prevent the alarms from registering. They might use other boosters such as secret linings inside a coat or other clothing to hide large quantities of merchandise.

Beyond the industry standard of EAS tags and labels there are a few other ways to reduce your losses if you have a group of professional thieves targeting you. One way is to determine if there is a pattern to which items you are loosing. If every time you get a shipment of toothpaste in, you loose the entire shelf’s worth, the obvious solution is to limit the quantity of toothpaste you put on the shelf at any time. It sends a message that you are aware of the theft and are working out plans to mitigate them.

The next way to stop professionals is through constant vigilance. Talk to neighboring retailers and local law enforcement to develop a community network. Share ideas and insight to bring an end to the theft. In the mean time find ways to identify your product. You can use EAS labels that have your store’s name and contact information on them. You can even take a marker and write your store number or another indicator next to the bar code. Even something as simple as an “X” will push the thieves down the road to unidentifiable merchandise.

Call us today at 1-770-426-0547 if you would like help fixing your loss Prevention problems.

Sell More, Lose Less!