anti-thefts devices

HARDENING YOUR PERIMETER – PREVENTING A BURGLARY

April 28, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

My grandparents owned a small hardware store back in the late 1950s. Back then, when my grandpa left at 5pm, he simply locked the back door, gathered his belongings and left, locking the double glass front door behind him with nothing more than a standard lock that you’d find on any home at the time. The front of the store was nothing but glass. He had cash and at least $100k worth of merchandise on the shelves. Wouldn’t it be nice if things could go back to the way they were back then? Could you imagine if you left your store this soft nowadays? Burglaries happen, and they happen often. Over the past ten years as a Regional LP manager for my company, I’ve had it happen a total of 12 times. About once a year, or so, someone, somewhere across my region, breaks into one of my stores; or at least tries to do so. We have a lot of things that we implement to prevent this from happening, so when someone is able to breach our perimeter, it’s usually caused by human error.

Hiding in a rack

Out of the 12, six never actually tried to “break in”. They simply just stayed in the store. Closing manager task #1 is to WALK THE SALES FLOOR thoroughly before dismissing the team. Always check the hiding spots, restrooms and fitting room stalls, in addition the warehouse areas. What always struck me about these cases, is the suspect has literally nowhere to go. He’s locked into the store; and during every single case, the suspect was a trapped mouse. This of course, is due to the fire exit bars that are installed and locked once the building is no longer occupied. Most criminals think they can just grab what they want and push out of a fire exit…

Smash and grab

I’ve had two of these during my tenure. Suspect drives a vehicle through the front entrance. It never really works out in the long run though. Of these two, one made it in, but the truck was so heavily damaged, it wouldn’t move. The other didn’t get past the cement bollards in the front. I highly recommend the installation of bollards if you don’t have them. Smash and grabs are a more and more common way to burglarize small businesses. Bollards are a way to quite literally, fight back.

Walk right in

My personal 3 favorite burglaries of all times; which also led to the terminations of three separate managers. I know that closing a store has its own set of challenges and there are plenty of things that need to get done before you go home… setting the alarm and locking the door shouldn’t be the two things that you forget though. Either one, or both has happened and they have usually resulted from a scattered brained manager getting very distracted, or not doing something right on the alarm panel. One just got distracted with a personal phone call that he left the store so quickly that the front doors weren’t locked. There are criminals that check these things often. We see thieves check car door handles to see if the car is locked; well there are some that do the same to businesses.

Rappel down

If you have a skylight(s) it is important to make sure access to your roof is restricted at all times. If not, someone can get up there and steal the copper out of your AC units, or go special forces and rappel down into your store; two very funny stories that you’ll have to read in the next article.

While burglaries are a more common problem that we might think, there are several measures that you can implement to make your store less of a target for these crooks. Whether it’s installing an alarm panel, putting in a roll-down shutter down, or making sure the roof ladder isn’t left accessible and your front doors are actually locked at night. Following some pretty basic steps and using some good old fashioned common sense can help you to avoid the headache and lost money that comes from a burglary.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, employee background checks, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting systems, internal Audit, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Seminars, Shoplifting Prevention, surveillance

Is Your Loss Prevention Team Ready?

April 20, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Employee theft, shoplifting, and administrative mistakes are the three major sources of retail shrinkage in the United States. Shoplifting according to the National Association for Shoplifting prevention, is done by millions of people and is costing the country billions of dollar’s worth of merchandise that is being stolen. The millions of dollars spent by these retail stores to prevent shoplifting, is minor considering the billions of dollars lost by employee theft and shoplifting. Among other preventive measures your retail store is taking, is a well trained prevention team included? For more about this topic, follow the links below.

Bar the Door

Anti-theft glass makes storefronts less vulnerable to break-ins

With all the talk about the very real need to protect the security of customer information and an enterprise’s data, it can be easy to forget the reality of in-person threats to a retail establishment. Theft and other forms of shrinkage are no small matter — in 2014, retailers reported average shrinkage of 1.4 percent, according to the most recent National Retail Federation/University of Florida National Retail Security Survey. That equates to $44 billion.

Shoplifting and organized retail crime represented 38 percent of inventory shrinkage for the 100 retailers that participated in the survey; in 2014 the average dollar loss was $318 per shoplifting incident. Criminals gain access in any number of ways; some brazenly walk in during operating hours while others break in while the store is closed.

A gas station/convenience store owner in Daytona Beach, Fla., experienced a number of storefront break-ins that involved criminals smashing the glass of the front door.

How to implement smarter employee theft detection

No retail business wants to believe that they might be subject to theft from their own employees. Unfortunately, it is a very real problem. It might be stealing items on their person, or exploiting employee discount privileges to significantly reduce the price – either way, employee theft can account for as much as 28 per cent of unexplained inventory loss globally, according to the recent Global Theft Barometer Report.

In order to prevent it, it is first important for employers to be aware why employees might feel the temptation to steal – from financial pressures in their personal lives, to general disgruntlement with their employers. But irrespective of the emotional reason that causes employees to consider stealing, it all boils down to something very simple: they think they can get away with it.

Deterring employee theft

A deterrence, of course, breaks the urge to do so. Whilst establishing predetermined consequences of theft will of course work to an extent, implementing a sophisticated detection system is arguably the most effective deterrent. Prevention is the best form of protection when it comes to retail shrinkage.

Coaching Lessons for Managing Your Loss Prevention Team

Loss prevention managers should know that the strength and quality of their teams can be directly proportional to the results achieved by team efforts.

Some of the most rewarding experiences in my work life have involved building teams. It has always been my opinion that the strength and quality of your team is directly proportional to the results.

With responsibility for loss prevention, new store development, and service operations, my primary function at work is leading teams of individuals to success. After 20+ years of retail experience, I thought I understood loss prevention team leadership. But in raising and coaching my son, I learned some things that have changed the way I view my teams at work.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, Background checks, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, loss prevention, Loss Prevention Seminar, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, surveillance

Ideas to Decrease Employee Theft

April 18, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Employee theft continues to rise. In some retail settings it’s surpassed customer theft. There are a variety of reasons for the increase. One of them is that many managers have a hard time believing that “My people would do such a thing”. And because they have a hard time believing it they don’t take steps to combat it.

Here are some of the things they say: “It’s not in my personality to believe the worst of people.” “I try to promote a family atmosphere.” “I don’t want to offend the honest employees by punishing everybody for the few bad apples”. “I don’t want to be a security guard.” “I want my store to be a place where people like to come to work.”

But, whether you want to believe it or not, chances are your staff has, is and will steal from the store. So, what do you do? How do you balance stopping the thieves, while not alienating the honest people? Conscientious managers struggle with these questions. Here are a few answers.

Do surprise register checks – Random cash drawer reconciliations let everyone know you’re paying attention, while not singling anyone out. It’s business, not personal.

Highlight inventory control – Have all staff members take turns helping you spot check inventory records with actual product. Let them know you take missing items and incomplete records seriously. Employee theft thrives on a manager’s inattention to detail.

Check the tapes – Tell and show your employees that you check the tapes. Are the z-tape’s numbers sequential? If not, why not and who’s responsible? What are the average “no-sale” numbers (x-tapes)? Do they go up on a certain shift or day? If so, why and who was working? Asking for explanations is not the same as making accusations.

Promote anonymous tips – We all have ideas about “narcing, snitching and tattling,” many of them negative. But, it’s one of the most effective ways to stop workplace fraud. It gives people the chance to step forward without fear of retaliation.

However, a tip is not a fact and shouldn’t be seen as one. It’s a starting place for you to carefully look into the accusation. A tip can’t be used to get back at someone or unfairly accuse them if you are thoughtful and cautious about pursuing it.

There isn’t a way to completely stop employee theft. But, if you make it difficult most won’t try it and others will get caught quickly, which increases staff morale. Honest, hard working people don’t want to work in a store where management turns a blind or incompetent eye on dishonesty. They want a store that’s fair, openhanded and safe for everyone.

Nicole Abbott is a professional writer who’s had over 150 articles published. She’s a business consultant and former psycho-therapist with over 20 years of experience in mental health, business and addiction. She’s a coach, lecturer, trainer and facilitator. She has conducted over 200 workshops, trainings, presentations, seminars and college classes.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, anti-thefts devices, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Training, Periodic inventory, racial profiling, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, security, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

Preventing Shoplifting In Your Business

April 13, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Many people steal because they need the rush of the theft. Some steal because they have a mental illness, and many others steal out of necessity. The reasons of why they steal are many and varied, but the fact is that retailers big and small and consumers like you and I have to pay for the theft. Retailers make you pay a bigger price for the things you buy to counteract the money they are loosing with the shoplifting. The fact is that as a society, everybody looses. What kind of protection can you have as a store owner to prevent shoplifting in your store? Are all systems equally effective? If you have questions about loss prevention systems and what are the best ones for your business, contact us and we will be happy to talk to you.

To read more about this topics, follow the links below.

Kids used as distraction for stealing

By Victoria White

Shoplifting continues to be problematic for retailers with some people even using their children to get away with stealing goods.

Retailers said a group of adults and children went into optometrist stores in the Napier CBD last week, with adults taking items while the children were used to distract staff.

The stores realised the connection when stolen goods from one store were left at the next one hit.

At Specsavers Optometrists the group got away with three pairs of glasses.

Co-owner Mark Blades said there had been “a bit of theft of late”.

“It happens all day everyday,” he said, “it’s nothing new to me, I’ve been in retail for a long time.

“It’s unfortunate but it happens in all societies.”

Another retailer, who did not want the name of her store reported, said the group had taken $500 worth of goods from her shop.

“It was a gang of four adults and four children,” she said. “They used distracting tactics … the four kids were running around the shop and the adults were taking things, one was trying to get behind the counter.

“It was four adults using their young kids as part of the crime which is really sad.”

Staff were able to get the group’s car registration number, and identify the people for police.

ECSO starts neighborhood watch for businesses

Having alarms, locks and security grates are a good way to protect a business, but there are other ways to increase security.

One of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office’s suggestions is involving friends and neighbors.

The ECSO has launched a free crime-prevention program for local entrepreneurs called the Business Watch. The concept is simple. It’s like a neighborhood watch, only for businesses.

Lynnea McCray of the Sheriff’s Office’s Community Services Unit said that the goal of the program is to facilitate better communication between businesses and the Sheriff’s Office, as well as share information that can help prevent and solve crimes.

“A lot of times in a neighborhood, you don’t know your neighbor but you should,” McCray should. “It’s the same with businesses. They should definitely look out for each other.”

Through the program, the Sheriff’s Office plans to create contact lists of businesses based on types and regions. So if a store owner notices someone passing counterfeit bills or shoplifting, they can quickly send out an email the Sheriff’s Office will use to notify investigators and the employers’ peers.

Police ID Walmart worker killed by shoplifting suspect; gunman on the loose

Authorities have identified the Walmart worker who they say was shot and killed by a suspected shoplifter outside of Atlanta.

Lilburn police Capt. Thomas Bardugon tells news outlets that 25-year-old Jaseramie Dion “JD” Ferguson was shot Sunday night when he and another guard approached a man who was attempting to steal three televisions from the Lilburn store.

Police released a photo of the suspect from surveillance video. They say the man fled in a red or dark red four-door sedan, leaving the TVs behind.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Ferguson was a married father of three and had worked at the store seven months when he was shot.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is assisting in the probe.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Training, POS ROI, Prevent Shoplifting, racial profiling, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, security, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

Are You Confused ?

April 12, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Are you confused about how to stop shoplifters? Many Retailers are. Often I hear something like “I have a CCTV camera system to stop shoplifters”. The reality is that shoplifters couldn’t care less. Cameras are a very tiny deterrent to a shoplifter. They know you do not have the time or payroll dollars to actively watch. And it is easy enough to create a diversion or simply take your merchandise and move to another location in your store that does not have camera coverage.

Keep in mind that Loss Prevention Systems also sells and installs cameras. So I have quite a bit of experience with this subject. Cameras are great tools but they have their limits. They are great for employee theft prevention and investigation, robbery prevention, burglary prevention and so on. But cameras are NOT proactive (passive)in the case of shoplifting. The shoplifter will be long gone by the time you figure out what is going on if at all.

However, a Checkpoint EAS system is PROACTIVE. It is working 24/7 even when you or your staff are not paying attention. Checkpoint Systems labels and hard tags are applied to your merchandise and if the thief tries to steal you products the Checkpoint System at the doors goes into alarm. We can even send an instant message to your cell phone or other mobile device at that time.

A Checkpoint System never takes a day off, is never sick, doesn’t want a pay raise, and doesn’t want a $15/hour minimum wage. Don’t you wish your staffing was that simple?

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, Loss Prevention Workshop, Periodic inventory, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security and monitoring, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

NON-TRADITIONAL USES FOR EAS DEVICES

April 12, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

EAS is great isn’t it? For the most part, if someone is stealing product “X,” you slap on a quick tag or label and you see a pretty substantial reduction in shrink (for the most part.… Live in the real world). As my LP career has progressed over the years, I’ve seen EAS change drastically. I’ve also seen what retailers apply EAS tags to change as well. Often times, I scratch my head in disbelief at the ideas that come out sometimes and others, I pull my hair out because we could have been more proactive with tag placement. I’ve also seen some fantastic ideas from my store teams on some not so standard tagging procedures.

I had a store a few years ago that were consistently losing their register keys. We later learned that an employee was stealing them and was coming into the store during busy times and just helping themselves to cash in the unattended registers. It took a few months and over $7,500 to put the pieces together before we had an idea of what was happening. That’s a very expensive lesson to learn; especially when there is quite literally, a $0.5 solution.

All of our register keys have a small hole in the top, so they can be hooked to a lanyard for the cashier supervisor to carry around. After our theft incident, we used a pencil tag through that hole to make it less appealing to try and steal the key. Granted, the thief could take it to the service desk and remove the EAS device, but that requires a few more steps that most are not willing to take. As a matter of fact, since taking this one proactive measure, we’ve never had to replace a “lost” register key. For us, it seems to be a great way to maintain a solid key control procedure.

After using some EAS tags on these keys, it really got me thinking about what else is a potential risk in our stores that we don’t secure, but should. The list is virtually endless if you think about it. The next big item that we began securing with EAS hard tags was our handheld units (Symbols/Telxons). A few of our stores fell victim to an eBay thief a few years back, in part due to the ease of removing them from ours store. Since running an Alpha tag with a lanyard through them, we hadn’t lost a single one to theft.

We also have a lot of in-store use only type items (think step-ladders, folding carts, dollies…). As part of our risk mitigation efforts, we utilize EAS tags on all of these items. While they often have to be used outside of the store; the idea that when they do go out, our greeter becomes aware that they are going outside and can better keep track of our in store equipment. You wouldn’t believe how many times someone has stolen a hand truck, or pallet jack from me…

The bottom line is that EAS can be used to protect much more than just your inventory. There are dozens of items inside your four walls that cost you money that dishonest people would just love to take. Why go out and spend any more money that you have to in order to protect your supplies when the answer is already in your store? I’m all about leveraging available resources to accomplish your goals and this is just another item in a skilled LP manager’s tool belt.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, Background checks, EAS Devices, employee background checks, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Seminar, security, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

WHEN YOU THINK THEY CAN’T GET ANY DUMBER

April 12, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Everyone I know loves a good “dumb criminal” story. In fact, I can’t go a day without someone (store managers, district managers, executives, family…) asking me to tell a crazy shoplifting story. I have a top 10 list that I usually gravitate towards, but after yesterday, I may have to change it to a top 11.

It was about 7pm and I was finally leaving my office (my office in a store). In order to get to the front door, I have to walk right down the middle of the highest theft area of the store; footwear. Most days, I put my blinders on and try to bee-line to the door, but on this day… well she just caught my eye. No, it wasn’t the girl of my dreams…

As I’m walking down the main walkway, out of the corner of my eye I catch a glimpse of this woman placing a pair of shoes in her purse. Let me build you a mental picture for just a moment. This was a large woman; think Oprah Winfrey in The Color Purple big. And tall. She had to be pushing 6ft3in. She was wearing a dark green pajama dress, with slippers and curlers in her hair. I did not want to confront her; I was, in fact, a little scared. ☺

I radio for one of the store’s agents, but as luck would have it, they’ve left early for the day. It’s just me and the jolly green giant. I had a decision to make; I could go through and make the apprehension, or try and recover the product that she had concealed. To heck with it, let’s have a little fun. So I continued observation and watched as she methodically placed about a dozen or so pairs of shoes in her purse. She then began her slow walk towards the front of the store. Not having an agent in the store, I grabbed one of the managers, who just happened to be former LP. I knew she wouldn’t mind getting in on the action.

As Ms. Banner made her exit, I (scared that she may break me in half) approached her and identified myself as LP. The reaction was just as I thought it would be. She proceeds to a verbal assault that would make reading me the riot act look like poetry. At the very least, I want to recover my merchandise (and hopefully keep my bones in one piece). I reach towards the basket and grab the purse with my product inside. She, quicker that I thought she could move, races around the shopping cart and tries to remove it from my hands. After all, it is her purse… who cares if it contains MY merchandise?

Before she could get it from me, I quarterback hiked it to the manager, who didn’t miss a beat and caught it mid-flight. The manager then tossed it into the storage closet that happened to be open and slammed the door shut. (It locks automatically.) Hulk didn’t think that was funny and flipped the shopping cart over on its side and commenced to beating the door. For a minute there, I thought she’d be able to make it in. She overheard me desperately pleading with dispatch to get me an officer ASAP and she took off through the parking lot. I have to say, it was quite amusing to watch a woman of her stature running through the parking lot in slippers.

She actually was able to flee the store before the police arrived and I first was pretty upset that after all that I went through, I didn’t have her identity. At least I had my product back, right? The officer finally shows up a little later and takes my report. I take him inside to photograph the purse and the stolen product. After I pulled 13 pairs of shoes out, I noticed there was a large wallet at the bottom. Inside was her state ID, driver’s license, library card and several credit cards all with her name on them. I promptly signed a warrant for her arrest.

Would you believe that the next day, she called the store manager and told her that she had “lost” her wallet while shopping in the store? The store manager, unaware of what happened, transferred the call to me. She had no idea she was talking to the guy she almost broke in half and I actually convinced her that the wallet had been turned in to the lost and found and that she could come on by and pick it up. She did. As soon as she stepped foot in the store, she was promptly arrested by two of the counties’ finest.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, employee background checks, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Loss Prevention Seminar, Periodic inventory, prevent shrinkage, racial profiling, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, security, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

Retail Security

April 5, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Retail security is a big concern for retailers. Billions of dollars are lost yearly due to employe theft and shoplifting. But having the security in place is not necessarily enough, training personnel-Management and hourly employees-is as vital to the success of the effectiveness of the security system as the security system itself. It is true that many of the big retailers across the United States spend millions of dollars a year in security systems for their stores, but they also spend millions of dollars in cybersecurity as well. The threat is real and the cost of a security breach is all too present.

For more about this topic follow the links below.

Retail Security: How Can Biometrics, Video Analytics and Other Innovation Cut Record Theft Losses and Boost Commercial Performance?

Retail crime hit a 10-year high in the 2013-14 financial year, with the £603m losses recorded by UK retailers 18% higher than those racked up in the previous 12 months.

Despite this, the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) annual crime survey also revealed that the volume of theft offences actually fell 4%. While conventional security technology – primarily CCTV and electronic product tags – has been effective at reducing petty shoplifting, a surge in gang-related bulk theft is soaring.

The average value of goods, money or services stolen now averages £241 per incident.

Clearly, the security industry must evolve its approach to tackle this growing threat.

As Retail week Live packs up for another year, we asked several security experts how the industry is harnessing – and could harness – the latest cutting-edge technology to improve not only retail security, but commercial performance too.

RBTE 2016: Data security must be retail’s priority in 2016

Essential Retail caught up with PCI Security Standards Council international director, Jeremy King, to talk all things related to data security in retail. King is speaking at RBTE in London, this afternoon.

Essential Retail (ER): What should be key data security priorities for organisations in 2016?

Jeremy King (JK): Simply put, reducing risk and making data security business-as-usual. Organisations cannot afford to do anything less -not with 90% of large organisations and 74% of small organisations suffering data breaches, and the average cost of a breach reaching well over £3 million.

The European government is introducing new regulations to protect customer data this year, which puts added pressure on organisations to demonstrate their data security efforts. Even though these regulations will not come into effect until late 2017 or early 2018, good data security takes time and effort, so organisations need to make this a priority now.

ER: What about top threats or areas of concern for retailers?

JK: Phishing continues to be an easy way for attackers to get into merchant systems – but it’s something that can be prevented. Retailers need to be aware of these attacks and others and train their employees on how to spot them and protect against them. This is where incidence response comes in. If we take the example of phishing, on average it still takes an organisation 23.7 days to resolve a cyberattack caused by phishing or social engineering! Improving security controls and processes to identify and detect attacks quickly, using the PCI Data Security Standards, and establishing an incidence response should also be a key concern for organisations in 2016.

The DIY Approach To Retail Data Security

As retailers tend to have more pressing day-to-day concerns than security — namely, selling their products to customers — it can be tempting for them to regularly presume, in acknowledging the endlessly escalating battle between cybercriminals and protective measure technologists, that the experts in the latter group will develop something to counteract whatever the bad guys come up with in short time.

Sometimes, that assumption is accurate.

In the recent instance of the XSS security vulnerabilities that befell the online shopping cart Zen Cart, for example, the company acted quickly to solve its own problem.

When researchers from Trustwave’s SpiderLabs Research team sussed out weaknesses in the Zen Cart application that could allow malicious actors to gain access to cookies, sensitive information and site defacement of online merchants that used the shopping cart, they informed Zen Cart of the situation and immediately began working with the company to develop a fix.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Prevent Shoplifting, prevent shrinkage, racial profiling, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, security, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

Investing In A Security System For Your Store

March 31, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Many big retailers do not think twice about investing in CCTV systems for their stores. Among other theft preventive measures, CCTV systems’s cost is minuscule when compared to the theft these retailers face. Many small retail shops forego the use of CCTV systems or other preventive measures due to the cost involved initially, although the losses they suffer are more substantial than those associated with the cost of a loss prevention system. If you are thinking the investment you are doing to prevent theft is not worth the cost, think again. The retail industry loses billions of dollars yearly due to employee theft and shoplifting. Acquiring a security system for your store regardless of the size is worth the investment.

For more about this topic, follow the links below.

Loss Prevention Essentials: Electronic Article Surveillance Technology Helps Enhance Sales and Protect Profits

Systems must be properly managed in order to be effective.

Electronic article surveillance, or EAS, systems have long been a staple in the battle to curb shoplifting. Retailers over the years have collectively spent millions of dollars to protect their merchandise from shoplifters and, in some cases, their own employees. Like many major expenses, when the technology is first purchased and installed a concentrated effort is made by the loss prevention teams to train store associates on the proper processes and procedures that need to be performed in order to realize the most benefits that the technologies deliver. But like other big purchases one makes, time and in-attention to details takes their toll. Liken to the shining new toy that you got as a child for Christmas long ago, as time goes on and the allure of the toy begins to diminish, it all too often starts to be ignored. Technology investments like EAS often suffer the same situation, exit alarms start are dismissed without action, proper tag placement on merchandise begins to stray and even the simple process of testing the systems to ensure they are working are overlooked.

HBC settles race complaint from shopper, agrees to educate staff on profiling

HALIFAX – The Hudson’s Bay Company has agreed to educate its staff on racial profiling as part of a settlement in the case of a now-deceased Nova Scotia grandmother allegedly accused of shoplifting a rug.

African Canadian Kathleen Viner filed a complaint with the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission alleging that two employees discriminated against her at a now-closed Zellers store in Greenwood, N.S., in 2008.

Viner, then a 77-year-old grandmother of 13, was stopped by a security guard “and made to feel she had stolen a rug,” according to an affidavit from her daughters, Shelley and Donna.

Viner provided proof she had bought the rug, but the incident left her shaken, her daughters said.

OBPD attempts to help local businesses prevent shoplifting

Osage Beach
Retail loss is one of the most challenging aspects of doing business.
According to the National Retail Federation, shoplifting accounts for 38 percent of an estimated $44 billion in retail losses each year. Inventory shrinkage includes shoplifting, employee/internal theft, administrative errors and vendor fraud or error.
The Osage Beach Police Department wants to help area merchants slow that retail loss, a loss that ultimately is passed along to consumers.
The OBPD hosted a Meet and Greet Partnership Meeting recently with nine retailers to discuss retail theft issues, to give pointers and allow retailers to share tips and trends. Several area businesses, law enforcement, financial institutions and prosecuting attorneys were invited.
Sgt. Arlyne Page, communications officer with OBPD, said the department began a crime prevention program in 1981, and more recently has held meetings with Osage Beach Premium Outlet managers to coordinate prevention efforts among retailers. Target store management encouraged meetings last spring, and a month ago asked the OBPD to host a meeting on shoplifting and retail and digital fraud.

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Why EAS Makes Sense For Your Business

March 22, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Video surveillance is big business. From law enforcement using closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to protect the citizens of this country to retail stores protecting their merchandise, video surveillance has become the main choice for many big and small businesses to use in their businesses. For retail stores to prevent shoplifting the use of EAS systems have become the norm, and among other anti theft devices, closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras are a must for every retail business around the world.

Police: Nun caught on camera shoplifting

BRIAR CREEK, Pa. — A 78-year-old nun in Pennsylvania was arrested for shoplifting $23 worth of toiletries and snacks from a store.

Surveillance video taken Monday at 3:45 p.m. reportedly shows the woman, named Agnes Pennino, taking snacks from a Surplus Outlet supermarket in Briar Creek, Pennsylvania.

Store manager Zane Kishbach said a customer alerted him to the woman.

“Another customer came to me in aisle 5 and said, ‘I’m not sure what I’m seeing, but I think a woman is stealing,’ and she had already left the store by that time, and I went out to pursue her,” Kishbach said.

Salem finance director charged 2nd time for shoplifting

SALEM — The town’s finance director allegedly shoplifted an assortment of clothing at Macy’s a week before she was arrested at the store in a similar case, according to a newly filed court complaint.

Prosecutors have filed charges against Jane Savastano, 48, for allegedly taking numerous pieces of clothing on Feb. 12 and Feb. 19.
She waived arraignment in 10th Circuit Court, Salem Division, and entered a not guilty plea to all charges, according to court papers filed by her lawyer, Patrick Donovan.
Prosecutors recently notified a judge they are seeking a potential jail sentence for Savastano, who has served as the town of Salem’s finance director since March 2005.
Each of the three charges are punishable by up to a year in county jail.
Savastano is on administrative leave from her job and is expected to face a personnel review by the town.
The new charge against Savastano provided few details about the Feb. 12 incident that happened a week before her arrest. She allegedly entered the store on Friday, Feb. 12, around 3:30 p.m., took a number of clothing items “valued more than $1 and less than $1,000” and left without paying.

Police: Dollar General employee theft ring stole $56k worth of merchandise

ELLOREE, SC (WIS) –

An investigation by the Elloree Police Department uncovered an employee theft ring at the Dollar General store on Old Number 6 Highway.

Police say the store’s management reported a loss of merchandise costing more than $56,000 over eight months.

Seven employees have been arrested on charges of felony criminal conspiracy and breach of trust involving more than $10,000. They were booked into the Orangeburg-Calhoun Regional Detention Center where they have posted bail.

According to the arrest warrants, the employees, “while utilizing a scheme, did knowingly, with intent to permanently deprive the owner, remove, carry away or allowed to be carried away, retail merchandise without payment.”

“They would wait until the close of business at the end of the day and they would already pre-load buggies or shopping carts and right when it time to close the business, they would pull those buggies up, pretend to scan the items, and the buggies would be completely full,” Elloree Police Chief Joseph Avinger said. “Then we went back with the video and checked it along with the register tape to see how much money was spent at the register and it would be only a few dollars — $10 to $15 from buggies filled with merchandise.”