John Bishop named Group Vice President of Operations for The Fresh Market
John was previously the Vice President of Total Loss - Operations for Southeastern Grocers for over two years before taking this new role. He's held a variety of loss prevention leadership roles including Senior Director of Asset Protection for Southeastern Grocers, Director of Asset Protection and Regional Manager of Loss Prevention for Winn-Dixie, and Regional Director of Loss Prevention for Saks Inc. Congratulations John!


Brian Friedman promoted to Director - Asset Protection & Chief Security Officer for HD Supply Construction & Industrial - White Cap
Brian joined HD Supply in 2013 to lead the White Cap Asset Protection function. Brian was previously with The Home Depot for 12 years in numerous Asset Protection roles in both supply chain and retail. Since joining, Brian has expanded his responsibilities, including partnership with eBusiness on fraud assessments and fraud reduction, supporting the Brafasco and Home Improvement Solutions businesses and developing a solid, customer and associate focused team. Brian has been instrumental in helping the business create sound controls and procedures around fraud prevention, employee and asset securement, enterprise risk management, investigations and works to find new ways to combat fraud. Congratulations Brian!

Submit Your New Corporate Hires/Promotions or New Position

Security Magazine's Top Articles of 2017
Coming in at #2: 'The Science of Shoplifting' with Dr. Read Hayes, Dir. LPRC
2017 was a very busy year for security professionals. Between multiple high-profile data breaches and cyberattacks, terrorist attacks and mass shootings, security leaders are still juggling the weighty responsibilities of risk mitigation, reputation management and loss prevention.

Below are some of Security magazine's staff's top articles of 2017, with trends, events and guides for security leaders in the New Year.

Coming in at #2: 'The Science of Shoplifting' with Dr. Read Hayes, Dir. LPRC

University of Florida scientists with Dr. Hayes are working with more than 75 technologies in their Innovation Lab in Gainesville, Florida, as well as in more than 20 stores in that city to refine ways to deter crime attempts in a variety of environments.

Dr. Hayes and his team have help from more retailers including Walmart, Target, Lowe's, Home Depot, CVS, Walgreens, Bloomingdales, Best Buy, AutoZone, Verizon, T-Mobile, Toys R Us and TJ Maxx, who work together via 11 working groups to tackle in-store, parking lot, supply chain and online crime and loss problems. securitymagazine.com

Devastating & Deadly NCCC Mall Fire, Sat. Dec. 23rd, Davao City, Philippines
Mall Security Guard "Hero" - Saves 783 Lives
Sacrifices His Life Trying to Save 37 U.S. SSI Workers
Fire kills 37 U.S. Company 'Research Now - SSI' Employees
With 37 U.S. company 'Research Now SSI' workers trapped on the fourth floor the Mall security guard, who had already helped evacuate 700 workers in the mall and 83 SSI employees as fire raged Saturday he went back in to try to save the remaining 37 trapped on the fourth floor. His body was recovered from what remained of the building on Tuesday, raising the death toll from the 32-hour fire to 38. inquirer.net

Authorities discover safety lapses of fire-hit Davao mall with defective fire alarms and emergency exits not up to standards. philstar.com

On Dec 26th: Union states: U.S. Company "SSI Must Be Held Liable For the Deaths of Their Employees." Trade Union: "Davao NCCC Mall fire hints at poor enforcement, compliance with labor laws"

In 2013, SSI did not comply to Peza requirements, so we did not issue a fire safety and inspection certificate. Every year (since then), there were requirements which they did not comply to," Plaza said in a mix of English and Filipino. Peza's findings showed that the RN SSI has not been compliant to Peza's requirements for fire safety since 2013. inquirer.net

'Research Now SSI' - Data Collection firm with a trademarked retail research offering - 'Shopper Intelligence' survey' "The originator of the B2B panel and a pioneer in online research data. Appearing on their website: NRF - A Look at Back-to-School Supplies Lists and Online Shopping, published August 11th, 2016. researchnow.com

 Call-Center & Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Security & Safety: According to Sarbanes-Oxley it's quite clear that companies can outsource an activity, but can't outsource the accountability for security that goes with that activity. csoonline.com

How To Lead The Charge On Chargeback Change
Visa's Simplifies Chargeback Disputes April 1st
Could Increase Losses for Merchants
Change looms large where losses are sizable: Chargebacks will cost merchants an estimated $31 billion by the year 2020, according to The Nilson Report.

In response, Visa is changing its network rules to simplify the path to dispute resolution and, more precisely, to identify chargebacks related to fraud, those related to friendly fraud and those triggered by unfamiliar coding on customer statements that, by default, result in a customer claiming they don't recognize the charge.

Under terms of the Visa Claims Resolution (VCR) rule change, which will take effect in April 2018, there's a boost to automated processes, with Visa using data in real time through its already extant Visa Resolve Online (VROL) to determine liability through automated checks.

On the merchant side, however, a few challenges could emerge: The nearly two dozen chargeback reasons now offered to consumers are being reduced to just a few - spanning fraud, processing errors, authorization and consumer disputes. The intent is to streamline the process from the typical several weeks (in more contentious disputes, it can take as long as 100 days) down to just 20 days - but change can be bumpy.

The Visa rule change, she said, "is an evolutionary improvement" that should improve the situation for issuers and merchants, but it is not a revolutionary change where the system is being overhauled and it is instantly clear who has the fraud liability.

The part of the process that is going to change (which could potentially impact merchants most urgently) is the specificity or reasons for the disputes. pymnts.com

Welcome to the World of Social Media
Viral Social Media - Fake Active Shooter & Gun Shot Postings Fueling Panic at Shopping Venues
The Twitter account for Aventura Mall couldn't keep pace with the social media of its own shoppers. The scramble to flee was already well under way when Aventura management tweeted at 7:58 p.m. on the Saturday before Christmas that police had found no evidence of gunfire but that the mall was nonetheless being evacuated as a precaution.

Fueling the panic was something that has now become common: an explosion of voices on social media claiming to have heard gunfire that by all police accounts never happened

Saturday night's chaos was only the most recent example of social media fueling public fear at large shopping venues and public events spots throughout the nation. In the past year, similar scenarios around nonexistent mass shootings or terrorist threats have played out in Ohio, Colorado, Tennessee, North Carolina, New Jersey and Texas.

"It's happening all around the country," said McGoey. "Police now have no choice but to shut everything down - but most of the time they don't even know what they're looking for. And people still don't know what a gunshot sounds like." miamiherald.com

Little-known surveillance helps nab thieves
San Francisco's 15 Business Improvement District's Growing Surveillance Network
In 2012, the Union Square Business Improvement District installed six crime cameras to monitor the area of Market and Powell streets. That was just the beginning.

Five years later, the nonprofit managing the district has created a widespread surveillance network linking hundreds of cameras monitoring the Union Square area, San Francisco's commercial hub full of boutique hotels and big-name retailers like Macy's and the Apple store.

The footage from the cameras flows into a "video control center" overseen by the Union Square business district where cameras can be adjusted and live-monitored, although they say they are not. The footage is stored and turned over to police or prosecutors upon request to make cases against criminals like shoplifters or muggers. 

More districts have since implemented a camera surveillance program or have plans underway to replicate one. The Fisherman's Wharf Community Benefit District and the East Cut Community Benefit District, which includes Rincon Hill and South Beach, are planning to establish security camera programs and see them as a means to combat the increasing incidents of thieves smashing car windows to grab what's inside, and other crimes.

The Tenderloin Community Benefit District has already installed cameras in "hot spots for violent and drug-related crimes," according to the district's reported activities. So has the Central Market Community Benefit District. sfexaminer.com

Report: Mattress Firm to close 200 stores
Massive Internal & Broker's Real Estate Fraud Scheme Drove Duplicate Stores?
Mattress Firm, which was acquired by Steinhoff International Holdings in 2016, plans to close about 200 underperforming and duplicate stores during the next 18 months, reported Bisnow Houston.

"As a result of putting together 1,500 stores over most recent years through acquisitions, we have recognized that there are approximately 300 underperforming or duplicative stores," chairman Steve Stagner said during a lenders presentation to Steinhoff stakeholders, the report said. "Over last year, we've already gotten out of about 90 locations."

Editor's Note:  Based on news reports of the massive real estate fraud by two Mattress Firm executives and their outside real estate firm that happened there we're now seeing the chairman saying they're closing "duplicative stores." Which was one of the claims filed in court. Where stores were located in groups around the nation, with some less than a mile apart. Allowing the outside firm to get their $50k commission per store and potentially leasing buildings they had bought through shell companies or in partnership with developers.

200 x $50,000 = $10 Million in commissions. chainstorage.com

Posted 11/9/17 - Whistleblower Case
Mattress Firm Files Suit Alleging $40M Multi-State Real Estate Fraud
800 Stores - Shell Companies - 'Inner Circle' of Developers

Kmart Fined $59 Million Over Rx Drug Fraud
Whistleblower Gets $9.3M - Kmart Overcharging Medicare Customers for Generic Drugs
Kmart has agreed to pay $32.3 million to settle allegations that it overcharged federal health programs by failing to report the true prices of prescription drugs.

The settlement arose from a 2008 whistleblower lawsuit brought by James Garbe, a pharmacist at a Kmart in Ohio who discovered that the retailer was charging Medicare customers significantly more for generics than it was charging customers enrolled in its cash discount program.

"This settlement should put pharmacies on notice that there will be consequences if they attempt to improperly increase payments from taxpayer-funded health programs by masking the true prices that they charge the general public for the same drugs," Chad A. Readler, acting assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice's Civil Division, said in a news release.

The settlement agreement with the federal government is a part of a global $59 million settlement that will pay additional sums to Medicaid-participating states and private insurers. Garbe will receive $9.3 million - or 29% of the federal government's recovery - under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. cfo.com

The Power of the Press in Two Articles Below

News Impact on Consumer Engagement
Top food stories of 2017 - Hunter Public Relations 15th Annual Food News Study
Food Safety Is Top Concern For Consumers
Since 2003, Hunter Public Relations, a food and beverage marketing communications agency, has been commissioning an annual study to identify the top food news stories according to the opinions of Americans. Now in its 15th year, this year's food news study also set out to quantify the impact of these stories at every step of the consumer engagement continuum by measuring the influence on consumers' awareness (are the stories remembered?), consideration (do they change opinions?), intent (do they change behavior?) and advocacy (are they shared with others?).

Topics of food safety (48%) and food nutrition/health and wellness (35%) continue to be at the top of the list for most Americans.

1. Amazon Acquires Whole Foods Market
2. Another Food Safety Scare at Chipotle
3. Nearly 2.5 Million Pounds of Tyson Chicken Products Recalled
4. Trump Takes Aim at School Lunch Guidelines
5. Restaurant Chains Now Deliver
9. (TIE) FDA Delays Rollout of New Nutrition Labels  cstoredecisions.com

Disgraced Spokesman - Internal Conflict - Intense Discounts
Subway Closes 909 stores in 2017 - Hundreds More Facing Closure
The world's largest restaurant chain, Subway is in serious trouble. Reeling from their front man's conviction and as consumers seek healthier, fresher food and as competitors offer them better options. Franchisees are protesting its promotions, and some are complaining about the quality of its products. Being a private company they don't have to report financials. The head of North American marketing resigned the week of Christmas.

Subway has 25,835 shops open and operating in the US and is also struggling with oversaturation and internal conflict, making a quick turnaround difficult and more store closures likely in 2018. 2017 could just be the tip of the iceberg for Subway's closures. businessinsider.com

2017 holiday sales reach $598 billion
Biggest Retail Sales Gain Since 2011
Total Retail Sales Rose 4.9% For Holiday Period
U.S. retail sales in the holiday period rose at their best pace since 2011, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse.

Holiday sales rose 4.9% in 2017. It was largest year-over-year increase since 2011. Online shopping saw large gains of 18.1% compared to 2016.

Although it was a winning holiday season for retail overall, the story was different category by category, according to Mastercard. Electronics and appliances increased 7.5%, the strongest growth of the last 10 years. The home furniture and furnishings category grew 5.1%, as did home improvement.

Specialty apparel and department stores, which both traditionally see the bulk of sales happen in-store, saw moderate gains. This is particularly impressive given recent store closings, Mastercard noted.

"This is literally the best season since before the recession," business owner Craig Johnson said. "FedEx, UPS and the Postal Service have all been record volumes," Johnson said.

"All the signs, all the ingredients are in place for a sustained retail rebound here this year," he added. chainstoreage.com

A tsunami of store closings is about to hit the US
Expected to eclipse the retail carnage of 2017
More than 12,000 stores are expected to close in 2018 - up from roughly 9,000 in 2017, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

A rash of bankruptcy filings and announcements to close stores are expected at the start of the year, when retailers are flush with cash from the holiday season.

Among the companies most likely to file for bankruptcy within the next year are Sears, Bon-Ton Stores, Bebe Stores, Destination Maternity Corp., and Stein Mart.

Nearly two dozen major chains including Walgreens, Gap, and Gymboree have already announced plans to close more than 3,600 stores this year.

The start of the year is a popular time to announce store closings and bankruptcies because retailers are typically flush with cash after the busy holiday season - and closing stores and filing for bankruptcy are costly.

Mass store closings will force shopping malls out of business. businessinsider.com

26 Retail Bankruptcies Expected in 2018:
Store closures are up 229% year-over-year in 2017
2017 has been the worst year for retail store closures and retail bankruptcies remain robust. Thanks to fierce competition from online retailers like Amazon and Wal-Mart Stores Inc and low cash levels, 2018 could be an even worse year for store closures and bankruptcies.

According to Moody's Corporation, brands like Sears, J. Crew, Claire's Stores Inc., and almost two dozen other retailers have some of the lowest credit ratings.

Distressed retailers that Moody's rated at Caa or below:

● 99 Cents Only Stores LLC
● BI-LO Holding Finance LLC (parent of BI-LO and Winn Dixie)
● Bluestem Group Inc (OTC:BGRP) (parent of Fingerhut, Appleseed's)
● Boardriders S.A. 
● Bon-Ton Stores Inc (OTC:BONT)
● Calceus Acquisition Inc (parent of Cole Haan footwear)
● Charlotte Russe, Inc.
● Claire's Stores Inc.
● David's Bridal Inc
● Everest Holdings LLC (manages Eddie Bauer brands)
● Evergreen ACqCo 1 LP (parent of Savers thrift stores)
● Fairway Group Holdings Corp.
● FullBeauty Brands Holdings Corp.
● GNC Holdings Inc (NYSE:GNC)
● Guitar Center Inc.
● Indra Holdings Corp. (parent of Totes Isotoner)
● J. Crew Group, Inc.
● Neiman Marcus Group Inc
● Nine West Holdings, Inc.
● Payless ShoeSource Inc.
● Sears Holdings Corp
● SHO Holdings I Corporation (textiles, apparel, and luxury goods)
● The Fresh Market Inc
● TOMS Shoes, LLC
● Tops Holding II Corporation
● Vince, LLC  americaclosed.com

One Day After Police Asked Parents Not to Drop Off Children at Mall
Hundreds of juveniles run wild at Philly-area Cherry Hill mall; police charge 5
Between 700 and 1,000 disorderly juveniles gathered en masse near the J.C. Penney wing of the Cherry Hill Mall, according to police. The youths kicked doors, moved against pedestrian traffic on escalators and fought each other last Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. Five youths were charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and other offenses, police reported. Four were from Camden and the other is from Cherry Hill. phillyvoice.com

Director of Asset Protection reposted for Stein Mart, Jacksonville, FL
Director will report to the Vice President of Asset Protection and Audit Services and will be responsible for working with multiple stakeholders to proactively enhance asset protection policies and practices with the goal of efficiently minimizing losses without negatively impacting the customer experience. This position has wide latitude for independent judgment and requires proficiency in communication and relationship building. steinmartjobs.com

Amazon and Target could join forces and crush Walmart

More than 3,600 stores will close in 2018 - here's the full list

Cities Sue Over Pentagon's Failure to Report Crimes to Gun Database

Gov. Cuomo announces $6.6 million worth of illegal tobacco seized in 2017

Virginia: Hope Bill in Va. House Would Raise Grand Larceny Threshold; from $200 to $500

10 companies that will be hiring thousands in 2018

Oakland, CA: Woman says 13 year old son was Racially Profiled at Whole Foods

Cops Looting Store - Caught on CCTV - Video in Retail Crime


Quarterly Results

Finish Line Q3 comp's up 0.8%, net sales up 1.8%
Toys R Us Q3 consolidated comp's down 4.4%, domestic comp's down 7%, international comp's up 0.4%, sales down 7.5%


Last week's #1 article --

Former USPS VP sentenced after inspectors uncovered resume lies

Forever 21 Reports Findings from Investigation of POS Breach
Malware Installed on POS Devices in "Some" Stores
Reported on Nov. 14th. - Ramping Up Security at Checkout Counters
The investigation determined that the encryption technology on some point-of-sale (POS) devices at some stores was not always on. The investigation also found signs of unauthorized network access and installation of malware on some POS devices designed to search for payment card data. The malware searched only for track data read from a payment card as it was being routed through the POS device.  In most instances, the malware only found track data that did not have cardholder name - only card number, expiration date, and internal verification code - but occasionally the cardholder name was found. forever21.com

CISOs Play Rising Role In Business
Chief information security officers are playing a more integral -- and more important -- role in business, and their experience and qualifications are shifting to fit those requirements, researchers say.

Nearly half (45%) of Fortune 500 CISOs with graduate degrees have MBAs, indicating a shift in responsibilities as security leaders become more prominent within the business, according to an analysis of Fortune 500 senior security leaders conducted by Forrester Research. The findings paint a fresh picture of the modern CISO -- a position that barely existed 20 years ago but is rapidly becoming a key contributor to the boardroom. darkreading.com

Biometrics the Hottest Trend of 2017
Some 38.9% of survey respondents said they viewed fingerprint and facial recognition as more secure than passwords. It is clear that biometrics is surely convenient and growing in popularity.

Recent market intelligence reports predict that by 2020, 100% of smartphones, wearables and tablets will have biometric capabilities. This is apparently good news to 66% of the survey respondents who think biometrics are strong authentication and accountability tools that are convenient and hard to fake. cstoredecisions.com

Kroger Joining Amazon and Walmart and making checkout lanes obsolete
Kroger's new "Scan, Bag, Go" technology allows customers to scan and pay for goods as they shop. The grocery chain is rolling it out to 400 stores in 2018.

Walmart is also testing its own cashier-less technology in more than a dozen stores in Texas, Florida, South Dakota, Arkansas, Georgia, and Kentucky. businessinsider.com

Robots - The New Insider Threat
My Robot Pwned Me
Robots aren't going to steal your job (right way, anyway), but popular collaborative robots (aka cobots) can easily be hacked to spy on or wreak physical damage on their co-workers. Call it the new insider threat.

IOActive researchers Lucas Apa and Cesar Cerrudo this year found some 50 security vulnerabilities in these robots built for businesses, industrial sites, and homes, Softbank Robotics (NAO and Pepper robots), UBTECH Robotics (Alpha 1S, Alpha 2 robots), Robotis (OP2 and THORMANG3 robots), Universal Robots (UR3, UR5, UR10 robots), Rethink Robotics (Baxter and Sawyer robots), and Asratec Corp.

An attacker could control a robot in an industrial or office setting to hack other networks or even other robots there. Apa and Cerrudo wrote a script that moves a SoftBank Robotics' NAO robot's camera head and microphone for spying purposes. They say robots with face-recognition features to work with their human co-workers can be hacked and spy on them, for example.

"Some of the robots do not require any exploits. We're just using vendor-supplied tools to manipulate the robot. You can use that to send it an action to move," Cerrudo said, noting that "robots are computers with legs and they are a lot more powerful because they can 'see.'" darkreading.com

What's Next for Cybersecurity in 2018? Part 1
2018 will be a year where security will become part of the fabric in how we work.

Shift in focus from protection to prevention

Historically IT organizations focused heavily on perimeter network security to protect their networks from cyberattacks. Protection at the perimeter edge works well for data moving toward the protected assets. However, recent breaches have shown that perimeter security alone isn't sufficient to combat advanced persistent threats. By focusing on more proactive and offensive approaches, rather than strictly defensive, that help detect and respond to possible threats rather than react, it is possible to stop threats before they expose the organization to risk. Your security setup will need to focus on detection, response, and remediation. That's where the cybersecurity fight is today. In the future it will most likely move to prediction of what's coming before anything happens.

More IoT attacks will be motivated by financial gain than chaos

IoT will move from being seen as a massive security risk in the enterprise, to a critical part of an Enterprise's security posture. To meet the security challenges of the IoT-an attack surface that is both growing rapidly and becoming increasingly difficult to monitor and manage, a proactive and dynamic approach to security, and a layered defense strategy, are the keys to protecting IoT devices from infection and attack-or at least, mitigating the impact when some are inevitably compromised by adversaries. securitymagazine.com

What are Cryptocurrencies?

Cryptocurrencies are a subset of digital currencies that may also be called virtual currencies. In simple terms, a cryptocurrency is money that exists only in the digital world. The most well-known cryptocurrency is Bitcoin

Cryptocurrencies use cryptography and advanced mathematical principles with data to achieve three objectives: (1.) secure transactions, (2.) control the creation of additional units of currency, and (3.) verify the transfer of value. They use a peer-to-peer decentralized system to conduct transactions and protect the anonymity of users. The entire process is online.

Hacking Your Co's Public Website
Out of Sight, Out of Mind = Danger
Turns out those often-forgotten back-end servers of a public website infrastructure can be used to hack into an organization's internal network. Minor flaws in Web caching, Web analytics, proxy, and load-balancing servers, can be exploited to allow an attacker to hack into an organization's internal network via its public website.

"People are basically just plopping down really complex servers to do caching, analytics, and loads of fancy complex functionality in front of their Web server without much thought as to whether these features might carry risks," Kettle said.

"I found that a large number of these systems are really easy to exploit because they are built to stay out of sight," he said. "So when people have a penetration test or an audit, they don't think the infrastructure around the app matters very much: 'It's not going to get targeted because nobody looks at it.'"

Kettle broke into at least 70 servers in all, and found that Web analytics systems, for example, contain useful information for breaking into the internals of an organization. Miss-configured servers were the among the most common security issues he discovered. darkreading.com

7 Big Amazon Predictions for 2018
The Terror Continues - Who's Next?
"Strikes another bricks-and-mortar deal"
Followed up a strong 2016 with an even better 2017. Its e-commerce growth surged in the U.S. and overseas, Amazon Web Services (AWS) continued growing at a 40%-plus clip and -- thanks partly to its $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods -- the company generally terrified retail rivals to an unprecedented degree.

1. Amazon revamps and expands its grocery delivery services. The addition of Whole Foods' retail stores and distribution centers to Amazon's empire should pave the way for AmazonFresh's expansion and could be ready to make a move in a few months.

2. Amazon Prime sees a price hike. While the psychological effect of raising prices above $99 probably needs to be accounted for here.

3. Conquering Latin America

4. India and advertising become major growth engines

5. Amazon cleans up its seller marketplace. As Amazon's marketplace has swelled, quality control has become more challenging. Searches for popular items often yield an eBay-like (EBAY - Get Report) barrage of similar listings (the same item, just from different sellers and at different prices), and reports of counterfeit merchandise sales and other unethical practices have grown considerably over the last two years.

Look for Amazon to try harder in 2018 to police its marketplace and prevent dodgy sellers from setting up shop.

6 Amazon makes another bricks-and-mortar purchase.

7. AWS sees more large enterprise migrations.  thestreet.com

Skechers Files Counterfeit Charges Against 5 E-commerce Retailers
Raids 7 Warehouses in India & Finds 15,000 Pairs of Fakes

Dec. 27th, Sioux Falls, S.D., Police: 3 arrested with "spider keys" attempting to steal $2,400 of merchandise from 2 stores
Clemens said they were sending text messages back and forth about the thefts with another person who was found at a nearby business allegedly doing the same thing. Police arrested 32-year-old Ryan Jeffrey Benjamin and 19-year-old Jennifer Rose McBride at the business. They had $1,200 worth of merchandise in their cart. Police then arrested 39-year-old Billie Ray Peddicord inside the business near Veteran's Parkway and Arrowhead Parkway. He also had $1,200 worth of merchandise in his cart. ksfy.com

Braintree, MA: Men who tried to steal laptops at Best Buy connected to 2nd crime
Mansfield police say the same suspects who attempted to shoplift from a Best Buy on Dec. 26 are now connected to another crime. The Braintree Best Buy told police the suspects stole merchandise from the store just days before attempting to steal from the Mansfield location. Mansfield police said the two men entered the Mansfield Crossing store around noon on Dec. 26 and grabbed three laptops. When the pair tried to leave the store, two loss prevention officers and a bystander intervened, recovering the laptops. wpri.com

Darien, IL: Man steals nearly $1,000 worth of medicine from Walgreens
The manager of Walgreens on Lemont Road, reported that he saw a man remove 21 boxes of medicine from a store shelf, put them in a handheld store basket and leave without paying for the items, which cost about $969. chicagotribune.com

Dec. 3rd - Jewel-Osco, Lake Zurach, IL, Two men charged in $1,197.40 alcohol theft

Flash Mob of 17 Hits Nordstrom at Old Orchard Center, Skokie, IL
Dec. 19th at 5:25 p.m. for 12 Canadian Goose coats - $900 ea.

San Antonio, TX: SAPD unit that busts people selling stolen goods to become permanent; In 2 years, 100-plus arrests, more than $600k of property recovered or seized

Lexington, KY: ORC Get -a way driver charged in multiple theft

Columbus, NE: Furniture Store Manager charged with $100,000 theft of merchandise

Napa County, CA: Sheriff's Office seizes over $30,000 of stolen electronics, bikes, cameras and home & garden equipment believed to be from Home Depot

Southborough, MA: Police seek suspect in theft of $20,000 worth of comic books

Lexington, KY: Kroger employee arrested for theft of $13,000 in Lottery Tickets by refund fraud

Polk County, FL: 2 Arrested, 3rd suspect on the run in Beall's/ JC Penney $3,000 thefts

Clarkston, WA: Man accused of $3,000 fraudulent return scheme targeting regional Walmart stores

West Nyack, NY: Sephora busts shoplifter in Palisades Mall with $2,216 of merchandise

Newark, NJ: Woman busted in Shoplifting spree at Marshalls and Shoprite; $1,335

Reading, PA: Boscov's Shoplifter threatens LP with a knife; $1,157 in merchandise recovered from career criminal

Tallahassee, FL: Three arrested at Kohl's with $1,005 of stolen Nike & Adidas merchandise

Detroit, MI: Pawn shop defendants avoid prison in ORC crime scheme; $1,000 in stolen property recovered

Monroe, LA: Habitual thief busted at Walmart stealing $500 TV; 17 theft charges in past 10 years

Davenport, IA: Trio Arrested in $500 Grab & Run Theft from Farm & Fleet

Boston, MA: Best Buy Laptop Thieves Wanted for Another Theft

Centralia, WA: Thea M. Smith, 37, of Tacoma, was arrested for alleged felony Organized Retail Theft on Sunday at the Centralia Outlet Mall

Loudon County, TN: 9th Judicial Drug Task Force, Loudon County Sheriff's Office, and local Law Enforcement make 11 theft arrests in Holiday Blitz

Beachwood, OH: Two teens arrested for $580 theft form Dillard's in Beachwood Place

Cops Looting Store on Video

Gang of Thieves Hitting Stores at Plaze Meave Shopping Center, Mexico City
Responding Riot Squad Starts Looting Store Themselves
Ironically, the police riot squad had been called to the Plaze Meave shopping centre in the Mexican capital of Mexico City, after a gang of thieves targeted stores there.

During the tapes, one riot officer can be seen smashing open a display case with a riot shield. In no time at all it developed into a free for all as terrified shop staff hid behind their counter. More officers are then seen helping themselves to the better products.

An investigation has been launched into the thefts after the police officers were caught on the store's CCTV system. dailymail.co.uk

Shootings, Terror Attack & Deaths

Albuquerque, NM: Brothers arrested after CVS shoot-out with Security Guards
Two brothers are behind bars for allegedly shooting at 2 security officers at CVS. Micahel Chopito, 26, got into a fight with a man at the CVS on Tuesday night. A security officer stopped the fight. However, Chopito then called his brother, Vankevin Chopito, who showed up with a shotgun. Detectives say he began firing towards the security officer who was standing next to an off-duty security officer. The second security officer returned fire, but not before getting hit. The two security officers were rushed to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The suspects later showed up at the Hospital, also with non-life-threatening injuries. They both were arrested and are facing multiple charges including aggravated. krqe.com

Smithfield, VA: Man dies days after being shot in Dollar General parking lot Armed Robbery
A man who was shot during a recent attempted armed robbery in Smithfield has died. Police say 18-year-old Dakota Gordon, who was shot in the stomach on Friday night outside of a Dollar General on South Church Street, died from complications after emergency surgery. He was pronounced dead at 10:45 p.m. on New Year's Eve. 19-year-old Gavin St. Clair, who was with Gordon at the time of the shooting, received minor injuries after being pistol whipped. wavy.com


Lubbock, TX: Shots fired inside South Plains Mall on New Year's Eve
The incident stemmed from an altercation between a group of people that began inside the store Footaction. "It appears the fight then spilled out into the mall, when a suspect pulled out a gun and began firing the weapon." Police said. A man and a woman were shot and wounded. bigcoountryhomepage.com

Greeley, CO: Shots fired Monday afternoon at Walmart in west Greeley
At least three people were involved in an altercation that ended up with a gun being fired Monday afternoon at the Walmart in west Greeley. According to Greeley Police Lt. Scott Smith, there was a report of shots fired about 2:15 p.m. at the store, 920 47th Ave. There were no reported injuries and minimal damage to property, as there was an uninvolved vehicle that was struck by a bullet. greeleytribune.com

Dec. 9 - 7-Eleven - Charlotte, N.C., Two arrests made in deadly male employee shooting during robbery

Dec. 18 - Walgreens - San Jose - Male Robbery Suspect Shot & Killed by Security Guard

Dec. 25 - Game Room - Houston - 1 female dead, male employee shot in robbery

Dec. 25 - Howard County, MD: Argument leads to stabbing at C-Store, 1 man killed

Dec. 27 - Dauphin Square Shopping Center - Mobile, AL., man shots - kills - robs 89 yr-old man in parking lot at 1 p.m.

Dec. 27 - Phoenixville, PA: 15 year old shot outside Dunkin Donuts has died; argument / drug deal gone bad

Dec. 27 - Luei's Market, Akron, OH., Customer shot and killed by male armed robber

Dec. 27 - O'Reilly Auto Parts - Cincinnati, OH, One Robber Shot Dead - One Captured at 8:25 p.m.

Dec. 28 - Colorado Springs, CO: Man fatally shot in Kmart parking lot; so far police haven't identified a possible suspect or said whether the shooting was random or not

Dec. 28 - Dekalb County, GA: Hair Salon Owner opens fire during altercation with a man in her store

Dec. 28 - Henderson, NV: Elderly woman killed in hit and run in Walmart parking lot

Dec. 29 - Houston, TX: Two Auto Repair shop employees shot and killed by a former employee who then took his own life

Dec. 30 - Columbus, OH: Parking lot argument ends with 1 man shot and killed outside Liquor Store

Jan. 1 - Jacksonville, FL: Carjacking at BP Station leaves one female victim dead

Dec. 22 - Man planned Christmas attack on San Francisco's Pier 39, inspired by Islamic State

Atlanta, GA: Greenbriar Mall parking lot shooting, man in critical condition

Memphis, TN: 7 people, including 2 gang members, arrested in Wolf Chase Galleria shooting

Memphis, TN: Wolfchase Galleria stores launched security plans to protect employees, shoppers

Columbia, SC: Reports of shooting outside Five Points Food Lion have police investigating

Shawnee, OK: Teenager stabbed for trying to defend woman in Walmart parking lot

Lubbock, TX: Police investigate Shooting outside South Plains Mall; no injuries reported

Orlando, FL: Customer sues Racetrac C-Stores for $15,000; shot during Armed Robbery

Read the rest of the Daily's Retail Crime stories here

Submit Your New Hires/Promotions or New Position

Featured Job Spotlights

 

Featured Jobs

To apply to any of today's Featured Jobs, Click Here

Sponsor Today's Internet Jobs 

Five Strategies to Drive Your Career Success in 2018
If you're thinking about driving your career success next year, here are some great strategies that can help you understand where you'd like to go next in your career, or help you grow in a different area. Start with the end in mind

10 Ways to Supercharge Your Success in 2018
Everyone sets New Year's Resolutions, and if one of yours is to boost your success, there's certainly tips galore on how to make each new year better than the last. Here are 10 simple tips to really help you be successful, no matter your goal. Record all your wins, no matter how small

Last week's #1 articles --

Yuck! How to Deliver Sensitive Feedback to Your Employees
For most leaders, delivering sensitive feedback to your team can be challenging. There's no cookie cutter formula when it comes to talking about sensitive issues, but here are some strategies to keep the conversation positive and effective. Confront it head on

Phrases Bosses Should Use to Motivate Staff
As a leader of an organization, your words are powerful and can impact your team. If you want to motivate your team to work their best and their hardest, use these phrases to praise them and their work. Praise extra effort

Ken Blanchard doesn't believe in the expression "give it 150%." He believes that all human effort should be focused on making sure you give it 100% all the time, consistently and thoroughly. He believes that it's hard enough to deliver 100% much less to expect 150% out of anyone. While I agree, I do think that at times one can deliver 150% with the extra 50% being all passion. Passion is something money can't buy and it's the most powerful ingredient of all as long as you reach 100% most of the time. A feat very few can reach every day.

Just a Thought,
Gus

Not getting the Daily? Is it ending up in your spam folder?
Please make sure to add d-ddaily@downing-downing.com to your contact list, address book, trusted sender list, and/or company whitelist to ensure you receive our newsletter. 
Want to know how? Read Here