Retailers Alert: More Raids Coming
As Trump's E-Verify Kicks into High Gear
Time for a Company Audit?

Immigration Officials Swarm 7-Elevens, Issue Warning to U.S. Businesses
Agents arrest 21 employees suspected of being in the U.S. illegally
Federal immigration authorities swarmed nearly 100 convenience stores in 18 states and the District of Columbia Wednesday morning and warned businesses that the Trump administration's hard-line stance on immigration applies to them too.

"Today's actions send a strong message to U.S. businesses that hire and employ an illegal workforce: ICE will enforce the law, and if you are found to be breaking the law, you will be held accountable," said Tom Homan, deputy director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Agents from ICE's Homeland Security Investigators showed up unannounced at 98 7-Eleven convenience stores before dawn Wednesday to interview store employees and managers, and serve notice that employment records were being audited.

Agents arrested 21 employees suspected of being in the country illegally. They now face deportation proceedings in federal immigration court.

No charges were filed Wednesday against the business owners themselves. Businesses found to be violating immigration law by hiring undocumented workers could face criminal and civil penalties, including fines.

"Businesses that hire illegal workers are a pull factor for illegal immigration, and we are working hard to remove this magnet," Mr. Homan said in a statement.

Dallas-based 7-Eleven Inc. said in a statement that the company was aware of ICE's visits to various stores Wednesday morning.

The company said franchises of the convenience store chain are independently owned and operated, but franchisees are required to adhere to all federal and local laws. wsj.com

ALTO US Partners with Crime Risk Forecasting Leader CAP Index to Solidify ALTO's Supply Chain Risk Management In-transit Solution
ALTO US, an innovative technology provider in the retail and supply-chain asset protection industry, has partnered with CAP Index, Inc. to create a unique and innovative offering to support dynamic in-transit monitoring capabilities into the end-to-end ALTO Assurance risk management platform.

By adding CAP Index's industry-leading crime risk data into ALTO's comprehensive in-transit analytics assessment model, supply-chain managers will have additional information at their fingertips to improve their in-transit risk mitigation efforts. "Understanding what you are driving into and making decisions on where to stop or rest is critical in today's just-in-time decision making process for the shipper, carrier, and driver. We believe this partnership is a major step in assisting industries with the critical mitigation of in-transit risk. The addition of this key layer of data intelligence enabling the ALTO's platform to predict, analyze, visualize, and better manage in-transit transportation risk is a real game-changer to the end user," said Steve Longo, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at CAP Index. alto.us

LP Innovations Making News Wires Across the Country
DTT closes on $80m debt facility, makes first acquisition
DTT, a provider of video-based managed loss prevention solutions to the hospitality and C-Store industries headquartered in Las Vegas, announced today the closing of an $80 million debt facility led by administrative agent Capital One and CapitalSource, a division of Pacific Western Bank. DTT also announced its first acquisition in its nearly 20-year history, acquiring LP Innovations Inc. (LPI), a loss prevention provider to the retail industry.

"The purpose of the facility is to provide growth capital. We plan to expand both organically and inorganically, and the first step of this process is our acquisition of LPI," Sam Naficy, CEO and founder of DTT, told Security Systems News, noting that LPI's approximately 70 employees will be joining the company. "We are excited to have the entire LPI team, led by its president and CEO Steven May, join forces with DTT, and we will be maintaining their Boston office."

We have averaged between 20-25 percent in year-over-year growth for the past four years," he said. "We will continue to grow organically as we add new services and more offerings to our customers in different areas, as well as by making significant improvements to MyDTT, which is our cloud-based loss prevention portal. We are also going to continue looking for strategic acquisitions, both domestically and internationally."

Since the company's launch in 1999, DTT has equipped, serviced and supported more than 35,000 clients, including McDonald's, SUBWAY, Dairy Queen, Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC, Auntie Anne's, and Potbelly Sandwich Works, to name a few.  securitysystemsnews.com

$2M in Fraudulent Loyalty Rewards & Product Rebates
Georgia Man Sentenced for Defrauding Staples $1.4M
One Dollar at a Time
Layne Michael Gosnell, 46, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to 21 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $443,913 in restitution and $443,913 in forfeiture.

Gosnell and co-conspirator John Douglas, among others, engaged in a complex scheme to defraud Staples of more than $1.4 million worth of customer loyalty rewards and product rebates by creating more than 1,100 Staples rewards accounts, often using fictitious names, addresses and contact information. Douglas created a computer script to query a Staples website and seek unclaimed customer loyalty rewards for purchases that neither he nor Gosnell made. The computer script made thousands of queries a day, amassing more than $889,000 worth of rewards in small increments, often less than one dollar at a time.

Gosnell and Douglas used a similar method to claim more than $527,000 in cash rebates from Staples for products that they did not purchase. justice.gov

Pilot Flying J ex-president heard on secret recordings using racial epithets
The then-president of truck stop giant Pilot Flying J made derogatory comments about his boss' NFL football team and its fans and used racial epithets, including requesting his subordinates play a racist country song, during a meeting of executives, testimony Wednesday showed.

"Where's our greasy (racial epithet) song?" former Pilot Flying J President Mark Hazelwood said as he and former Pilot Flying J sales executives were gathered for a meeting in October 2012.

A song by country artist David Allan Coe with a two-word title consisting of a racial epitaph and a profanity that describes a white man's upset that his girlfriend had dumped him for a black man could then be heard, with Hazelwood and his subordinates singing along.

Pilot Flying J issued a statement Wednesday saying the firm was "very disturbed and appalled by the extremely offensive and deplorable comments recorded over five years ago involving a small group of (now) former sales employees. This kind of behavior is reprehensible, not tolerated, nor reflective of the guiding principles of Pilot Flying J ... No current team member of Pilot Flying J was present or participated in this incident." knoxnews.com

Florida: House Bill Introduced to Increase Threshold Amounts
for Certain Theft Offenses
House Criminal Justice Subcommittee Hearing began yesterday and was voted 10 to 2 as Favorable;, the Bill revises list of items from which theft of constitutes grand theft of third degree; revises circumstances under certain offenses by person with prior convictions constitute a higher degree felony. flsenate.gov

UK: Tesco store in security boost bid after crooks target vans
SUPERMARKET bosses are set to increase the size of a secure service yard at a store in Clacton following an increase in thefts from its delivery vans. "Recently, Tesco have experienced a growing number of thefts of catalytic converters and other vandalism to their fleet of delivery vans and are reviewing security measures at a number of stores." clactonandfrintongazette.co.uk

Australia: Security guards claim supermarkets are turning a blind eye to shoplifters and are powerless to stop thieves
Security guards have accused shopping centres of ignoring shoplifters and claim they are unable to stop people from stealing. Security guard 'Anna' - whose identity was not revealed - told A Current Affair shoplifting was common in Australian supermarkets. dailymail.co.uk

The Ins and Outs of Team Interviewing
Organizations that value collaboration may be better served by conducting team interviews than traditional one-on-one conversations between candidates and hiring managers.

Team interviews aren't necessarily panel interviews - those formal sessions where the candidate stares back at a tribunal of assessors under a barrage of rapid-fire questions. Team interviews can be a series of meetings with team members or informal group gatherings where both sides have a chance to talk about the role and gauge whether or not there is a fit. Observing group dynamics can be a great way to identify candidates' collaborative and interpersonal skills, and these meetings also provide job seekers a preview of what it would be like to work alongside their potential future colleagues.

"I highly value this approach as long as it is structured and effectively set up," said Jeremy Eskenazi, managing principal at Riviera Advisors, an HR consulting firm focused on talent acquisition. "If you can get all the interviewers to be on the same page, focused on a shared success profile - meaning they know what the role needs to accomplish once the person is hired - you can get an amazingly well-rounded understanding of the candidate, far better than the traditional interview with a hiring manager."

The one-on-one interview between a candidate and a hiring manager has some utility for certain positions, but most work is interactive and not done in a one-on-one format, said Tanya Axenson, vice president of human resources at The Allegis Group, a global staffing and recruiting firm based in Hanover, Md. Axenson, who conducts one-on-ones, panel interviews and more casual group gatherings, said, "You really get to see how the individual operates in a group setting. You can find a lot of great insight into their personality and how they would fit into the team."

A group setting also allows for a deeper discovery process for the candidate. "Interviewing is more and more a two-way street," Axenson said. "The candidate is also evaluating the potential employer. With a team-based approach, your employees can more successfully sell the company and the culture." shrm.org

Most Positive News in Months - Even After Strong Holiday
IHL: Retailers expect strong sales growth in 2018; new stores, remodels up
North American retailers expect a 6.2% increase in sales in 2018, according to research from IHL Group. The report found that retailers are increasing the number of stores in 2018 by an average of 5.6%, with planned remodel of stores expected to rise more than 5%.

IT spend is also up. Store level IT Investment is expected to rise 5.8% this year over 2017 levels.
"Despite what the headlines might say, retail grew over $220 billion in the U.S. and Canada in 2017," said Greg Buzek, president of IHL Group. "Retailers are projecting even stronger growth in 2018, including 4.8% growth in sales at stores." chainstoreage.com

Strong holiday shopping season fuels optimism for 2018
The average spend on gifts and other holiday-related items was $841.50 this season, compared to $711 last year. That's according to the International Council of Shopping Centers' Post-Holiday Shopping Survey today. This year's survey found that consumers used a variety of channels for holiday shopping, with 90% making purchases in a physical store, 40% using click and collect and 46% ordering online from retailers with a physical presence and shipping the product home.

Of those who used click and collect, 90% bought additional items once in stores. Sixty-two percent of holiday shoppers ordered from pure play online retailers.

Retailers benefited from the longer season with almost 30% of consumers beginning their shopping in October or earlier and 51% completing their shopping the week before Christmas, according to the survey. Ten percent of those surveyed finished their shopping on Super Saturday, showing the shopping season runs right through the final holiday weekend. chainstoreage.com

UNC Study: Lidl's impact on grocery prices 'unprecedented'
The arrival of German discount grocer into the United States is prompting rivals in its operating markets to lower their prices, according to study which examined the competitive price effect of Lidl's entry in the U.S. grocery market and the reaction of Aldi, Food Lion, Kroger, Publix and Walmart. The study, which was conducted independently, was commissioned by Lidl U.S.

Grocery retailers located near Lidl stores set their prices for key staple products up to 55% lower compared to their stores in markets where Lidl is not present, according to the study. chainstoreage.com

ADT brings verification to SMB customers using its Pulse platform

Sunoco in Final Steps to Sell 1,100 C-Stores to 7-Eleven

Between Walmart and Kroger, 500 stores are about to ditch cashiers

Walmart uses lower U.S. tax bill to raise minimum wage to $11 an hour

NRF 2018: Retail's Big Show debuts new events and expanded programming

Intellicheck Sees Sweeping Fraud Threat
in Wake of Surging Data Breaches

JERICHO, N.Y. - Intellicheck Interim CEO Bill White believes the real impact of the tidal wave of data breaches has yet to be fully recognized. He cautions that financial institutions, retailers and businesses in general are at a crossroads because of the unprecedented compromise of consumer information from the more than 1,200 data breaches that occurred in 2017 and what is yet to come in 2018.

"Data breaches involving critical personal identifiers that include social security numbers and dates of birth have created a new dimension in identity theft that goes far beyond the threats that everyone from financial institutions to retailers have been faced with to date. Fraudsters have been provided with a treasure of information that has an infinite shelf life compared to typical stolen credit card data," White said.

"The first step in tackling the problem is to recognize the missing link. The missing piece of authentication needed for a fraudulent transaction to occur is typically a picture ID that is most easily obtained by means of a fake driver license. Consumers and retailers alike need these ID documents to be authenticated now more than ever to ensure that a consumers' personal data is utilized only by them," White explained.

White said there is a way to stop fraudsters. "With all that personal information in hand, the one way to stop a fraudulent transaction is to validate the customer's identity by quickly and accurately authenticating a verifiable, government issued ID like a driver license."

White noted that financial institutions as well as businesses must move quickly to adopt identification authentication technology solutions that thwart account-centric attacks, while engaging customers.

"Sophisticated, readily available fake IDs will easily defeat old school methods like a visual inspection, but they won't stand up to the scrutiny of state-of-the-art authentication technology solutions that provide immediate, accurate results. Whether you consider online, mobile or point of sale transactions, fraudsters will continue to proliferate fraudulent activity without the right technology solution. The focus has to be on the adoption of real-time response technology solutions to defeat fraudsters, while providing a frictionless customer and adopter experience," White concluded.

The Equifax breach of 2017 resulted in the compromise of personal data for more than 143 million consumers. The 15% growth in data breaches in 2017 comes on the heels of a 40% spike in data breaches in 2016. Incidents of data breaches are expected to continue to increase in 2018. According to the Javelin consulting firm, the total loss in fraudulent e-commerce transactions alone will jump to nearly $19 billion in 2018.

For information on Intellicheck's ID authentication technology solutions, email info@intellicheck.com or call 516-992-1900 Ext. #3.

After Equifax, Boards Rethink Cybersecurity
Delegating Cyber Responsibilities Among Directors
Directors are stepping up efforts to get better educated about how the companies they serve handle cybersecurity in the wake of the recent data breach at Equifax Inc. data breach. Charged with overseeing business strategy and risks for their companies, directors want more data and more frequent meetings with senior management.

As cybercriminals damage company reputations and cause tens of millions in remediation and legal costs, some boards are weighing how to delegate cybersecurity oversight responsibilities among directors. Others are pushing for more meetings with corporate security chiefs. The incident at Equifax exposed personal information for potentially 145.5 million Americans and has so far cost the company $87.5 million to address.

Disclosure of the Equifax breach kicked off "an immediate analysis" of the attack by management at Options Clearing Corp., said Mark Morrison, chief information security officer at the clearinghouse operator. Findings were sent to Craig Donohue, board chairman and OCC chief executive. Members of the board's technology committee also received the report, Mr. Morrison said. The board wanted to know whether OCC was vulnerable to a similar attack, he said, adding that he also provided a more detailed analysis in October at OCC's quarterly board meeting. wsj.com

CISOs' No. 1 Concern in 2018: The Talent Gap
According to the survey of 612 chief information officers and IT security pros, the top five threats that worry them the most in 2018:

● 70%: lack of competent in-house staff
● 67%: data breach
● 59%: cyberattack
● 54%: inability to reduce employee negligence
● 48%: ransomware  darkreading.com

Banks Urge 7th Circ. To Revive Schnuck Data Breach Suit
A group of banks that issued debit and credit cards affected in a 2012 data breach at Schnuck stores urged the Seventh Circuit Wednesday to resurrect its putative class action against the grocery chain, saying the lower court improperly found the store had no duty to secure their interests in protecting the information compromised in the breach. law360.com

How Will Workplace GPS Tracking and Biometric Data Collection Trends Affect LP?
The rapid expansion of workplace technology - from employer use of GPS tracking and biometric data to big data in general and HR analytics - will create more compliance challenges this year. Businesses need to be aware of state-law issues with employee monitoring and privacy as laws develop in this area.

A comprehensive program requires more than passwords, firewalls and encryption. The human element is critical, he said, noting that strong programs must reflect an understanding of the business and the different roles employees play.

GPS Tracking
Employers increasingly have the capability to monitor employees' whereabouts through GPS tracking on vehicles and mobile devices. But there could be legal ramifications for doing so.

For example, when organizations use GPS to track locations of company equipment, in part for securing the data on that equipment, it raises potential privacy issues for employees.

Biometric Data Collection
Biometric information - including fingerprints and facial recognition technology - may be used for time-keeping, for secure entry into buildings and to log into systems. Using such data can be convenient for employees and more secure for employers by doing away with scan cards that can be lost or stolen. But using biometric data may also have legal ramifications.

Employers should make sure employees consent to the data collection and understand how the information is being used. They must understand applicable state laws when it comes to using employee biometric data. shrm.org

Do your employees clock in using fingerprints?
This Illinois law could be your biggest headache in 2018
A wave of class action lawsuits has been filed alleging violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), a statute aimed at regulating how companies use information based on "biometric identifiers" such as fingerprints and retina scans. Violating BIPA can be costly, so employers operating within Illinois should review their business practices to determine whether they are using "biometric information" and plan accordingly.

Although many of the early lawsuits filed under BIPA targeted technology companies for their use of facial recognition software, recent litigation has focused on employers that use fingerprint-scanning technology to allow employees to clock in and clock out. BIPA regulates a private entity's ability to collect, store and disclose biometric information. The statute defines biometric information as that based on individual identifiers such as fingerprints, retina scans or voiceprints. As the statute explains, these cannot be changed, unlike other unique identifiers such as Social Security numbers. lexology.com

FBI chief claims encryption is an 'urgent public safety issue'

The year ahead in cybersecurity law

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Ecommerce Sites Have A New Form Of Fraud To Fear: Journey Hijacking
Online retailers are losing revenue right under their noses thanks to a devious form of ad injection only visible to infected site visitors.

"I didn't even know we had a problem," said Jason LeBoeuf, director of ecommerce at athletics footwear brand Asics.

The Asics website was the victim of customer-journey hijacking, a sneaky practice by which malware sitting on a site visitor's machine entices users to click on unauthorized product ads and links that whisk them away from their original destination to other sites.

It's primarily a form of ad injection for affiliate marketing. Bad actors bundle the malware within legitimate free software, such as PDF launchers or even antivirus software. When users with an infected device visit a website, they see banners, pop-ups and in-text ads layered on top of existing content that aims to lure them elsewhere.

The malware is designed to bypass server-side web security tools, which allows the ads to hide in plain sight. Only an infected site visitor can see them.

"We've seen customers get pop-up ads featuring competitors, and we've even seen ads for our own products coming through our own affiliate partners - but still, these ads are pushing visitors off of our own site," LeBoeuf said. "I do direct-to-consumer; I don't want anyone leaving our website."

Namogoo, a startup that specializes in helping ecommerce sites combat this form of ad injection, estimates that 15-20% of web sessions on ecommerce sites are unwittingly bedeviled by journey hijacking. adexchanger.com

E-commerce firms make headway in stamping out counterfeits
E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd made considerable progress in stamping out counterfeit goods on its online shopping portal Taobao in 2017, as consumer requests for return of goods fell 29 percent from the same period in 2016, a new report said.

Out of every 10,000 requests made for return of products in the previous year, 1.49 were initiated as consumers suspected they were fake, compared with 2.1 in 2016, according to the 2017 Alibaba Intellectual Property Protection Annual Report.

The report is the first of its kind and was released after Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, proposed "coping with knockoffs in the same way as we cope with drunk driving" early last year. The report said that 97 percent of the products that Alibaba took the initiative to remove from the online platform on suspicion of intellectual property infringement were removed forthwith even before any transaction took place.

Altogether, 240,000 Taobao stores were closed last year on suspicion of selling fake commodities, compared with 180,000 in 2016, said the report published on Wednesday. china.org.cn

Local retailers were 'big business' for Amazon in 2017

Study: Shopping is 'habit-forming' for Prime members

Clarksville, TN: Montgomery County Sheriff's Office discovers Reshipping Scam to move Stolen Merchandise
The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office recovered over $10,000 in stolen property during an investigation into credit card fraud. Items recovered include four sonic firearms cleaners, underground cable locator, dehumidifier, professional level sets, pizza cooker, industrial heaters, medical equipment, air pumps, electronics, and numerous other items. A total 44 packages were recovered. During the course of the investigation into the fraudulent credit card charges, investigators discovered criminals were using a reshipping scam to move the stolen merchandise. clarksvillenow.com

Albany, NY: NY Man facing 79 months in Federal Prison for $500,000 Online Fraud Scheme
Jared R. Hudson, age 39, was sentenced today to 79 months in prison and 3 years of post-imprisonment supervised release for fraud and identity theft. The announcement was made by United States Attorney, the FBI and Plattsburgh Police. Hudson pled guilty on August 2, 2017. He admitted that he and Thomas J. Howe, age 38, devised a scheme to defraud banks, merchants and individual consumers by purchasing information including credit card numbers, bank account numbers, expiration dates, security codes, answers to security questions, and other personal identification information, and to using that information to electronically purchase goods, and to fraudulently transfer and attempt to transfer funds electronically, between October 2009 until at least December 13, 2014. Hudson admitted that his victims suffered at least $510,544.49 in actual and intended losses. justice.gov

San Joaquin County, CA: Criminals using keys to steal electronics from multiple Target stores facing additional charges
On Sunday, Jan. 7, Lathrop Police Services took Blevins, 31, into custody outside of the Lathrop Target store after he had been observed on surveillance cameras unlocking valuable electronics items and clothing and attempting to leave the store. In investigating the matter further, deputies discovered that Blevins is also a suspect of the exact same crime at the Tracy Target location. According to Lathrop Police, Blevins was in possession of multiple sets of the keys that are typically reserved for store employees. He is being charged with possession of burglary tools and petty theft. mantecabulletin.com

Charleston man receives probation for selling stolen items on Amazon
A Charleston man was sentenced to five years probation for a scheme in which he stocked his online shop on Amazon.com with items he stole from the University of Charleston.

U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin told 30-year-old Adam St. Clair to use that time to calibrate his moral compass during the sentencing hearing Wednesday in the Robert C. Byrd United States Courthouse.

Goodwin also ordered St. Clair to pay $6,271 in restitution for the textbooks, electronics and other items he admitted he stole to sell in his Amazon store, "Robin Hood Literature," between the summer of 2014 and fall 2015. wvgazettemail.com

Charles Town, WV: 3 arrested for shoplifting $1,195 of merchandise from Walmarts in Charles Town and Springs Mills
Two of the 3 suspects from Maryland, had additional warrants out in Pennsylvania and Virginia. journal-news.net

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These 3 Simple but Overlooked Habits Will Make You More Productive and Healthier This Year
The start of every year usually starts the same: motivation is high and attitudes are positive, but after a while the feelings are fleeting. Here's what habits you need to master to keep productivity high. Master your time

You Can't Go Wrong With These Productivity Tips
You'll have some days when your productivity is through the roof, and other days it may be hard to get anything done. What it boils down to is what productivity methods work for you and what don't. Here are some tips from productivity coaches to help anyone stay on track. Brain download

How to Be More Productive Without Working Yourself Into the Ground
Busy professionals have massive to-do lists, and most tasks are critically important. It's easy to feel stressed and overwhelmed with so many things to do, but here are some excellent tips on how to remain productive and not burn yourself out. Find balance in your schedule

3 Habits You Need to Master for a More Productive 2018
With a fresh start to this year, it's the perfect time to review productivity tactics and habits that make you better at your job. Here are three great habits that anyone can perfect to make sure that this new year is a successful, motivational and productive one. Reward yourself for accomplishments

Submit Your Group LP Selfie Today!

How you leave an employer and how you start at a new employer are very critical segments of time because they can tend to label executives and those labels can last a very long time. Interesting how short the time periods are relative to an executive's actual career. But the exiting process and the on-boarding periods leave long term impressions that follow executives. Regardless of why an executive leaves the important thing is to leave professionally, quietly, and making sure the employer has a detailed report on all of your projects and work. And most certainly respect their intellectual property which in today's world virtually every company has been a victim of intellectual property theft. According to most recent surveys 33% of employees have stolen intellectual property and this is a major concern for every company and is the primary reason some employers require the departing executive to leave the day of their resignation

Just a Thought,
Gus

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