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 1/31/24

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CONTROLTEK Elevates Boston Hubbard to Segment Development Manager for RFID Solutions

Bridgewater, N.J. (Jan 31, 2024) CONTROLTEK, a global leader specializing in retail asset protection, RFID inventory and asset tracking solutions, and tamper-evident packaging, proudly announces the promotion of Boston Hubbard to the role of Segment Development Manager for RFID Solutions. Serving as a Strategic Account Manager for the past two years, Boston has consistently demonstrated his commitment to serving our retail partners and providing innovative solutions and technical expertise around RFID and EAS technology.

Read more in today's Vendor Spotlight column below


See All the LP Executives 'Moving Up' Here   |   Submit Your New Corporate Hires/Promotions or New Position
 

 

 

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Appriss Retail Introduces Workbench for Enhanced Access to Fraud Prevention Tools

Now, retailers are empowered to proactively address even the most costly instances of fraud by increasing efficiency of loss prevention teams

Appriss Retail, a leading provider of data and analytics solutions designed to reduce retail losses, decrease returns, and provide a more seamless consumer experience, announced the launch of Workbench, a new feature that enables diverse business users to proactively identify and address fraud.

According to the 2023 National Retail Security Survey, the retail industry lost over $112 billion to retail crime including shrink, theft, organized retail crime, and returns fraud in 2022. In response to the growing problem, retailers are demanding more control over loss prevention strategies and are looking to implement leading tools quicker than ever before.

In response, Appriss Retail developed Workbench to offer a user-friendly dashboard that helps a variety of business users across departments pinpoint the situations, people, places, products, and processes that need attention. By allowing these users to access more than just reporting functions, they are empowered to proactively identify fraud, reduce losses, and ensure a secure shopping environment for customers.

With Workbench, Appriss Retail customers benefit from heightened operational efficiency and shorter time-to-value. They also gain access to:

  • Early Detection: Leveraging AI and machine learning, Workbench enables the early identification of negative trends that will negatively affect profits, allowing for early intervention that minimizes financial losses and preserves businesses’ reputations.
  • Comprehensive Dashboards: The intuitive dashboard presents prioritized lists of potentially fraudulent incidents, highlighting those that require immediate attention based on severity and impact.
  • Actionable Insights: Workbench guides decision-making and streamlines loss mitigation efforts.  appriss.com


The U.S. Crime Surge
The Retail Impact

 

Suspect Arrested for Stolen Nike Products Worth $5 Million

The high-profile raid is the latest in an ongoing crackdown on organized retail and cargo theft out of Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES, CA — Police raided a series of warehouses from the South Bay to Hollywood, and uncovered $5 million worth of stolen Nike merchandise, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Police arrested a 37-year-old man seen delivering stolen Nike products, according to Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department's Commercial Crimes Division Cargo Theft and the Organized Retail Crimes Task Force.

The high-profile raid is the latest in an ongoing crackdown on organized retail and cargo theft out of Los Angeles, where mass volumes of retail goods come into the country through the Port of Los Angeles to be distributed nationwide via rail and truck.

Police allege Roy Lee Harvey Jr. received, distributed and resold the stolen goods in high volumes. After seeing Harvey Jr. deliver Nike products to a warehouse in Hawthorne, police raided the Hawthorne warehouse and another in Hollywood on Saturday, according to the LAPD.

 
"Detectives along with Nike’s Global Security Director and other supply chain investigators, conducted a search of the location and discovered thousands of pairs of stolen Nike shoes, clothing, accessories, and unique prototypes worth approximately $5,000,000.00," the LAPD announced.

Harvey was booked on suspicion of receiving stolen property.

 

Going After Tougher Sentences for ORC

New ORC Bill Gaining Traction in Arizona State Legislature

This is not your average person putting something in their purse and walking out," said Michelle Ahlmer, Executive Director of the Arizona Retailers Association. "This is a big huge problem in Arizona."

The goal of House Bill 2435 is to deter organized retail theft by imposing tougher sentences on criminals. If passed and signed into law, the bill would require enhanced sentences for a repeat offender who commits three or more organized retail thefts with intent to sell the stolen items for profit.

The legislation, which is headed to the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday, sets up harsher sentencing for repeat offenders. In the three sentencing tiers, prison terms would range from three months to 12.5 years in the lowest tier to 2.5 to 35 years in the highest tier.

"It really is a simple bill," said State House Speaker Ben Toma (R-District 27). "It will impose tougher sentences on offenders who engage in organized retail thefts."

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in 2023, her office received nearly 600 submittals for the charge of organized retail theft. She said that number is going in the wrong direction.

"Arizona, specifically Maricopa County, will not tolerate this type of offense that is driving retailers to close stores, to hurt the communities that the stores are located in, and driving people out of business," said Mitchell.  fox10pheonix.com    azpbs.org

 

Most Notorious All Reside in China

USTR Releases 2023 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy

The 2023 Notorious Markets List also identifies 39 online markets and 33 physical markets that are reported to engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy. This includes continuing to identify the China-based e-commerce and social commerce markets Taobao, WeChat, DHGate, and Pinduoduo, as well as the cloud storage service Baidu Wangpan. Other listed markets include seven physical markets in China known for the manufacture, distribution, and sale of counterfeit goods.  ustr.gov

 

Crooks targeted Berkeley Apple Store 5 times this month alone

Twice, their plans were foiled, but three other times they made off with Apple devices, Berkeley police said.

 

Violence is so Bad Employees Can't Even Go Outside for Lunch or a Break

Oakland's largest employer reportedly tells workers to eat lunch inside & avoid downtown

Kaiser Permanente, has recommended employees "stay in their buildings for lunch and work, in response to street robberies of workers who went out to grab something to eat."  sfgate.com

 

 

New survey uncovers ripple effects of workplace violence fears within companies and need for proactive prevention

Employees often choose to keep their workplace violence concerns private. The unspoken nature of these concerns can mislead employers, giving them a distorted view of the risks facing their workforce and organization – from mental health to productivity and retention.

Workplace violence threats, both real and imagined, affect both sides of the employment equation. As workplace violence incidents rise, companies face increased pressure from state legislatures, OSHA and courts to take proactive measures to provide a secure workplace.

Survey results revealed that almost 1 in 4 have witnessed workplace violence happening to another employee in the last five years. While the majority (70%) of surveyed workers had received training on workplace violence, nearly a third of respondents have not been trained – a big gap employers need to close.

A majority of survey respondents (76%) say their employer has a workplace violence plan, but far less (60%) were confident in their employer’s ability to act on the plan in the event of an incident.

California takes the lead in workplace violence prevention

Nearly two million U.S. workers experience workplace violence annually according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In response, states have begun adopting measures that require employers to proactively take steps to prevent workplace violent threats or potentially be held liable for damages in certain situations.

In 2023 California passed a first-of-its-kind workplace violence law in the US that requires employers to address the following by July 1, 2024:  hrdive.com

 

'Retail chains rethinking their self-checkout strategies'

A grocery store chain is limiting how many items you can buy at its self-checkouts as concerns over theft mount

Schnucks customers soon won't be able to buy more than 10 items at its self-checkout

"We do expect there to be some benefits to stopping theft," the Midwest retailer said.

"While the primary intention is to improve customer service and checkout efficiency, we do expect there to be some benefits to stopping theft," Schnucks said in a statement. "Because self-checkouts are more susceptible to theft, this item limit will help us maintain our costs while keeping the prices lower for our customers."

Schnucks operates 115 stores in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. It told BI that all its stores had self-checkouts, with between four and eight on average at each location.

"When self-checkouts were first introduced, they were intended for smaller orders," Schnucks continued in its statement. "Over time, larger orders began moving through self-checkouts, and we are hoping to address that concern."

Walmart is trying to combat theft at self-checkouts by using technology that alerts staff if it detects a problem, such as an unscanned item, but current and former workers told BI that this led to uncomfortable confrontations when they had to approach customers.

And Costco is cracking down on membership card-sharing at self-checkouts by getting staff to check people's cards.

Research also shows that some customers find self-checkouts alienating, too.

Dollar General said it's beefing up staffing in its checkout areas to provide more customer service.

"We started to rely too much this year on self-checkout," CEO Todd Vasos said in December, noting that it should only be used "as a secondary checkout vehicle."  businessinsider.com

 

PacSun taps Nedap for RFID strategy 

PacSun is partnering with Nedap to deploy RFID across the brand's store fleet.

The retailer is implementing Nedap's iD Cloud Store solutions to increase inventory accuracy and attain data-rich insights for operational processes, according to a press release.

The deployment is expected to be completed in Q1 of this year.

The RFID effort will also create a higher level of transparency with customers and fulfill more customer orders.

Nedap's Virtual Shielding algorithms digitally identify article location at 98% accuracy.  retailcustomerexperience.com

 

Looming Presidential Election Could Bring Heated Workplace Conversations

Why Mental Health Will Be One of the Biggest Topics of 2024

There’s no question that employee burnout and mental health issues have been a continuous problem over the past several years. But despite various employer investments in benefits to troubleshoot stress and improve emotional well-being, employees are still dealing with significant anxiety.

Well over half of employees (57 percent) are experiencing at least moderate levels of burnout, according to a recent report from Aflac. Meanwhile, employees’ confidence in how much their employers care about them has declined significantly: 48 percent said they have confidence in their employers caring about them in 2023—down from 56 percent in 2022 and 59 percent in 2021.

With a looming presidential election—and the polarization and heated conversations that come with it—coupled with financial worries, long work hours and other stressors, burnout might be even more of an issue this year.  

“People tend to be much more polarized in their views. Maybe five or 10 years ago, people could just disagree on and have different perspectives on certain topics, but now it’s become much more polarized and sometimes even aggressive. Mental health—and areas around helping reduce stress and improve emotional wellness—will be a massive focus for the next year.”  shrm.org

 

Sick Shaming Rampant in the Workplace Amid COVID-19, Flu Surge

At a time when COVID-19 and flu cases are rising throughout the country—and the workplace—a new report finds that sick shaming is almost as widespread, causing employees to either feel guilty about taking sick time or, worse yet, come to work sick.

A survey of 1,000 managers from Resume Builder found that 20 percent of managers say they encourage workers to come into the office even when they are sick. Surprisingly, 45 percent of these managers (11 percent of the total sample) admit to “often shaming visibly sick workers” who then come into the office after they were told to.

A quarter said they think workers “lie or exaggerate their illness,” and 34 percent often ask for medical documentation as proof of illness for workers who request a sick day. Additionally, 27 percent of managers overall believe a culture that encourages sick employees to work is good for productivity. shrm.org

 

Walmart to Build or Covert 150 New Stores & Remodel 650


Grocery report shows best curbside pickup experience at Albertsons

 


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CONTROLTEK Elevates Boston Hubbard to Segment Development Manager for RFID Solutions


Bridgewater, N.J. (Jan 31, 2024)
CONTROLTEK, a global leader specializing in retail asset protection, RFID inventory and asset tracking solutions, and tamper-evident packaging, proudly announces the promotion of Boston Hubbard to the role of Segment Development Manager for RFID Solutions. Serving as a Strategic Account Manager for the past two years, Boston has consistently demonstrated his commitment to serving our retail partners and providing innovative solutions and technical expertise around RFID and EAS technology.

David Brothers, Senior Director of Global Sales at CONTROLTEK, states, "Boston has played a crucial role in driving, maintaining, and providing solutions for our retail partners in his previous role. As he takes the lead in our RFID sector, we are confident in his ability to continue delivering exceptional results and contributing to the growth of our RFID solutions."

“At CONTROLTEK, our dedication to pushing boundaries, driving excellence, and shaping the future of RFID technology is ultimately centered around providing unparalleled value to our clients.” said Boston Hubbard. “I am thrilled for this opportunity to ensure more businesses are equipped with the technology to optimize their operations today while setting them up for the future.”

Tom Meehan, CFI, President of CONTROLTEK, adds, "This advancement aligns seamlessly with our commitment to fostering talent within our organization. His technological experience and dedication in serving our clients make him the ideal candidate to lead our RFID sector and enable businesses to leverage RFID technology for enhanced operations."

In his previous role as a Strategic Account Manager, Boston Hubbard drove and maintained solutions, along with providing technical expertise around RFID and EAS technology to CONTROLTEK’s National Enterprise Accounts. His support and contribution to outbound business development across retail, banking, aerospace, and manufacturing have been instrumental in expanding CONTROLTEK's presence across diverse sectors.

In his new role as Segment Development Manager for RFID Solutions, Boston will focus specifically on leading the RFID sector of the business. His expertise will play a vital role in empowering businesses to optimize their operations through the strategic implementation of RFID technology.

Read the press release here


 

 

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Retail & Hospitality Threat Landscape Briefing

February 15 | 1 p.m. ET

Join RH-ISAC for a threat briefing about the latest intel on observed incidents and emerging threats relevant to the retail and hospitality community, as well as mitigation or response techniques. This month’s briefing will feature intel and research from Red Sift, , and .

Register for Briefing

 

2024 RH-ISAC Summit

April 9 - 11 | Denver, Colorado

We're moving the annual RH-ISAC Summit to the spring! Join us in April 2024 for the premier cybersecurity conference in the retail and hospitality sector.

Interested in attending the Summit at no cost? Reach out to Clair Green to obtain free admission to the 2024 Summit. Don't miss out on this limited opportunity!

 

Question is How Will This Impact Retailers & Their Solution Providers

In 2024, the cybersecurity industry awaits more regulation — and enforcement

Private sector companies and critical infrastructure providers will face unprecedented demands for product security, intelligence sharing and transparency on data security.

The Biden administration — less than a year after launching its national cybersecurity strategy — is moving forward with efforts to protect critical infrastructure, hold manufacturers accountable for product security and compel private sector companies to disclose material events.  

Concerns about cyber risk have become one of the most pressing issues facing companies today. The annual Allianz Risk Barometer showed cyber events — including data breaches, ransomware and IT outages — are the top concern for U.S. businesses, replacing business interruption. 

Baker McKenzie’s 2024 dispute forecast found cybersecurity and data privacy are the two leading concerns in terms of investigations. 

Fueled by a surge in malicious cyber threats from criminal ransomware and rogue nation-states, the push for cybersecurity regulation is expected to reach new heights in 2024. 

The new and enhanced regulatory environment is forcing companies to take a more proactive risk management approach so they can identify potential threats before they escalate into cyber incidents, according to Cyrus Vance, former Manhattan district attorney and the co-chair of Baker McKenzie’s North America Enforcement Practice. 

“This will involve creation of more robust risk assessment processes, continuous monitoring and implementation of more advanced security measures,” Vance said via email. cybersecuritydive.com

 

83% of Finance Leaders Dealt With Cyber Fraud in 2023

Wire transfer fraud, vendor fraud, and CEO or CFO impersonations were the most frequent, according to a Trustpair survey.

Phishing, hacking, deepfakes — strategies cyber criminals can wreak havoc on a business — have forced CFOs to allocate more toward cybersecurity amid rising technology dependence. Cyber crime targets companies’ financials and so the finance chief has become one of the primary defenders against bad actors.

According to new data from Trustpair’s 2024 U.S. Fraud study, a large portion of CFOs and finance teams may have learned this lesson firsthand. Of the 266 U.S.-based director and C-level finance and treasury professionals with over $1 billion in revenue surveyed, 83% said they have had some type of fraud attempt on their business within the past 12 months.

Payment Fraud Hits Hard

Within that group, payment fraud in particular experienced a sharp rise. In 2023, of the companies that were targeted, 96% said it was in some form of payment fraud attempt. And that 96% is a stark jump from 2022, when just over half (56%) of respondents said they had been targeted, representing a 71% year-over-year increase. 

Of those targeted, 36% of organizations lost more than $1 millioncfo.com

 

Johnson Controls reports $27M hit from ransomware attack

Johnson Controls International spent $23 million on its response and remediation of a September ransomware attack that disrupted and limited access to internal IT systems, the company said Tuesday in a quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission

The company, which manufactures industrial control systems, physical security systems and facility-related technology and infrastructure, reported an additional $4 million in lost and deferred revenues from the attack. The incident response and associated lost revenues amounted to a collective $27 million impact on net income for the company’s first quarter of fiscal year 2024, which ended Dec. 31.

“The cybersecurity incident consisted of unauthorized access, data exfiltration and deployment of ransomware by a third party to a portion of the company’s internal IT infrastructure,” Johnson Controls said in the filing.  cybersecuritydive.com

 

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Cactus Gang - Relatively New Gang in Town With 100 Victims in 10 Months

'Cactus' Ransomware Strikes Schneider Electric

Schneider's Sustainability division, which provides software and consulting services to enterprises, was felled by cybercriminals in mid-January.

the company faces potential repercussions if its clients' business data gets leaked. According to Bleeping Computer, the Cactus ransomware ganga relatively young yet prolific group — has claimed the attack. (When Dark Reading reached out to Schneider Electric for corroboration, the company did not confirm nor deny this attribution.) 

Schneider Electric has not yet revealed the scope of data which may have been lost to its attackers, but did acknowledge one affected platform: Resource Advisor, which helps organizations track and manage their ESG, energy, and sustainability-related data. 

Cactus isn't even a year old yet, having first arrived on the ransomware scene last March. Already, though, it is one of the planet's most prolific threat actors.

Cactus has been claiming double-digit victims nearly every month since last July. Its busiest stretches thus far have been September when it took 33 scalps, and in December, 29 scalps, making it the second busiest group during that period, behind only LockBit  darkreading.com

 

Gang allegedly targeted Apple, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile stores in 13 states.

SIM-swapping ring stole $400M in crypto from a US company

The US may have uncovered the nation's largest "SIM swap" scheme yet, charging a Chicago man and co-conspirators with allegedly stealing $400 million in cryptocurrency by targeting over 50 victims in more than a dozen states, including one company.

A recent indictment alleged that Robert Powell—using online monikers "R," "R$," and "ElSwapo1"—was the "head of a SIM swapping group" called the “Powell SIM Swapping Crew.” He allegedly conspired with Indiana man Carter Rohn (aka "Carti" and "Punslayer") and Colorado woman Emily Hernandez (allegedly aka "Em") to gain access to victims' devices and "carry out fraudulent SIM swap attacks" between March 2021 and April 2023.

Powell's accused crew allegedly used identification card printers to forge documents, then posed as victims visiting Apple, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile retail stores in Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Utah, Nebraska, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Texas, New Mexico, Tennessee, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

According to the indictment, many of the alleged victims did not suffer financial losses, but those that did were allegedly hit hard. The hardest hit appears to be an employee of a company whose AT&T device was allegedly commandeered at a Texas retail store, resulting in over $400 million being allegedly transferred from the employee's company to co-conspirators' financial accounts. Other individual victims allegedly lost cryptocurrency valued between $15,000 and more than $1 million.  arstechnica.com

 

PCI DSS v3.2.1 is Retiring on 31 March 2024 – Are You Ready?

Where to Begin 
Whether you have already started the transition or are not sure where to begin, here are Eight Steps for the Journey to PCI DSS v4.0.  pcisecuritystandards.org


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Using AI to Fight Counterfeits
AI can now tell if your Louis Vuitton handbag is fake

Tech company Entrupy says its device can authenticate handbags from brands like Louis Vuitton and Chanel.

Entrupy is a technology service that uses AI to authenticate designer handbags and sneakers in the resale market to
ensure that customers are buying the real thing.

Since Entrupy was founded in 2012, the company says that its
AI technology has been used by hundreds of vintage resellers as of December 2020, according to its website. And interest in the AI tool may continue to grow as businesses seek to cash in on the AI hype.

Currently only available to resellers of luxury goods, Entrupy claims its tool can authenticate products from luxury brands like Balenciaga, Burberry, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton.
Using the AI could be a way for luxury resellers to build trust with their customers who may be wary of buying products that aren't real.

The renewed interest in the AI-service comes as of last October, when TikTok announced its partnership with Entrupy to
identify whether products on its new e-commerce platform TikTok Shop are fake. The partnership comes at a time when generative AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT have taken the world by storm.

To use the AI-powered authenticator, users are prompted to take photos of the product from every possible angle after inserting their smartphone into Entrupy's hardware device. The device has microscopic lens that the company claims
can magnify the phone camera to take granular photos of features like a product's designer plaque and material.

The photos are then cross-referenced with a database of millions of pictures of authentic inventory using an AI algorithm. Within minutes, Entrupy can make a verdict on whether the product is real or not, which
it claims has a 99.1% accuracy rate, according to its website. The company generates an official certificate that retailers can display if the product is deemed authentic. businessinsider.com


AI's E-Commerce Impact
Can AI Transform Etsy Into a Gift-Giving Destination?
Etsy is planning to use its first Super Bowl commercial to introduce
an AI-powered Gift Mode shopping feature that helps users find gifts tailored to the receiver’s interests.

The online tool asks the gift giver who they are buying for, for what occasion (holiday, birthday, graduation, etc.), and to select a few of the receiver’s interests.
AI machine-learning technology, paired with human curation, then generates a series of gift guides across select personas — i.e., “The Music Lover,” “The Adventurer,” and “The Pet Parent” — to help the giver “find thoughtful gifts for all of their loved ones,” Etsy said on its community site. AI has long supported Etsy’s search capacity, but the new tool embraces OpenAI’s GPT-4.

OpenAI’s GPT-4 enabled us to expand to such a wide range of gifting missions,” Tim Holley, Etsy’s VP of product, told TechCrunch. “For this use case, we included specific adjustments to make sure listings included are ‘gifty’ and add preference to listings that are predicted to be high quality and sold by sellers who offer excellent customer service.”  retailwire.com

DOJ: eBay to Pay $59 Million to Settle Controlled Substances Act Allegations Related to Pill Presses Sold Through its Website

Fourth-Largest Controlled Substances Act Settlement in History; First Controlled Substances Act Settlement with an E-Commerce Company

Burlington, Vermont – eBay Inc, an e-commerce company headquartered in San Jose, California, has agreed to pay $59 million and to enhance its compliance program to resolve allegations that it violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in connection with thousands of pill presses and encapsulating machines that were sold through its website.

The United States alleged that eBay did not comply with these CSA requirements for thousands of pill presses and encapsulating machines that were sold through its website, including high-capacity pill presses capable of producing thousands of pills per hour. The United States’ investigation further found that hundreds of eBay’s pill press buyers also purchased counterfeit molds, stamps, or dies, allowing them to produce pills that mimicked the products of legitimate pharmaceutical companies, and that many of eBay’s pill press buyers have been successfully prosecuted in connection with trafficking illegal counterfeit pills.

“eBay’s failure to comply with the Controlled Substances Act’s basic reporting and record keeping requirements for the sales of pill presses contributed to the proliferation of counterfeit pills in this country by allowing private citizens to set up pill factories in their homes and to do so without detection,”   justice.gov


Diesel Seizes Counterfeits With Help From Technology

Last year, 80,000 counterfeit Diesel goods were seized, 27,000 listings of counterfeits online were removed and 500 knockoff websites were closed.

MILAN Diesel issued a brand protection report for 2023, which shines a light on the company’s commitment to safeguard the label’s integrity and defend its consumers.

“Counterfeiting is one of the risks that companies face when they become very successful,” said OTB Group chairman and Diesel founder Renzo Rosso. “I am very proud of how Diesel is addressing the challenge of these infringements by taking proactive measures and using increasingly advanced technologies, which we are really proud of.  wwd.com,

Amazon reached its fastest global delivery speeds to Prime members ever in 2023

With more than 7 billion units arriving the same or next day, including more than 4 billion in the U.S. and more than 2 billion in Europe.

Same-Day Delivery sites are part fulfillment center, part delivery station, according to the company, allow Amazon to fulfill, sort, and deliver products from one location. Nine new dedicated sites serving 18 additional U.S. cities were added over the course of the year, and Amazon now offers Same-Day Delivery in more than 110 U.S. metro areas.  geekwire.com

eBay chops hundreds of Bay Area jobs as part of layoffs affecting 1,000 workers


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ORC Gang Leader Gets 6 Yrs Prison

LOS ANGELES— California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, along with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and other partnering agencies, announced sentencing against three individuals involved in a multijurisdictional organized retail theft operation targeting Walmart and Target locations and resulting in a total loss of over $130,000. Lawrence Fountain, Kevin Hawkins, and Zaniyah Hoilfield pled guilty to felony charges of organized retail theft, robbery, and attempted robbery. The lead defendant, Lawrence Fountain, agreed to a six-year state prison sentence. The robberies began in February 2022 and involved a total of at least five suspects. The suspects would enter stores and steal video game consoles while threatening the employees with physical violence. 

California Department of Justice’s Organized Retail Criminal Enterprises (ORCE) investigators, with the assistance of investigators from Los Angeles County Sheriff Department and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) served search and arrest warrants at multiple locations throughout Southern California during the investigation and arrested three of the five suspects. The alleged crimes occurred in the of counties of  Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura. Two of the five suspects remain at large and are facing multiple felony charges brought by the California Department of Justice including organized retail theft, robbery, and attempted robbery.   ca.gov

The complaint can be found here.

 

Wisconsin man arrested for allegedly stealing over $90K in calculators from Target stores across the US

A Wisconsin man has been arrested after allegedly stealing over $90,000 worth of calculators from Target stores across Indiana and several other states.

Frank Covington, 33, of Wisconsin, was arrested over the weekend and charged with several felonies after police discovered over 20 graphing calculators allegedly stolen from an Indiana-based Target store in the back of his car, according to arrest records. 

Officers later spoke with Target’s loss prevention program, who said Covington was the suspect in multiple thefts from Georgia to Indiana in recent days. He reportedly stole calculators from several other Indiana Target locations.   foxbusiness.com

 

Louisville, KY: Former Lowe’s Worker Arrested for Stealing Over $200k

A former employee at the Lowe’s store on Bashford Manor Lane was arrested Monday after police say he stole more than $200,000 from the store he worked at over a year and a half. Sammie Lee Neely was arrested and charged with theft by unlawful taking after an investigation revealed he had secretly taken more than $200,000 in hardware products from the store during his employment there.

According to arrest documents, Lowe’s has videos and photos of Neely committing the crimes. The documents show Neely also admitted to Lowe’s that he had done it, and then in a mirandized statement to West Beuchel Police, said he had done it “several times per month during the entire course of his employment.” Neely was allegedly stealing the items and then selling them to people in exchange for money or drugs.

 

Grand Rapids, MI: Organized ‘crime crew’ hits Walgreens 25 times from Detroit to Grand Haven.

Three women from a national organized crime group recently toured Michigan, hitting Walgreens stores 25 times and getting away with $99,000 in merchandise, according to recently released court documents. A Michigan State Police detective who works undercover and didn’t want to be identified said the women are part of a nationwide “Organized Retail Crime Crew” that includes as many as 300 Romanian nationals. Recently released court records show the three women visited Michigan in October, starting in the Detroit area, in Wayne and Oakland counties, before moving west. Following the I-94 and I-96 corridors, they’re suspected of hitting Walgreens in Kalamazoo and Calhoun counties, then in Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon counties.

In late October, they targeted the Walgreens on North Beacon Boulevard in Grand Haven, then drove 16 minutes north to hit a store on West Sherman Boulevard in Muskegon, court records show. They also hit a store in Goshen, Indiana, the documents show.

Surveillance photographs captured the women at some of the stores, along with their vehicles. The state trooper said the women wore long skirts with “kangaroo pouch” pockets. They walked away with pockets full of skin care and beauty products, about $3,500 worth at a time. At one store, they got $8,000 worth. Court records show Walgreen’s reported losses of $99,000. State police obtained search warrants for cellphone towers near the Walgreens, hoping to identify phones they might have used.

 

Fishers, IN: Suspect who stole $90k in calculators from Targets nationwide arrested in Fishers.

A Wisconsin man suspected of stealing over $90,000 worth of calculators from Targets across Indiana and several other states has been arrested after an alleged theft in Fishers. Frank Covington, a 33-year-old man wanted out of Wisconsin, was arrested over the weekend and charged with several felonies after police found over 20 graphing calculators allegedly stolen from a Fishers Target in the back of his car.

Officers with the Fishers Police Department were called just before 10 a.m. Sunday to the Target store on Commercial Drive for a theft in progress. Shortly after, a car matching the suspect description and being driven by Covington was pulled over near I-69.

While officers were detaining Covington, they found a magnetic device often used in retail thefts inside his pants pocket. Inside his car, police found:

  • 23 Texas Instrument TI-84 Plus CE calculators
  • 2 Texas Instrument TI-84 Plus calculators
  • 1 Texas Instrument TI-Nspire CX 2 calculator
  • A large amount of unused Target bags
  • A stack of cards with Target aisle numbers listed
  • A receipt from a Target in West Milwaukee

FPD said officers interviewed Covington, who reportedly admitted that there were stolen calculators in the back of his car that he’d taken from multiple Target stores. He also told officers he didn’t want to talk about how he ended up in Indiana and that he was driving a rental car. A check of Covington’s name in a national records system showed he had an active warrant for arrest out of Wisconsin. Covington was taken to Fishers’ police headquarters and refused to answer questions asking why he steals calculators and if he sells them. He later said that he collects calculators but doesn’t know where he keeps them before then requesting a lawyer. Officers later spoke with Target’s loss prevention program, who said Covington was the suspect in multiple thefts from Georgia to Indiana in recent days. He reportedly stole calculators from Indiana Target locations in Plainfield, New Albany and Avon before coming to Fishers. According to Target’s records, in total Covington is suspected of stealing $90,000 worth of calculators from Target stores across the United States since December 2021.

 

Amsterdam, NY: Pair Stole Over $2,500 from Target, Possessed Drugs

A pair stole over $2,500 from Target and was found in possession of drugs.

 

Mt. Laurel, NJ: Police Ask for Public's Help to ID Wegmans Shoplifter

Police in Mt. Laurel, NJ, are seeking the public's help to identify a Wegmans shoplifter.

 




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Shootings & Deaths


Va. man who stabbed Target co-worker sentenced to 100 years in prison

Migrant Worker With Immigration Problems Kills Co-Worker in Fit of Rage

A Fairfax County man was sentenced to 100 years in prison Tuesday for fatally stabbing a Target co-worker in a parking lot at the store in the Baileys Crossroads area.

Bazen Berhe, 25, pleaded guilty in October to first-degree murder in the April 17, 2021, killing of Hernan Leiva, 58, in what Berhe described to a judge as a fit of rage. Authorities said Berhe, then 22, attacked Leiva with knives and a hammer when the victim arrived at work that morning. 

Berhe, who is from Ethiopia, said he was in a “state of absolute anger” before the killing because he was having trouble with immigration authorities. When he realized that he would not be able to legally stay in the United States, Berhe said, he became enraged. Three days before the killing, Leiva, a janitor at Target, ate Berhe’s lunch out of the office refrigerator, which made him mad. The next day, Berhe purchased the hammer and two knives and began “training for the murder,” officials said.  thewashingtonpost.com


North Little Rock, AR: Update: Police, U.S. Marshals arrest suspect in Waffle House robbery, shooting.

Detectives with the North Little Rock Police and U.S. Marshals announced the arrest of a man wanted in connection with the shooting of a Waffle House employee on Dec. 15.


Akron, OH: Police still searching for suspect in Gas Station Armed Robbery and shooting.

Akron police are asking for help from the public to identify the man responsible for shooting a gas station employee after stealing a tip jar from the counter.

 


Robberies, Incidents & Thefts
 

DOJ: Man Charged with Arson Related to Fires at Clovis Lowe’s and Walmart

ALBUQUERQUE - Jimmy Roberts Guillen appeared in federal court on an indictment charging him with attempted arson and arson. Guillen, 59, will remain in temporary custody pending a detention hearing.

According to the indictment, on Sept. 3, 2023, Guillen attempted to damage and destroy the Lowe’s store located on North Prince Street in Clovis, New Mexico, by means of fire. Also, on Sept. 3, 2023, Guillen damaged and destroyed the Walmart store located on North Prince Street in Clovis, New Mexico, by means of fire.  justice.gov

Pittsburgh, PA: Police investigate Armed Robbery at Dollar General in Lincoln Place.

Officers were called to the 5800 block of Buttermilk Hollow Road at around 9 p.m. on Sunday.


Philadelphia, PA: Search Continues For 2 People After Baby Abandoned At Philly Walmart.

A manhunt continues for two suspects after a three-month-old child was abandoned at a Philadelphia Walmart recently following an attempted theft.


Los Angeles County, CA: Corona man sentenced to 12 years in prison for robbing 10 businesses in Orange County.

A Corona man accused of robbing 10 businesses at gunpoint during a crime spree spanning Santa Ana, Westminster, and Garden Grove was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison on Monday, Jan. 29.


Memphis, TN: Man cuts hole in wall, steals thousands in merchandise from Dollar General.

A man stole thousands of dollars in merchandise from a Memphis Dollar General after cutting a hole in the store's wall, according to the Memphis Police Department (MPD).


DOJ: Former Law Enforcement Officer Sentenced To 21 Years For Armed Robbery Of Multiple Pharmacies


Brockton, MA: Man accused of at least three Armed Robberies; McDonald’s, CVS and Cumberland Farms.


Lexington, SC: Man sentenced to 30 years in prison for Circle K Armed Robbery and burglary.


Berkeley, CA: Employees, customers at a breaking point after repeated thefts in Berkeley shopping area.


Chestnuthill Township, PA: $600 worth of counterfeit cash used at CVS.


St Louis, MO: Starbucks Employees getting fired over engaging with robbers; claiming self-defense.

 

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Daily Totals:
• 22 robberies
• 9 burglaries
• 0 shootings
• 0 killed



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Asset Protection Specialist
Newburgh, NY - reposted January 2
The Asset Protection Specialist role at Ocean State Job Lot is responsible for protecting company assets and monitoring store activities to reduce property or financial losses. This role partners closely with store leadership and the Human Resources team, when applicable, to investigate known or suspected internal theft, external theft, and vendor fraud...
 



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