David Rogers promoted to Vice President COE (Center of Expertise) Asset Protection for Macy's
During David's ten plus years at Macy's, he's held a variety of asset protection/loss prevention and investigations leadership roles including Regional Director of Special Investigations, Regional Vice President of Loss Prevention for the Greater Boston Area - New England South, Baltimore, MD and Mid-Atlantic Region and for New York, NY and North East Region. He was also an Investigations and LP Systems Manager for Hecht's Department Stores in 2004 for two years. Congratulations David!


Tim Huff, currently the Director of AP Operations & Administration, will move into the Director of Organized Retail Crime position for Macy's
Tim will report to John Matas, VP Investigations and ORC. During his thirteen years at Macy's, Tim has held various loss prevention and investigations positions including District Director LP, Regional Director of Investigations and LP Manager. He was also a Regional LP Manager for LP Innovations in 2003 for three years. Congratulations Tim!



Steve Boarman, currently the Director of Organized Retail Crime, will move into the Director of AP Operations & Administration position for Macy's
Steve will report to Joe Coll, VP AP Operations & Administration. During his eight years at Macy's, Steve has held various asset protection/loss prevention and investigations positions including Director of LP Administration, District Director of LP and Regional Director of Investigations. Congratulations Steve!
 

Chris De Tray, CFI named Director of Asset Protection for Lucky's Market
Chris was previously the Director of Safety and Risk Management for Weis Markets before taking this new role. He's held a variety of other loss prevention and asset protection positions including Regional Director of AP for Weis Markets, Regional LP Manager for Harris Teeter and District LP Manager for Kmart. Congratulations Chris!



Michael Wahl named Director Safety and Health North American Supply Chain for XPO Logistics, Inc
Michael was previously the Manager of Safety and Crisis Management for Toys R Us for over a year before taking this new role. He's held other safety positions including Business Unit Safety Director - West and Divisional Safety Director - Midwest Division for Walmart, and Regional Safety Manager for May Department Stores. Congratulations Michael!



Mike Triesch promoted to National Loss Prevention Director
for Nordstrom
Mike was previously the National Program Director of LP for Nordstrom for over a year before getting this promotion. He's held a variety of loss prevention and investigations for the retailer including Divisional LP Manager - West, Regional LP Manager - Northwest, National Investigations Manager, Divisional LP Lead and Region Investigations Manager and other various LP Manager positions. He was also a Region Director of LP for West Region for Sears Holdings Corporation. Congratulations Mike!



Brodrick Williams named Head of Fraud & Risk Strategy for Jet.com
Brodrick was previously the Vice President of Fraud and Loss Prevention for HSN before taking this new role. He's held a variety of leadership positions for the loss prevention and fraud industries including OVP Fraud LP and Safety and Director Fraud, LP and Safety for HSN, Manager Corporate Fraud and Area LP Manager for Lowe's. Congratulations Brodrick!




Misty Strawn promoted to Senior Manager Corporate Security/Investigations for Verizon Wireless
Misty was previously the Senior Investigator for Corporate Security/Loss Prevention for the Pacific Market for the cell phone retailer before getting this promotion. She's held a variety of loss prevention and security/investigations positions for Verizon Wireless including Senior Investigator Corporate Security/Investigations and Sr. Analyst Compliance/LP in Orange County, CA. Misty earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Accounting and Finance from University of Southern California. Congratulations Misty!


Karen Valladares named Business Development Manager, Signature Brands for Genetec
In this Newly Created Position Karen will be responsible for the Retail, Financial, Hospitality & Gaming Vertical Markets in the Western United States & Canada for Genetec. Karen was previously a Strategic Account Manager for Verint Systems before taking this new role. Prior to that, Karen was Director of Sales for Universal Surveillance Systems Corporation from 2006 - 2014. Karen started her career in Retail working for Pottery Barn, Ann Taylor and Anchor Blue before her tenure as a solutions provider. Congratulations Karen!

Submit Your New Corporate Hires/Promotions or New Position

Scottsdale, AZ: Walmart AP, Scottsdale PD conduct emergency response training
at local Walmart
Submitted by Michael Mirand, Senior Asset Protection Manager - Dual Markets 372/373, Walmart

On Jan. 24, a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Scottsdale served as the backdrop for a "crime in progress reality based" training exercise. The exercise consisted of on-duty patrol and detective elements being called for an "active shooter" crime in progress incident involving multiple suspects.

A section of the store was closed to patrons while 43 police officers, 12 firefighters, three HonorHealth employees and 28 Wal-Mart associates participated in the training.

The training scenarios consisted of responding to an active shooter situation, treating numerous injured patients and dealing with a large crime scene.

One scenario was run three times, and each training session involved a different set of responding officers, dispatchers, fire personnel, and Wal-Mart Asset Protection Associates.

Extensive planning for the training was coordinated by Scottsdale Police Department and Wal-Mart AP (both local and HQ) to ensure both the general public and Wal-Mart associates understood the training nature of this event as to not cause unwarranted concerns.

This inaugural large-scale training exercise was authorized by Wal-Mart's highest levels of leadership in both asset protection and store operations, the press release stated, adding Wal-Mart has continual efforts to further develop and enhance relationships with local first responders nationwide. scottsdaleaz.gov scottsdaleindependent.com

Technology, Natural Disasters, Cyber Breaches Dominate Risks Facing the Boardroom
Many executives are expecting 2018 to be slightly less risky than the last two years, but many risks - including the rapid speed of disruptive technologies, cyber threats and regulatory changes - remain, poised to have "Significant Impact" on the enterprise, according to Protiviti and North Carolina State University's ERM Initiative's report: Executive Perspectives on Top Risks for 2018.

Respondents - primarily board members, CEOs, CFOs and other high-level executives - also indicated that they are planning to devote additional time and resources to identifying and managing risk over the next 12 months.

Enterprise culture is also a concern regarding responding to escalating risks in a timely manner; 61 percent of respondents rated this as a "Significant Impact" risk.

New to the top 10 list of risks this year are respondents' concerns about their enterprises' ability to utilize data analytics and Big Data to achieve competitive advantages and manage operations. securitymagazine.com

FBI: Violent & Property Crime Fell in First Half of 2017
Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, January-June, 2017
Violent crime in the United States declined slightly during the first half of 2017, even as the number of murders increased over the same period, according to FBI statistics.

The FBI released preliminary statistics for the first six months of 2017, which showed that crimes including rape, robbery and aggravated assault all fell over that period when compared to the year before, while there were more murders and an increase in motor vehicle thefts.

Three of the offenses in the violent crime category-rape (revised definition), robbery, and aggravated assault-showed decreases when data from the first six months of 2017 were compared with data from the first six months of 2016. The number of rapes (revised definition) decreased 2.4 percent, robbery offenses fell 2.2 percent, and aggravated assaults were down 0.1 percent. The fourth offense in the violent crime category, murder and non-negligent manslaughter, increased 1.5 percent when data from the first six months of 2017 were compared with data from the first six months of 2016.

Property Crime
In the property crime category, offenses dropped 2.9 percent. Burglaries were down 6.1 percent, and larceny-thefts declined 3.0 percent. However, motor vehicle thefts increased 4.1 percent.

Among the city population groups, there were both increases and decreases in the overall number of property crimes. Law enforcement agencies in cities with population of 1,000,000 and over reported the largest increase, 0.5 percent. Law enforcement agencies in cities with populations from 10,000 to 24,999 inhabitants reported the largest decrease, 5.2 percent.

Property crime decreased 6.9 percent in non-metropolitan counties and 5.4 percent in metropolitan counties.

Property crime decreased in all four regions of the nation. Reports of these offenses declined 4.8 percent in the Northeast, 2.8 percent in the Midwest, 2.6 percent in the West, and 2.5 percent in the South.

Caution against ranking

Figures used in this Report were submitted voluntarily by law enforcement agencies throughout the country. Individuals using these tabulations are cautioned against drawing conclusions by making direct comparisons between cities. fbi.gov

More Workplace Raids Are Coming
ICE to Employers: Expect More Form I-9 Audits, Arrests and Outreach
The Trump Administration's Next Step in its Immigration Fight
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) wants employers to understand that, going forward, the agency will increase Form I-9 audits, conduct more worksite raids and promote involvement in the government's voluntary compliance program.

Many immigration experts have been preparing employers to expect an increase in worksite enforcement since the Trump administration came into office. The agency's focus is not unexpected, said Maria del Carmen Ramos, a partner in the Tampa, Fla., office of law firm Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick. With no pending bills to address unauthorized immigration in Congress, it is unsurprising that worksite enforcement would be the administration's next step to abate it, she said.

ICE audited 1,360 organizations in 2017, resulting in 71 indictments and 55 convictions of business owners and managers. I-9 audits had fallen sharply after 2013, when President Barack Obama's administration shifted its focus to deporting undocumented people with criminal records, Ramos said.

The ICE statement also promoted its ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers (IMAGE) voluntary compliance program, in which organizations can be certified by the agency for complying with the law. shrm.com

CNP Up 81% - Account Takeover Triples
16.7M Impacted by ID Theft in 2017
Identity theft has never been more rampant
Identity theft hit a record high in 2017. And if that's not disturbing enough on its own, the latest data on ID crimes found that the crooks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, gaining toeholds into poorly secured accounts as a way to access more important segments of the victim's financial life, according to a just-released annual survey.

Javelin's latest survey, released today, found that some 16.7 million individuals were affected by ID theft in 2017, the most ever.

Roughly 1 million victims had such "intermediary accounts" opened in their names before their existing accounts were compromised, according to Javelin. Account takeover fraud tripled over the past year, reaching a four-year high. 

"Card not present" fraud is now 81 percent more likely than frauds perpetrated in person, according to Javelin.

Nearly a third (30 percent) of U.S. consumers were notified of a breach in the past year, up from 12 percent in 2016. For the first time ever, Social Security numbers (35 percent) were compromised more than credit card numbers (30 percent) in breaches. cbsnews.com

America's Biggest Retail Sales Team Fraud in History
First Reported on April 16, 2013, Day of FBI Raid on Corporate Offices
$80M Pilot Flying J Customer Fuel Rebate Fraud Case Goes to Jury Tomorrow
Does Family CEO Get Indicted? The Big Question Everybody is Waiting to Hear
Four former Pilot Flying J employees share a seat at the defense table, in a trial that has spanned more than three months.

In closing arguments Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Hamilton spent two hours walking through his case with the jury. He alleged that the four defendants, along with 14 others who have already pleaded guilty, worked together to advance a conspiracy, in a scheme to cheat trucking customers out of promised fuel rebates.

"This scheme was at the heart of the conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud that infected the sales team at Pilot Flying J," Hamilton said in closing arguments.

Pointing to emails and financial records, Hamilton reminded jurors of how people at Pilot profited from the scam that targeted less sophisticated truckers, baited them with false promises, and shorted them discount checks through fraudulent manual rebates.

Not only did the company reap the financial benefits of the fraud scheme, but so did the alleged co-conspirators.

The government also  took the time in closing arguments to revisit testimony from the half dozen former Pilot workers who took the stand during trial, admitting under oath to knowing that the conspiracy they participated in was wrong and voluntarily contributing to it anyway.

A verdict may not come until mid-February, as jurors are only scheduled to work through Wednesday and then return Feb. 12.

Pilot has acknowledged criminal responsibility for the fraud scheme, paying $92 million in government fines and more than $80 million in settlements to truckers who were shorted.

Editor's Note: Follow the case on page 2
As this writer takes you a little deeper on 'America's Biggest Sales Team Fraud in History' wate.com

Identiv to Acquire Video Technology and Data Analytics Company 3VR, Strengthening Position in Premises Security
Identiv, Inc., a global provider of physical security and secure identification, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 3VR Security, Inc., a video technology and data analytics company. It is anticipated that this combination will provide Identiv with a full range of technologies to deliver its vision for secure, pervasive yet frictionless premises security, situational awareness and business insights. 3VR's video intelligence solutions provide a single platform for real-time security and customer insights, enabling organizations to protect employees, customers and assets as well as improve store operations and shopping experiences.  globenewswire.com


Legal Recourse Unlikely for Old Navy Fired Employees, Expert Says
Retailer Old Navy announced over the weekend it fired three West Des Moines employees accused of racially profiling a customer.

James Conley III's Facebook post alleging store employees accused him of stealing because he is African American went viral last week; the post and accompanying videos have been shared more than 150,000 times. Conley announced he will file a lawsuit against Old Navy.

Drake University law professor Mark Kende says unemployment compensation and legal recourse from the terminated employees are highly unlikely.

"The question of can they bring a lawsuit against Old Navy, it doesn't seem right now, from what we know, that that's going to be easy. Old Navy has a code about racial profiling, there's laws against this particular type of racial profiling."

According to the code of ethics of Gap Incorporated, Old Navy's parent company, unreasonable searches or profiling of customers by any employee are strictly prohibited. However, company officials have not confirmed whether there is a policy requiring employees to scan customers' clothing to make sure the items were previously purchased. The store's manager accused Conley of stealing an Old Navy brand jacket that he wore into the store at the time and scanned its tags to make sure it hadn't been stolen.

Legal experts say Old Navy could be on the line if there was no progressive discipline policy implemented so an employee receives gradual punishment before being fire. Company officials have not confirmed to Channel 13 if the store had such a policy.

Conley will be filing a lawsuit against Old Navy, saying it's not as much about the money as it is to bring about change on the issue of racial profiling. whotv.com

Amazon Go is more like Amazon 'Uh oh'
Amazon Go - The next great innovation in retail
Or is it a Huge Pyramid Scheme - The 21st century opium of American consumerism
Retail innovation cycles roughly every 30 to 40 years, putting us right on the precipice of another great retail innovation. The 1920s saw the rise of the department store, the late 1950s and early 1960s saw the rise of the American shopping mall and mass-merchants - birthing the likes of Walmart, Kmart, and others - and the 1990s ushered in e-commerce. If history repeats itself, and it looks like it does in retail, then we are about due for something new.

The innovation Bezos and the Amazon team are about to give us is the first personalized physical space.

"Amazon rarely opens anything to the public en masse unless Amazon knows it has a home run, which is exactly what scares me."

Amazon Go may just be the scariest thing in our retail lifetime regardless of its awesomeness. No doubt Amazon Go is awesome, because it should be awesome! 

Editor's Note: If you're a retailer at heart read this article. retaildive.com

lululemon athletica CEO Resigns Abruptly - Standards of Conduct
lululemon expects all employees to exemplify the highest levels of integrity and respect for one another, and Mr. Potdevin fell short of these standards of conduct.

"Culture is at the core of lululemon, and it is the responsibility of leaders to set the right tone in our organization. Protecting the organization's culture is one of the Board's most important duties."

As part of the terms of his exit, Lululemon agreed to pay Potdevin nearly $3.4 million as a lump sum and another nearly $1.7 million, paid out monthly, after 60 days of his exit, according to a securities filing. 

Potdevin's departure undermines that momentum and recalls the damage the brand suffered a few years ago when founder Chip Wilson compounded quality headaches by saying that only women too big to wear his pants would have problems with them. lululemon.com retaildive.com vancouversun.com

Another Whistleblower Case
U.K. Fraud Trial of Ex-Tesco Executives Ended After Heart Attack
Three Top Executives Overestimated Profits by 250 million pounds in Sept., 2014
The fraud trial of three former Tesco Plc executives was halted when one of them, ex-U.K. Chief Financial Officer Carl Rogberg, had a heart attack days before the jury was due to begin deliberations.

Judge Deborah Taylor discharged the jury after determining that Rogberg's condition meant it was inappropriate to continue the trial. The Serious Fraud Office, which is prosecuting the case, has been given until March 2 to decide on whether to retry the case. That retrial would begin Sept. 3, Taylor said.

Along with the 51-year-old Rogberg, ex-U.K. chief Chris Bush, and John Scouler, the former-U.K. commercial director, were charged with fraud and false accounting in connection with an accounting scandal that wiped 2 billion pounds ($2.8 billion) off Tesco's market value. bloomberg.com

Whole Foods New Inventory System Cuts Down Food Waste
Whole Foods is using a new inventory system that could cut down on food waste, but employees are complaining that the new method is creating mass food shortages and a tense working environment.

The new inventory system, called order-to-shelf (OTS), has strict procedures for displaying and storing products on shelves and in back rooms of stores. To ensure compliance, the grocery retailer is using "scorecards" that rate things like proper recording of theft to accuracy of signage, employees told the Business Insider.

Business Insider spoke with 27 current and former Whole Foods workers, who said many employees are "terrified" of losing their jobs under the new order-to-shelf system. If there is too much stock in storage, departments lose points on the OTS scorecard. Failing scores can result in the firings of employees. daytondailynews.com

The Death of Clothing
Why Apparel Retailers Are Struggling
The apparel industry has a big problem. At a time when the economy is growing, unemployment is low, wages are rebounding and consumers are eager to buy, Americans are spending less and less on clothing.

The woes of retailers are often blamed on Amazon.com Inc. and its vise grip on e-commerce shoppers. Consumers glued to their phones would rather browse online instead of venturing out to their local malls, and that's crushed sales and hastened the bankruptcies of brick-and-mortar stalwarts from American Apparel to Wet Seal.

But that's not the whole story. The apparel industry seems to have no solution to the dwindling dollars Americans devote to their closets. Many upstarts promising to revolutionize the industry drift away with barely a whimper. Who needs fashion these days when you can express yourself through social media? Why buy that pricey new dress when you could fund a weekend getaway instead?

The ingredients for this demise have been brewing for decades. In 1977, clothing accounted for 6.2 percent of U.S. household spending, according to government statistics. Four decades later, it's plummeted to half that.

Apparel is being displaced by travel, eating out and activities-what's routinely lumped together as "experiences" - which have grown to 18 percent of purchases. Technology alone, including data charges and media content, accounts for 3.4 percent of spending. That now tops all clothing and footwear expenditures.

Other reasons cited by the article include:

● No one needs to buy a separate work wardrobe anymore.
● Fast-fashion companies and off-price retailers are putting pressure on prices.
● Retailers and traditional fashion trendsetters are losing influence to social media celebrities.
● Companies claiming to be the future of retailing have struggled.  bloomberg.com

LL Bean starts employee buyouts, ends pension plan

U.K. group has big plans for U.S. after buying Kroger's c-stores

FLIR Systems Sells Retail and SMB Visible-Spectrum Security Business

Allied Universal Acquires Philadelphia-Based Covenant Security Services


Quarterly Results

Dunkin Brands Q4 Dunkin Donuts U.S. comp's up 0.8%, Baskin-Robbins comp's up 5.1%, revenue up 5.3%
 

RLPSA Declares it's the Souper Bowl of Restaurant Conferences Announcing its Keynote Speaker Line Up   "GAME ON: A Championship Vision" Emmitt Smith Pro Football Hall of Fame Running Back "Cyber Security and How to Mitigate the Insider Threat" Paul R. Johnson Chief of Global Security, Papa John's International   "Managing a Crisis in Real Time...AKA, The Story of My Life!" Ed Hochuli NFL Referee & Lawyer Aslam Khan Chief Executive Officer, TGI Fridays View full agenda here Early Bird Registration is Open. Register now for $499 per person and save over $125!

Wilson Safe Offers Extensive Line of Vaults
to Protect Your Business

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Fast-growing Untuckit in RFID pilot
Untuckit, the fast-growing brand whose signature shirts are made to be worn untucked, has made the leap to bricks-and-mortar with ease. Founded online in 2011, the start-up has grown from five stores at the end of 2016 to 25 locations at the beginning of 2018 - a number it hopes to double by year-end. According to reports, Untuckit has been profitable since its second year of business.

Now the brand is taking the next step, and has entered into a pilot at its flagship on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue with Sato Global Solutions to optimize its store inventory through RFID and inventory visibility. It uses data collected by Sato's RFID chips on men's shirts, combined with RetailNext traffic counters and other in-store data points, to track which shirts are tried on, if the sizing fits and purchase information. The data allows Untuckit to identify the optimal merchandising mix based on what people try on versus what they buy.

The solution gives store managers visibility into merchandise movement, allowing them to better determine customer demand. The tiny RFID tags on the "try-on" shirts collect real-time data on merchandise movement from showroom to fitting room (and back). chainstoreage.com

Cisco and Apple join alliance to promote cyber insurance
Apple and Cisco are now offering insurance policies to companies to protect them financially against cyber attacks.

In particular, Cisco's Ransomware Defense includes advanced email security, endpoint protection, and malicious internet site blocking which can protect an organization against malware, ransomware and other cyber threats.

The companies said the aim is to offer businesses a more efficient and affordable way to manage cyber risks from ransomware and malware threats by bringing together security technology, secure devices, cybersecurity domain expertise, and cyber insurance. theinsidercarnews.com

Nationwide "SIM hijacking" Warning
T-Mobile Is Sending a Mass Text Warning of 'Industry-Wide' Phone Hijacking Scam
Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting people's phone numbers, hijacking and then using them to access people's bank or social media accounts.

This is a legitimate, real T-Mobile alert, the company confirmed to Motherboard on Monday. A company representative said T-Mobile is messaging its "entire post-paid customer base," but some customers may have yet to receive the alert as "that takes time and can't be done all at once."

"Phone number port out scam" is an obscure term, but it refers to a relatively simple, highly effective and dangerous hack. The scammer calls T-Mobile (or another cell phone provider), or goes to a store, and impersonates the target victim, requesting a new SIM card for the victim's phone number. The same process works also by "porting" the phone number to another provider, giving the attacker access to the victim's phone number. vice.com

Ransomware Victims Hit on Average by Two Attacks per Year
A study of 2,700 IT professionals across the globe has revealed that 54% of organizations suffered a ransomware attack in the last year, and most organizations were hit more than twice, with the average number of ransomware per attacks being two.

On average, every ransomware attack costs companies $133,000, but some infections were more widespread than others, and 5% of respondents said they dealt with ransomware incidents that cost between $1.3 to $6.6 million.

These estimations did not include just the cost of the ransom fee, but also lost work hours, equipment downtime, device and network costs, and lost business opportunities. bleepingcomputer.com

Former Dell Executive, Accomplice Sentenced in $10.8M Fake Invoice Fraud
A Texas federal court on Friday sentenced a former Dell Inc. employee to more than three years in federal prison and $10.8 million in restitution and his accomplice to 26 months in prison and $849,000 in restitution after they pled guilty to defrauding the company.

Austinites Kelly Burton Nunn, 50, and his accomplice Bryan Dale Wallace, 55, pled guilty in 2017 to conspiring to submit fraudulent invoices to Dell. As a result, the company paid Wallace millions of dollars for unearned services, which Wallace then split with Nunn from Jan. 2007 to August 2012. law360.com

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Over 12,000 Business Websites Leveraged for Cybercrime
More than 12,300 websites in the business category were used to launch cyberattacks or deliver malware in 2017, making company sites riskier than gambling and shopping sites. Attackers are abusing people's trust in popular sites to launch consistent and effective malware campaigns.

Forty-two percent of the top 100,000 websites ranked by Alexa are considered "risky," according to Menlo Security's State of the Web 2017. Researchers determined a website's risk based on three criteria: use of vulnerable software, history of distributing malware or launching attacks, and the occurrence of a security breach within the 12 previous months.

A site was deemed risky if it met any one of these criteria. The largest category of risk was news and media sites, 49% of which met a risk factor, followed by entertainment and arts (45%), travel (41%), personal sites and blogs (40%), society (39%), and business and economy (39%), which includes company, association, industry group, financial data and services, and hosted business application sites. darkreading.com

The Beatles File Multi-Million Lawsuit to Crack Down on Counterfeit Goods
The Beatles' companies Apple Corps Ltd. and Subafilms Ltd. filed a lawsuit on Thursday against a list of 48 internet dealers and aliases for promoting, distributing and selling items that bear counterfeit logos or imitations of their respective trademarks. The defendants in the suit include shirtsforyou.net, B.F. Store, Good luck to you, GreenMango Store and HOOK ON YOU.

The lawsuit alleges trademark counterfeiting and infringement, "false designation of origins" to confuse potential buyers, common law unfair competition and common law trademark infringement. According to the lawsuit, the defendants are either located in or distribute their products from territories with lax trademark enforcement. Besides their own websites, the suit says the goods were also available from the sellers on commercial sites such as Amazon, eBay, Bonanza.com and Etsy. billboard.com

Study: Q4 stands out as time of digital commerce 'firsts'
The fourth quarter of 2017 marked significant digital milestones, including the highest rates of mobile usage, discounts and buying intent.

Mobile shoppers flexed their muscle in the fourth quarter as traffic and order share hit all-time highs of 60% and 39%, respectively, according to the "2017 Q4 Shopping Index," a report from Salesforce.

According to data, sales growth values also were staggering, as all of the growth in traffic and orders came from mobile. Computers and tablets saw either flat or declining growth in both KPIs, but mobile saw 43% growth in orders, and 25% growth in traffic. This sets the tone going forward: Retailers' roadmaps should begin and end with optimizing everything - everything - for mobile. chainstoreage.com

Alibaba sales soar 56% after record Singles Day sales

Lululemon Says Foreign Fraudsters Selling Fake Products

Three men sentenced for running two websites selling fake driver's licenses at "fakeidstore.co" and "fakedlstore.com"

Chandler, AZ: Man connected to 21 thefts at Home Depot, Lowe's and Walmart in East Valley
Jude Arthur Gonzalez, 35, was arrested in Chandler on Jan. 23. Police say he robbed Lowe's, Home Depot and Walmart stores in Chandler, Gilbert and Mesa, along with stores in Avondale and Glendale. Police estimate the total loss at between $30,000 and $40,000. They say additional reports from the stores are still coming in. Gonzalez has been charged with retail theft. eastvalleytribune.com




Staten Island, NY: Police seek man for questioning after baby formula taken from Target
The New York City Police Department is asking for the public's help to identify an individual sought for questioning in connection with the theft of baby formula from the Target store in New Springville. At 3 p.m. on Jan. 20, an NYPD spokesperson said a total of $647 worth of baby formula was stolen. silive.com


San Mateo, CA: SMPD Officers arrest 4 suspects in $10,000 Robbery
Police arrested four people after they allegedly led San Mateo police officers on a chase this evening (Feb. 5) following a robbery at the Bridgepointe Shopping Center. The incident began about 5:22 p.m., when an officer on patrol near the shopping center and spotted a vehicle speeding and driving erratically, Sgt. Amanda Von Glahn said.

The officer tried to conduct a traffic stop, however, the vehicle's driver disregarded the officer, leading police on a chase. Around the same time, someone called police to report a robbery at a store at Bridgepointe in which over $10,000 of merchandise was taken, according to Von Glahn. The suspects were arrested on suspicion of grand theft, evading police, hit-and-run, conspiracy and obstructing police. Additionally, one of the suspects was also arrested on suspicion of possessing an illegal weapon, according to Von Glahn. padailypost.com

Update: Richland, WA: Former Rite Aid Manager set for trial for setting-up $6,000 Armed Robbery
Three family members appeared separately before a judge Monday on charges they pocketed $6,000 total in a December holdup at the Richland Rite-Aid. Tonya M. Wright lost her job as store manager after allegedly helping her soon-to-be husband and his brother carry out the robbery while she was on duty. Prosecutors say Anthony D. Wright passed on information about what was happening inside store so brother James E. Wright - clad in all black, gloves and a face-covering mask - knew where to go and what to do. When another employee had difficulty opening his cash register at gunpoint, Tonya stepped in and opened the store safe to retrieve cash and bank coin rolls for the robber, according to prosecutors. The three defendants now have March 26 trial dates in Benton County Superior Court on one count each of first-degree robbery. tri-cityherald.com


Katy, TX: Gunman steals $2K in vape merchandise during robbery
An employee at a smoke shop in Katy is OK after a suspected robber stole around $2,000 worth of merchandise and money from the store. The entire robbery was caught on surveillance cameras from around the store. The manager of Tokin Eddie's on Fry Road said that, while her employee was mopping and closing up the shop at 10 p.m. Sunday, a man wearing a Cowboys hoodie and sunglasses, who had a black bandana around his mouth, walked in. click2houston.com

Park City, UT: Shoplifter hits for over $1,000 of Cosmetics from Boutique
More than $1,000 of merchandise was stolen from Cake Boutique in Park City during the first weekend of Sundance Film Festival. On Jan. 19 at 6:00 p.m., a woman entered the store at 577 Main Street. She stole face cream, make-up and lipstick samples. denverpost.com

Elk Grove, IL: 3 Burlington shoplifters flee after threatening LP with a knife
Shortly after 9 p.m. on Sunday, February 4, a Loss Prevention employee at the Burlington store attempted to stop 3 people who were observed shoplifting. When the employee approached the suspects, one of the suspects threatened to stab him. The employee relented, and the 3 suspects fled the store. The suspect who threatened to stab the employee was a Black adult female and the two accomplices were a white male adult and a Hispanic female. All three were said to be 30 to 40 years of age. elkgrovenews.net

Elk Grove, IL: PetSmart Employee Assaulted, Punched in Face
by Shoplifting Suspects
Just before 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 5 a store employee at the Petsmart store on Laguna Boulevard attempted to stop two people suspected of shoplifting. In response to the action, the female suspect, described as a African American aged 40 to 50, grabbed the employee by the hair and pulled her to the ground. The same suspect punched the employee twice in the face. After the assault, the suspects fled with the stolen merchandise. The accomplice was described as an African American in his 30s, 6'1" and thin build. elkgrovenews.net

Jackson, TN: Man charged in $500 Walmart theft

Shootings, Stabbing & Deaths

Anderson, SC: One man dead after self-inflicted gunshot outside Sam's Club
A 23-year-old Upstate man is dead after he apparently shot himself in the head as Anderson police caught up to him outside Sam's Club on Liberty Highway, a coroner said. Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore said police officers were called around 7:20 p.m. Monday to investigate a shoplifting at Walmart, which shares a parking lot with Sam's Club. Shore said the man believed to be connected to the shoplifting had left Walmart when officers arrived. Anderson Police Chief Jim Stewart said officers caught up with the man at a loading dock behind Sam's Club. Stewart said that as an officer attempted to restrain the man, the man pulled a gun "and a single shot was fired." greenvilleonline.com

San Antonio, TX: Armed Robber shoots AutoZone Store Manage; attempts to shoot another employee but the gun jammed
An armed robber shot a store manager and tried to shoot another employee Monday night at a west-side Auto Zone. Police say the gunman came into the store at Marbach and Loop 410 around 10:15 p.m. and started shooting. A bullet hit the manager in the chest. The second employee was not hit, but the robber took him to the back of the store and forced him to open a safe. Police say the robber then tried to shoot the employee at least twice, but the gun jammed. The suspect got away with some cash. mysanantonio.com

Warwick, RI: Argument leads to Customer being stabbed inside C-Store
The incident occurred around 4:45 p.m. at the Conimicut Variety Store on West Shore Road. The man's injuries are not considered life-threatening. Police said they have a suspect in custody and it looks as though the victim was targeted, since the two men knew each other. He said the men may have gotten into a fight inside the store that escalated and turned violent. wpri.com

Johannesburg, South Africa: Man 'accidentally' shoots people two at East Rand Mall

Troy, OH: 2 people face 35 counts in rash of burglaries
Burgin and Roberts are accused of participating in burglaries last year in Bethel, Monroe and Springcreek townships. They also are accused of burglaries over an eight-month period from Northern Kentucky to Miami County. whio.com



Waterloo, IA: Cell Phone Armed Robber sentenced to 17 to 25 years

Escambia County, FL: Appeals Court Upholds Life Sentence For Nine Mile Road Armed Robbery

Hartford, CT: Two men charged in ATM "jackpotting" scheme

Albuquerque Man Sentenced to Seven Years for Armed Robbery of Four Pizza Delivery Employees

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