2019 GLPS - Group LP Selfies
Your Team - Your Pride - Our Industry
Building Industry Pride - One Team Selfie at a Time

Rite Aid's Division 2 Asset Protection Field Leadership Team Led by Mike McKinney, Sr. Divisional Director, at their Annual Leadership Meeting in Hershey, PA

Burlington Stores Region 5 & Corporate LP

Ralph Lauren North America

Walgreens AP Solutions

Ascena's Central Enterprise AP

Got a picture of your team on your cell phone? Send it to us!  

View more 'Group LP Selfies' here

ADT/Protection 1 Commercial Growth Rex Gillette, Vice President, Retail Sales, ADT/Protection 1

ADT is now one of the nation's largest commercial integrators serving the retail industry. They've built solid relationships with their retail clients by delivering outstanding security with an exceptionally high level of customer service and careful attention to detail - from installation through ongoing services. Rex Gillette, VP of Retail Sales for ADT/Protection 1, tells us how the company's recent acquisitions have helped them dramatically expand, offering enterprise retailers a comprehensive security program that's nationally administered with a single point of contact for day-to-day operations.

Joe & Amber Go Off the Rails
 

Quick Take 10 with MCs Joe LaRocca and Amber Bradley

Once in a while during an 8-hour livestream broadcast, things can get weird. In this Quick Take, Joe and Amber talk in the 3rd person about Joe's Hollywood cameo, Amber's best impersonation, and some of their favorite comedies.

Three suspects plead guilty to fencing approximately $390k worth of stolen items on eBay

Three people have pleaded guilty in connection with a scheme to accept and sell stolen goods from the Chesapeake Pawn Brokers in Edgewood, according to the Baltimore office of the U.S. Secret Service. David Gutman, 55, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty Friday to wire fraud conspiracy, while co-defendants, Marina Gelfen, 55, of Reisterstown, and Dmitry Babich, 48, of Owings Mills, previously pleaded guilty to the same charge.

According to their plea agreements, between Jan. 1, 2015, and July 8, 2018, Gelfen, Babich and Gutman paid cash to "boosters," a common term for shoplifters, in exchange for merchandise stolen from Home Depot. The products include exclusive brands sold only through the Home Depot, such as Makita, Ryobi, Ridgid and other brand power tools, the release said. Read more

For further information on PROACT, email inquiries to PROACT@eBay.com.

 

Individuals interested in applying for Vector Security Networks Loss Prevention Foundation (LPF) scholarships must do so before the March 31, 2019 deadline! Applications can be submitted via the Vector Security Networks website at www.vectorsecurity.com/lpfscholarship.

The scholarships provide financial support to loss prevention professionals - or those who have an interest in loss prevention - seeking to obtain LPQ and LPC certifications. Vector Security Networks began awarding the scholarships in 2009 in support of career development and continuing education for professionals in this important and rapidly-growing industry.

Vector Security Networks has awarded 231 scholarships totaling $233,460 since the program began in 2009. The scholarships cover all course and examination fees for retail loss prevention professionals who wish to obtain LPF's Loss Prevention Qualified (LPQ) or Loss Prevention Certified (LPC) certifications.

In 2012, the scholarship program was expanded into Canada and will continue this year as well. A total of 10 LPQ and 10 LPC scholarships will be awarded to U.S.-based professionals, while another five LPC scholarships will be awarded to Canadian-based professionals.

Anyone currently in the loss prevention industry, or has an interest in the industry, may apply for an LPQ scholarship. Those applying for the LPC scholarship must meet certain eligibility requirements. Detailed information can be found at www.vectorsecurity.com/lpfscholarship.

Those who have applied in the past, but were not selected, are encouraged to apply again, but hurry, the March 31 deadline is fast-approaching!

Businesses Manage 9.7PB of Data but Struggle to Protect It
Their attempts to secure it may be putting information at risk, a new report finds

Organizations managed an average of 9.7 petabytes of data in 2018, a 569% spike compared with the 1.45 petabytes they handled in 2016. Most see the value of data, and more are monetizing it, yet very few are confident in their existing tools' ability to properly protect information.

According to Dell EMC's latest "Global Data Protection Index," businesses are managing much more data, nearly all (92%) recognize its value, and 36% are monetizing it. Still, most are challenged to secure it, and their attempts may be putting information at risk. More than three-quarters (76%) of respondents say their companies had "some type of disruption" within a 12-month period, and 27% couldn't recover their data using their data protection tools - nearly double the 14% who said the same in 2016.

Coincidentally, 76% of respondents are using at least two data protection vendors, which researchers say makes them 35% more likely to experience disruption during a 12-month time frame than those with a single vendor. The most common types of interference among companies using multiple vendors was unplanned systems downtime (43%), ransomware attacks preventing data access (32%), and loss of information (29%). darkreading.com

Hackers Target Retailers with Credential Abuse Attacks, says Akamai
Credential abuse attacks, the preponderance of API-call traffic on the web and the apparent misrepresentation of IPv6-based traffic are the main pressing cyber security concerns, according to the Akamai 2019 State of the Internet / Security report.

Hackers have directed credential abuse attempts at retail sites more than 10 billion times from May to December last year, making retail the most targeted segment studied, according to the report.

The Company studied the credential abuse technique known as credential stuffing, where hackers systematically use botnets to try stolen login information across the web. They target login pages for banks and retailers on the premise that many customers use the same login credentials for multiple services and accounts. Interest in retail is driven by the value of merchandise, which hackers acquire through compromised accounts and then frequently resell. thefastmode.com

Magecart payment card skimmer gang returns stronger than ever
Web-based card skimmers are becoming harder to detect and remove
Hackers are using increasingly sophisticated techniques to hide malicious code on e-commerce websites with the goal of stealing payment card details. Known as web skimmers, these malicious scripts have led to major breaches at online retailers over the past year and will very likely continue to cause problems for some time to come.

Hacking into e-commerce websites and stealing credit card details from databases goes back 15 years or more. However, as the security of both physical and online transactions increased over time, the attacks have shifted to the point of entry rather than stored records.

Over the past year, security professionals have investigated and tracked an increasing number of malicious actors that specialize in compromising websites and injecting malicious obfuscated scripts to steal card details as users are entering them into payment pages. One of the most prolific such gangs is called Magecart and is actually an umbrella organization with different subgroups.

Magecart has been responsible for recent card breaches on websites belonging to high-profile companies like British Airways, TicketMaster, Newegg, Feedify, Shopper Approved, as well as sites belonging to numerous smaller online merchants. csoonline.com

No one key risk indicator is generic across all businesses
The challenge for any organisation when defining key risk indicators (KRIs) for cyber security is that it is different for every enterprise. There is no blueprint to use as guidance; no one KRI that is pervasive or generic across all businesses, or even industry sectors, because the variances of what needs to be considered are diverse.

Cyber attacks tend to be launched to either access data held by the company or to disrupt business operations. Not only will the impact of an attack vary by company, but even hacks with similar objectives (such as data gathering), could be attempted in very different ways.

The data held by business-to-consumer companies will be of great interest in data harvesting attacks. computerweekly.com

AI-Powered, Self-Driving Robots Are Taking On a Bigger Role at Walmart Stores

Burger King app lets users 'burn' rival fast food ads in exchange for free Whopper

Fraud fears limit cross‑border ecommerce, but they don't have to
Right now, only 36% of US ecommerce merchants sell across borders, but cross-border sales offer an opportunity for growth. Even with low rates of cross-border sales now, the U.S. is second only to China as a destination for international online shoppers. And cross-border growth rates for the next several years range from 10% in the U.S. to 30% in Europe, according to PaymentsSource. Worldwide, the B2C cross-border ecommerce market is expect to be worth $1 trillion by next year.

The U.S. is popular with cross-border shoppers and there's a world of growth waiting, so what's holding ecommerce sellers back? Concerns about fraud.

Fraud is a valid worry for ecommerce merchants. Card-not-present fraud is currently growing fast. It's expected to cost the global ecommerce industry $130 billion from now through 2023. Many sellers see cross-border sales as inherently riskier than domestic ones, so they block international orders or reject most of them. That approach, though, is costing merchants good orders.

The key to selling confidently into other markets is to understand the risks and potential rewards, and to develop a fraud-detection plan that doesn't include generating high rates of false positives through automatic order rejections. After all, it's hard to sell profitably into any market if your store earns a reputation for turning away good customers. Many consumers won't try again if their orders are falsely declined, and they may share their negative experiences with others on social media. digitalcommerce360.com

Should online retailers blacklist shoppers who return too much?
Today's retail landscape is tough - and getting tougher. Businesses are under increasing pressure, from reduced margins to online competition, and now they're facing another problem. I'm talking about 'serial returners' - consumers that deliberately buy more items than they plan to keep and plan to return some later.

Earlier this year, Amazon pioneered a move to ban repeat offenders and started closing accounts of customers who "request too many refunds." On the face of it, Amazon's action is sensible; it ensures they can continue to offer the lowest price possible to their customers. It doesn't surprise me that other brands are starting to follow their lead.

Returns are incredibly expensive for retailers of all sizes, particularly as e-commerce businesses often operate on smaller margins. Almost half of all retailers (44 percent) claim their margins are being impacted by the cost of handling and packaging returns. Some companies find that it can cost double the amount for a product to be returned, as it does to be delivered. With payment refunds, customer communication and restocking warehouse shelves all costing money and valuable staff time, returns have an immediate impact on retailers. Items coming back for return can pass through as many as seven members of back-office staff - and each of these steps adds hugely to the cost.

Yet stopping the flow of serial returns can only be done with the right technology - which can deliver greater data-driven insights and more options to consider when managing serial returners. Without the tools to identify or monitor who their problem customers are, companies will be working blind. Read more: retailcustomerexperience.com

How Mastercard Company NuData Validates Online Merchants

New study shows consumers want seamless multichannel e-commerce

Glendale, CA: Man and woman arrested as suspects in retail theft ring after police recovered more than $100,000 of stolen items and $40,000 in cash from behind a crib Monica Paredes, 42, and Carlos Rivera, 32, were arrested on March 13 by police in Glendale, California. A search of Paredes's apartment turned up more than $100,000 of stolen merchandise from stores including Calvin Klein, Lululemon, Nike, and UGG. Police also recovered 400 sunglasses in display cases and individual cases found to be worth around $37,000 Behind a crib in a bedroom, officers also found around $40,000 in cash. Paredes and Rivera were booked on charges of felony receiving stolen property.  dailymail.co.uk

Ontario County, CA: Deputies return from San Francisco with accused Sephora serial shoplifter
Isabella Kuo, along with all of her aliases was located and arrested in the Golden State and escorted back by Ontario County deputies after an arrest warrant was issued by the court. Kuo, who had an arrest warrant issued by Ontario County Court Judge Frederick Reed after missing multiple court appearance was brought back to the jail from San Francisco, by two Ontario county Deputies. Thomas said that Kuo's bail of $2,500 will be used to cover the cost of the deputies to fly out to San Francisco and bring her back.

Kuo was initially arrested after authorities say she was stuffing her bags with over $900 worth of merchandise from the Sephora department store at Eastview Mall. Kuo had been previously banned from all Sephora stores nationally for previous theft accusations. Isabella Kuo is charged with two counts of third-degree burglary in Ontario County after allegedly stealing from the Sephora store in Eastview Mall in Victor, a store from which she is banned. So far Kuo has been known as Isabella R. Kuo, Adria B. Kuo, Adria Belle Kuo, Adria Isabella Kuo and Adria Kuo. In 2008, she legally changed her name from Adria Belle Kuo to Isabelle Rowan Kuo.  mpnnow.com

Santa Fe County, NM: License plate check leads to high-speed I-25 chase, crash; suspect tied to Home Depot tool thefts It started when a State Police officer approached a white sedan at a gas station in Santa Fe on March 4 after finding it had a stolen license plate. After 16 miles on busy I-25, a spike strip thrown by State Police blew out one of the suspect's tires. Court records show John Town had warrants from Albuquerque for allegedly stealing power tools from a Home Depot and threatening loss prevention officers with pepper spray in late February. State Police later tacked on more charges to this case after searching Town's vehicle where they found heroin, burglary tools and stolen power tools.  krqe.com

Foxborough, MA: Man Charged With $7,200 Hobby Store Break-In A man was arrested, who police said broke into a hobby shop last Saturday and stole $7,200 worth of radio-controlled cars. Andrew Darby, 29, was charged with larceny, malicious destruction of private property, and breaking and entering. Around 7 a.m., last Saturday, police were called to Hobby Quarters for a report of a break-in. Police said store security footage showed Darby leaving with several high end, radio-controlled vehicles.  patch.com

Salisbury, NC: Three charged, one cited in theft of $3,000 worth of items from Belk
Salisbury police charged three people and cited one other Thursday night after a Belk store loss prevention officer said he caught them on camera concealing items from the fragrance and intimate apparel departments in a child's stroller.  salisburypost.com

Myrtle Beach. SC: Shoplifting duo take off with $1,800 worth of merchandise from Victoria's Secret
Police are on the lookout for two men who allegedly stole close to $2,000 in merchandise from Victoria's Secret at Broadway at the Beach on Friday. Officers were called to Victoria's Secret around 7 p.m. where a witness told them two tall black males entered the store around 5:50 p.m. and used a white plastic bag to conceal their merchandise. They left the store 12 minutes later with $1,799 worth of merchandise, the report states.  myrtlebeachonline.com

Newtown, PA: Arrest Warrants Issued For Women In Newtown Gap Jeans Theft
Central Bucks Regional Police said Lyons and Kitchen stole $1,050 worth of clothing from the children's section. The pair is also accused of stealing 30 pairs of jeans from the Gap in Newtown that same day. The total value of the stolen merchandise from the Newtown store was reported as being $1,200.  patch.com

Bossier City, LA: Package Delivery Driver accused of Stealing, Selling Merchandise BCPD booked two suspects into Bossier Max, both charged with Illegal Possession of Stolen Things and Organized Retail Theft. "It's my understanding that there were a number of boxes of merchandise that were stolen," was all of the information BCPD spokeswoman Traci Landry offered Friday afternoon. The booking report says "several retail companies complained of missing deliveries. Investigators found the subject was the driver and was stealing merchandise to sell."  bossiernow.com

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	District Loss Prevention Manager Eastern PA/NJ The District Loss Prevention Manager ensures shrinkage control and improves safety in the stores through proper investigation and training. This position is responsible to provide feedback, guidance and protection for our Team Leaders and Associates. This role has oversight and responsibility for approximately 15-20 store locations...
	Area Loss Prevention Specialist San Francisco Bay Area We are currently looking for an Area Loss Prevention Specialist to join our team in San Francisco Bay Area. This position is responsible for conducting employee investigations, responding to and providing guidance during critical incidents, and assessing new/current retail store locations...
	Area Loss Prevention Manager - Seattle, Portland or Salt Lake City Seattle WA, Portland OR, Salt Lake City UT Our Area Loss Prevention Managers ensure safe and secure stores through the objective identification of loss and risk opportunities. Our Area Loss Prevention Managers plan and prioritize to provide an optimal customer experience to their portfolio of stores...
	Field Manager, Asset Protection (Northeast & Midwest) New York, NY| Poughkeepsie, NY | Parsippany, NJ Recruiting a Field Manager, Asset Protection to support our Northeast & Midwest HD Supply Construction & Industrial locations. This role will be based in the Greater New York area...
	Asset Protection Officer Chicago, IL We're looking for dynamic individuals as an Asset Protection Associate, who is committed to maintaining a safe environment for American Girl customers and employees, as well as, safeguarding company assets. The individual we seek should be able to multi-task, have outstanding communication skills, and exhibit a high level of compassion and understanding...

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