Driving AP/LP Results with Science:
2019 LPRC Focus Update

LP/AP teams support their company's success by enabling and protecting the total enterprise. The Loss Prevention Research Council was founded by leading retail LP leaders in 2000 to enhance their impact on this mission by working together with researchers to reduce theft, fraud, and violence.

Today, with record membership of 160 corporations, 80 ongoing projects, the annual IMPACT conference, a new app and other upcoming initiatives, learn about the new ways the LPRC is bringing together retailers, scientists, solution partners and law enforcement.

Episode Sponsored By:

Amber & Joe Talk NRF PROTECT Past & Present
 

Learn how Frank Abagnale of "Catch Me If You Can" fame helped Joe get a handle on identity theft from a speech he gave at a past NRF LP Conference, now NRF PROTECT, and what excites him and Amber about this year's conference in Anaheim (hint: it's Disneyland).

Retail Co. Workers Seek Cert. Over W-2 Phishing Scam
Payroll Manager Sent Scammer 16,000 Employee W2s

Employees accusing a Texas-based retail merchandising company of sending copies of their W-2s to identity thieves in a "phishing scam" have asked an Illinois federal court for class certification.

Lead plaintiff Shirley Lavender argued Monday that the company's failure to implement proper security measures is common to the thousands of workers whose privacy was violated. She asked the court to certify a class of all current and former Driveline Retail Merchandising Inc. employees whose personal identifying information, including social security numbers, was compromised.

Lavender said an "inadequately trained payroll manager of Driveline" sent a scammer the W-2s of roughly 16,000 workers who received wages at some point in 2016. law360.com

The War Between Cyber Security & Crime Has Begun
And it's being fought by artificial intelligence
The technological capabilities on either side of cyber warfare are ratcheting up with major advances in artificial intelligence. AI bots have developed the ability to deliver cyberattacks with the intensity and precision that would be nearly impossible for today's human cybersecurity experts to contain. Only AI powered machines of matching prowess are able to defend our systems from these attacks.

With advanced AI toolkits proliferating the market and the evolution of organized marketplaces to "rent" botnets as easily as one buys groceries on Amazon, it has become easier than ever for even rookie hackers to launch AI-based attacks at large scale. These capabilities are no longer restricted to state-actors with tremendous resources at their disposal but abundantly available to the multitudes of malicious actors all over the world.

The war between cybersecurity and crime has already begun. It's here and now and we're currently experiencing it firsthand. In this article are some of the most important battles that will ultimately determine who wins the war: biometricupdate.com

Analysis: How many customers will shop using augmented reality?
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) may change how retailers and consumers interact, according to data from Gartner. By 2020, 100 million consumers will shop using AR technology online and in-store, according to Gartner data. A 2018 Gartner also survey indicated that, by 2020, 46% of retailers planned to deploy either AR or VR solutions to meet customer service experience requirements. Gartner analysis indicates that AR and VR technology have the potential to let retailers individualize offers and enable customers to visualize products in different settings.

In addition, Gartner says that using VR's immersive interfaces, retailers can create task efficiencies or reduce the costs associated with designing new products. They can also enhance the understanding of information through advanced graphical visualization and simulation technologies. chainstoreage.com

Nearly 80% of People Use Shopping Apps While at Home,
And Most Use Them Frequently - At Least 2-5 Times a Week
U.S. consumers who use shopping apps turn to them frequently: More than one-third of people (35%) use shopping apps between two and five times a week, while 28% use them at least once a day, according to new survey data released by Visual Objects.

Visual Objects' data supports findings from another survey, which found that the number of retail apps on the average smartphone doubled within the last year - up to four total. As more people download shopping apps, the more likely these apps are to occupy people's time.

Most Popular Shopping Apps
When people use shopping apps, they're most likely to use an app from mass merchant retailers like Target, Walmart, or Costco (81%), pure online retailers like Amazon or Overstock (77%), or apparel retailers (79%). The most popular shopping apps offer a benefits-driven and frictionless path to purchase. prnewswire.com

Calling Canadian Retailers!
Register for the 3rd Axis Canada Retail Leadership Forum
The Retail Landscape is changing and with these changes providing safety and security for your customers, staff and business is of utmost importance. Join us for the 3rd Axis Canada Retail Leadership Forum in Toronto, May 22-23. Full details here: http://bit.ly/2CFNRul

If you would like to attend this event please register here!

Canadian Security Magazine Recognizes 1 Retail in Top 10 Under 40 Program
Canadian Security magazine is pleased to announce the winners of the inaugural Top 10 Under 40.

There were many, many great nominations representing a variety of different disciplines within the field of professional security. Narrowing the list down to only 10 recipients was no easy task.

Winners are employed in the fields of guarding, technology, property management, banking, retail, government and other sectors. Their ages range from 28 to 39. Each recipient will be profiled in the Spring issue of Canadian Security magazine, available in May. Please join us in congratulating all the winners. canadiansecuritymagazine.com

Only 1 Retailer: Agnes Pienio-Ganthier, Regional Manager, Loss Prevention, Amazon Fulfillment Services, 38

Agnes has been with Amazon since 2014, first as a Loss Prevention Specialist for two years (2014-2016), then as Loss Prevention Manager for nearly three years (2016-2019), before her recent promotion to Regional Loss Prevention Manager.

Prior to that, Agnes spent over five years at Sears Canada in various loss prevention roles, from Loss Prevention Internal Investigator to Loss Prevention Manager to District Loss Prevention Manager. Congratulations, Agnes!
 

Violent robberies spark concern for Winnipeg retailers, security companies
Two recent robberies that turned violent have retailers and security companies speaking out about an escalating level of danger facing store employees and security guards. Winnipeg police arrested a man Friday night following separate incidents - the first at the Marlborough Hotel, the second at a Shoppers Drug Mart on Sherbrook Street.

Toro Security owner Colin Harris declined to speak to any specific incidents. He said security guards have always dealt with violence but Harris said it now seems to be more prevalent. Harris said for the past year guards working at Toro have been encouraged to take mental health first aid training to help them recognize and respond to situations involving people in crisis.

Food Fare owner Munther Zeid said he has a zero-tolerance approach when it comes to shoplifting. He said his employees are told to go in groups if confronting suspected shoplifters. ctvnews.com

Canadian Consumers Concerned About Privacy Breaches
Why Weed Stores Are Scanning Your ID And What To Do About It
The Hunny Pot on Toronto's Queen Street West told VICE it is scanning IDs to alleviate wait times, but that it is optional and customers are made aware that they can have their ID verified manually. Ameri, a weed shop in Yorkville, said it mostly checks IDs manually but also has a scanning gun available to "maintain compliance, catch fake IDs and lower human error."

As for storing customers' information, the software, Cova, can do that if a customer chooses to create a profile at the store, said The Hunny Pot spokesman Cameron Brown in an email. But it's not mandatory.

But cannabis lawyer Jack Lloyd told VICE there's reason to be concerned about potential privacy breaches. The legal cannabis industry has been hit with a number of breaches that have compromised patient and customer information.

In an interview with VICE, Gary Cohen, CEO of Cova, said his company's software has been implemented in more than 100 legal weed shops across Canada and that most of those shops are using the ID scanning technology. He said Cova created the scanning software in response to requests from American legal weed retailers who were concerned front line staff members weren't doing a good enough job of verifying customers' IDs. vice.com

Public Safety Alert in Toronto
Large Amount of Drugs Stolen from Downtown Pharmacy
Toronto police are investigating after large amounts of several medications were stolen from a downtown pharmacy on Monday night. Police say a pharmacy in the Bathurst and College Streets area was broken into some time between Monday night and Tuesday morning. The suspects took large quantities of various drugs including morphine, hydromorphine, percocet, testosterone gel, OxyNEO and Tylenol 2 and 3. All of the drugs taken could be harmful and even fatal if ingested, especially to children. 680news.com


Canada Store Openings & Expansions
● Amazon opens first space in Winnipeg
● Canada Goose plans to open 6 new stores in Alberta, Ontario, U.S. and Europe
● MEC Opens 1st Flagship Store on Toronto's Queen Street West
● Second pot shop opens in Toronto with soft launch to avoid crowds
● Fire & Flower Opens Branded Store in Kingston - Second Ontario Location
● Mission Thrift Store coming to Transcona


Reitmans Shuttered 40% of Stores Over 10 Yrs - Closing 25 - 40 in '19 - Now at 600 Stores

Canadian Retailers Started The Year With A Drop In Sales

Canada mulls crackdown on social media firms unless they do more to combat election meddling

Move over, millennials - baby boomers are the ultimate untapped market

Toronto cracks down on 28 illegal pot shops as legal retail stores mark first week in operation

Canadian man claims Marshalls store fired him because of his sexuality

The Most Prevalent Cannabis E-commerce Platforms in Canada

Canadian wholesale markets stick to big cities

View Canadian Connections Archives
 

Is Your E-Commerce Site Prepared To Combat Digital Shoplifters?
Every day, millions of consumers jump online to purchase products they want and return those they don't. However, if online retailers have critical weaknesses in their database architecture, they may be susceptible to significant financial loss from digital shoplifting. For example, digital shoplifters can manipulate transactions to their benefit so that a shopper buys a pack of $10 pens online, adds a $2,000 laptop during checkout, but pays only for the pens. Another shoplifter can trick a retailer into accepting a $50 gift card that allows them to spend $500. Could your business be at risk?

Once an e-Commerce site's vulnerability has been detected, digital shoplifters are able to wreak havoc in a variety of different ways. For example, cyberthieves can transfer the same funds multiple times - an account balance can show $1,000 and someone can make two separate withdrawals for $990 at the same time before the data is resolved.

On e-Commerce sites, a digital shoplifter with multiple browser windows open on the same online store can be at the point of checkout in one browser, add an expensive item like a laptop to the cart from another browser, and then check out without paying for that last purchase.

E-Commerce sites that are vulnerable to digital shoplifting do not have processes in place to ensure that transactions are executed correctly. Without a strong database architecture, e-Commerce sites ultimately provide a poor customer experience (slow loading times, latency issues, etc.).

Fortunately, there are strategies to combat latency while still optimally securing transaction execution. These strategies include efficient queueing mechanisms (such as a countdown clock) that preserve information throughout a transaction - allowing transactions to proceed in parallel where the contention does not require mutual exclusion in transaction execution. These types of e-Commerce sites have a high volume of transactions running at ultra-fast speeds and are at a high-risk unless the web site architecture is designed with strong transaction guarantees - specifically, strong isolation and serializability. retailtouchpoints.com

Alibaba Sides with Trump in Counterfeit War
Early this month, President Donald Trump ordered American federal agencies to crack down on the online trading of counterfeit goods. Alibaba (BABA), which has been struggling with the problem of counterfeiting on its online marketplaces, says it welcomes US efforts to fight the issue, Reuters reported.

Counterfeiting causes legitimate brands huge economic losses. In 2017, legitimate brands lost $1.2 trillion in revenue to the counterfeit economy, according to estimates by ResearchAndMarkets. If counterfeiting is allowed to continue, it could cost legitimate brands $1.8 trillion in lost revenue by 2020.

Last year, the United States blacklisted Alibaba's Taobao marketplace on the grounds that it facilitated trade in counterfeit products-a charge Alibaba denied, pointing out its various efforts to fight brand forgery and counterfeiting. marketrealist.com

Amazon thinks small with new e-commerce tools and services

Square Rolls Out Online Store For UK Sellers

Jeffree Star, Retailer to Investigate $2.5M Make-up Theft
Burlington released a statement addressing the unauthorized sales
Earlier this week, Jeffree Star further addressed his recent robbery and some stolen makeup allegedly showing up at a certain retail store. The makeup mogul recently opened up about his warehouse being burglarized and thieves stealing $2.5 million worth of goods including an unreleased product in a recent YouTube video. On Monday, Star shared a fans photo who stated, "A girl in a beauty group I belong to found this @JeffreeStar lipstick at Burlington!!! It looks real! Can we expect to see J at discount stores now?!?"

In the post, Star said while the product was real, it was stolen and an unauthorized sale. Now, nearly 24 hours later, Burlington Coat Factory took to both Twitter and Facebook to respond to Star's inquiries: "We are committed to selling only authentic, authorized, and legally sourced product in our stores. We appreciate this incident being brought to our attention and we are swiftly investigating the matter. We have discontinued sales of these products and are immediately pulling remaining units from our stores. We are happy to partner with you and the authorities as you continue to look into this situation." altpress.com

Taylor, MI: Cellphone store owners accused of buying hundreds of stolen Apple products to sell illegally
Frank Manni Jr. and Abdulsamed Montaser operate Ace Future Wireless, a cellphone retail and repair store on Eureka Road in Taylor, police said. The two men were involved in a scheme to buy stolen high-end electronic devices, sell them for profit and ship or transport them around the country, according to a criminal complaint.
Between Aug. 19 and Aug. 26, there was a series of three breaking and entering incidents at an elementary school in Romulus, police said.

Officials from the Romulus Police Department said about 40 Apple iPads were stolen from the school. Romulus Police executed a search warrant at Ace Future Wireless and recovered several iPads that had been stolen from the elementary school, officials said.

On Sept. 13, Homeland Security agents interviewed a person who admitted to stealing iPhones from Walmart, Sam's Club and Target stores, authorities said. He told police he sold five iPhones to Ace Future Wireless, receiving $400 for each iPhone X and $300 for each iPhone 8. clickondetroit.com

Ocala, FL: Shoplifter sweep at Marion County Walmart's lands 39 behind bars
Detectives from the Marion County Sheriff's Office and the Ocala Police Department conducted a two-day operation recently targeting suspects involved in retail theft crimes. With the cooperation of Wal-Mart and their loss prevention personnel, the two law enforcement agencies worked together on April 4 and 5 to help reduce retail theft in Marion County. After being observed committing retail theft crimes by loss prevention personnel and undercover detectives, 39 people were arrested with a combined total of 39 felony charges and 46 misdemeanor charges, a sheriff's office report states. During the operation, as individuals were apprehended for theft, detectives conducted interviews with the suspects to determine if they were involved with any additional crimes in Marion County. Numerous individuals that were arrested also received charges for drug possession or had warrants for other crimes previously committed. ocala-news.com

Napa, CA: Hundreds of Cigarettes Stolen in Rash of Bay Area Smash-and-Grab Burglaries
Police are searching for a group of thieves breaking into stores across the Bay Area and making off with hundreds of cigarettes. "Just going straight for the cigarettes, they're not eyeing anything else," said Rajan Sidhu, who owns a gas station the thieves recently struck. "They know where the cigarettes are located." The group also struck in Napa on Friday where they rammed a truck into a Cigarettes & More store and used plastic containers to fill it with cigarettes worth thousands of dollars in total. With at least five cases now in three separate cities, including a store in Benicia back in February, store owners are worried. nbcbayarea.com

Lady Lake, FL: Teen jailed in theft of more than $1,000 in merchandise in three trips to Belk

Flint, MI: Women charged with $500 retail fraud
 

Submit Your New Hires/Promotions or New Position

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