The Global Retail Crime & Violence Crisis

NRF Op-Ed on Curbing Rampant Retail Crime
It's Time to Curb Retail Crime With Policy Solutions Online
The rampant rise in organized retail crime is a major, ongoing problem in the United States that has hurt consumers and retail businesses alike. Videos of brazen thefts at national retailers have garnered significant attention in many cities, but small retail businesses are also targeted. In fact, these small businesses are often doubly victimized: First by the crime in and around their stores, and then by fraudulent activity in many competitive online marketplaces where stolen merchandise is peddled by criminals masquerading as merchants.

As a final version of the Bipartisan Innovation Act continues to be negotiated, Congress must ensure that H.R. 5502, the Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers (INFORM Consumers) Act - the most common-sense option available to address this crisis - is included in the final package.

Everyone stands to benefit from solutions that increase protections for consumers, no matter where or how they're shopping. The INFORM Consumers Act is the most pragmatic step Congress can take to address organized retail crime without sacrificing the success of small businesses selling in online marketplaces.

As written, the federal INFORM Consumers Act would help disincentivize organized retail crime networks by verifying basic identification and contact information for high-volume sellers, making it more difficult to sell stolen merchandise online.

Consumers' shopping experience would become increasingly transparent under the INFORM Consumers Act - protecting them from unintended and unsafe purchases - and bricks-and-mortar retailers could see a reprieve from the constant threat of theft.

H.R. 5502 has garnered overwhelming bipartisan support as well as support from industry and law enforcement, as it addresses both retail and consumer safety concerns. In a day and age where divisiveness seemingly continues to conquer cohesion, the retail industry implores Congress to include H.R. 5502, the INFORM Consumers Act, in the final Bipartisan Innovation package. It must pass this year. We cannot afford to wait. realclearmarkets.com

North Carolina's New ORC Bill
NC Senate passes bill targeting organized retail crime
The North Carolina Senate has passed a law-and-order bill targeting organized retail crime. The bill is intended to help business owners, customers and law enforcement. It increases penalties for all degrees of organized retail crime and adds additional penalties for property damage and assaults committed during a theft.

A new provision will also allow business owners to retrieve property stolen during a theft more quickly.

"Crime is on the rise in the United States. We saw it during the summer riots in 2020, and we see it today with the violent smash-and-grab incidents from California to the Carolinas. Senate Bill 766 provides law enforcement stronger recourse to pursue these criminals and shows business owners that these crime rings will not be tolerated. We cannot let our state turn into a criminal's playground like Democrat-run states," Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Danny Earl Britt Jr. (R-Robeson) said.

Senate Bill 766 also creates new transparency standards for online marketplaces that host third-party sellers, putting consumers in a better position to know who and where they are buying goods from online.

The bill is supported by the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association, the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys, the North Carolina Chiefs of Police, and the North Carolina Sheriffs Association. The bill passed unanimously. It now goes to the North Carolina House of Representatives for consideration. wcti12.com

The Growing Threat of Retail Crime in the UK
Retail theft: The growing frontline threat in a cost-of-living squeeze?
The 2022 Crime Report of the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) shows that, in the past year, 89% of store staff working alone faced abuse in their job, with 35,000 incidents of violence and over 16,000 incidents including the use of a weapon, of which 9% resulted in injury. In addition, as the economic situation and cost of living crisis continues to worsen, many experts predict a rise in retail crime, such as shoplifting, will hit the industry hard.

Here, Hunter Seymour examines the issues at hand, highlighting varying points of view in dealing with perpetrators and the methods - from AI behavioral analysis through to smart tagging criminals - now available to retail security managers and staff to prevent their stores from being targeted.

As UK economic forecasters warn of millions falling into food and fuel poverty, with surging inflation expected to hit 10%, the new chief of Britain's national police watchdog and HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary says: "I think whenever you see an increase in the cost of living or whenever you see more people dropping into poverty, you'll invariably see a rise in crime."

The HM Chief Inspector was appointed this April, the same month that saw the introduction of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act with new rules to impose tougher penalties against offenders who attack frontline shop workers following a rise in abuse during the COVID pandemic and intensified lobbying from Retail Industry campaigners representing vulnerable staff.

Shoplifting - A crime that correlates to crisis?

According to Retail Times, post-lockdown crimewaves were recorded with a significant resumption in shoplifting: "As stores reopened in June 2020, shoplifting incidents began to rise, culminating in the highest growth in July 2020, where a 27% increase was noted."

Both TM-Eye and Anekanta identify factors that would suggest a rise in shoplifting as a trend sparked by a Cost-of-Living Crisis. ifsecglobal.com

New York Enacts Tougher Gun Laws Following Mass Shootings
NY governor signs law raising age to own semiautomatic rifle
New Yorkers under age 21 will be prohibited from buying semiautomatic rifles under a new law signed Monday by Gov. Kathy Hochul, making the state among the first to enact a major gun control initiative following a wave of deadly mass shootings.

Hochul, a Democrat, signed 10 public safety-related bills, including one that will require microstamping in new firearms, which could help law enforcement solve gun-related crimes.

Another revised the state's "red flag" law, which allows courts to temporarily take away guns from people who might be a threat to themselves or others. apnews.com

   Seattle store manager taking matters into his own hands with constant crime

   Pittsburgh business closing location over violence, shootings near store entrance

   Prosecuting shoplifters in Utah: a revolving door


California: The Epicenter of America's Retail Crime & Violence Surge

ORC, Robberies, Murders & Assaults Terrorizing LA
LA Crime Targeting Rich Shifts Mayor Race to Billionaire Caruso

Residents are installing panic rooms, seeking a district attorney recall and leaning toward a billionaire developer in the mayor's race

A wave of brazen crimes targeting the wealthy in Los Angeles has spooked many residents. The spate of daylight robberies, murders and follow-home assaults is upending the mayor's race in one of America's most progressive cities.

Rick Caruso, a billionaire developer with a tough-on-crime stance, has leapt to pole position in the June 7 primary, ahead of Karen Bass, a longtime Democratic congresswoman and community activist. The uptick in lawlessness is also driving well-heeled Angelenos to seek specialized services: panic rooms, armored luxury cars, and firms that scrub websites of personal information that robbers could use.

"It's a very different kind of beast," said Charis E. Kubrin, criminology professor at the University of California, Irvine, of the high-profile cases. "These are organized retail theft rings, which the police are still trying to figure out. Who is being targeted is quite different, and the amount of goods being taken is extraordinary."

LA Police Department Captain Jonathan Tippet, commanding officer of the Robbery-Homicide Division and head of the newly-formed Follow Home Robbery Task Force, told the city's Board of Police Commissioners that he'd never seen this type of criminal behavior in his 34 years of policing. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said organized gangs across the state are working in concert, targeting and planning via social media.

"Everybody in this city, at every corner of the city, no matter where you live, what your background is, is scared to walk outdoors," said Caruso during a mayoral debate. The candidate, a former head of the LA police commission, has proposed hiring 1,500 officers and rapidly clearing homeless encampments. bloomberg.com

Los Angeles Voter Want More Police - Crime Chased De-Funding Out of Town
Confidence in LAPD drops sharply, but L.A. voters don't want to shrink force
Voters in Los Angeles have serious concerns about the Los Angeles Police Department but little interest in shrinking its size amid worries over rising crime, according to a new poll by UC Berkeley and The Times.

The current poll found 30% of respondents approved of the job the LAPD is doing, 38% disapproved and 32% said they don't know or don't have an opinion.

However, most voters also see crime as being on the rise, and few said they want a smaller police force, according to the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll of more than 1,200 registered voters, which was co-sponsored by The Times.

In fact, two years after mass protests over police brutality rocked Los Angeles and the nation, giving rise to demands that police budgets and ranks be slashed, the largest share of L.A. voters polled want to see the size of the LAPD increased.

Asked what the next mayor of Los Angeles should do, 47% of those polled said the number of police officers in the city should be increased, and 17% said staffing should be kept as it is.

By comparison, just 15% said the force should be decreased. An additional 20% said they had no opinion.

Increasing the size of the LAPD has been a focus in the mayor's race and for current city officials. The department, which used to have more than 10,000 officers, now has fewer than 9,400. latimes.com

   Democrats struggle to find footing on violent crime ahead of midterm elections


Progressive DAs in Retreat as Crime Policies Face Voter Backlash

San Francisco's Progressive DA Looks Headed for Defeat
Election Updates: What polls look like for Chesa Boudin heading into election day
Boudin faces steep odds in the recall election today, with polls released since March consistently indicating over half of San Francisco voters support his ouster. His chances seemed to have improved as election day drew closer though, with some more recent surveys showing thinner margins or, in one case, an even split.

Polls released by the recall team and the Chamber of Commerce reported that nearly 70% of likely voters supported the recall, while surveys conducted by the San Francisco Standard and San Francisco Examiner showed 57% and 56% of respondents, respectively, favored the recall. A poll released by Boudin's team this month gives him the best odds, with a tie of 47% in support of the recall and 47% opposed, 48 Hills reported.

Last week, Chesa Boudin sat down with San Francisco Chronicle Director of News and Fifth & Mission podcast co-host Demian Bulwa to talk about the recall and the state of crime in the city.

"I'm working as hard as I can every day to make the city safer for all of us," Boudin said, "and I can't blame people ... for being frustrated. The last two years have presented us individually and collectively with challenges and changes we never could have anticipated." sfchronicle.com

   Stay tuned to the D&D Daily for updates on this key recall race

Crime or Homelessness: What's Driving the Progressive Backlash?
Op-Ed: What the Great Pushback Against Urban Progressives Is Really About
If the polls are onto something, Californians will veer right on Tuesday. San Francisco will likely recall the progressive prosecutor it elected district attorney in 2019, and Los Angeles will send a billionaire shopping-mall magnate promising to "clean up L.A." into a November runoff election for mayor.

Chesa Boudin, the San Francisco D.A., is facing near-certain defeat in an up-or-down recall vote. Mall man Rick Caruso-a former Republican who became a Democrat for this campaign-has spent $34 million blanketing Angelenos' phones, computers, and televisions with his face, and is polling at 32 percent in a wide field.

If these results play out, the voting will be seen as part of the same backlash against progressive urban policy-and in particular, the "Defund the Police" slogan-that began with last year's election of the ex-cop Eric Adams in New York City. Fair enough. In all three cities, the race was run on a single issue, urban disorder, its two components so closely linked in the public imagination they are often part of the same breath: crime and homelessness.

"Can you imagine running a small business and you're worried about crime, and you also have an encampment in front of your business?" Caruso said in an interview with the Associated Press.

"How do we fix this crime and homeless problem?" a Wall Street Journal opinion column asks of San Francisco, beneath an image of a homeless man on a bench. (The answer, according to the columnist: Replacing the district attorney.)

Crime and homelessness are not, in fact, the same issue at all. They are not meaningfully correlated; they do not share causes; they do not share solutions. But in both San Francisco and Los Angeles, Democrats' inability to address the homelessness crisis is going to cost them generational progress on criminal justice, as the forces for reforming the police go into retreat. slate.com

Will LA's Progressive DA Be Recalled Next?
As Chesa Boudin faces recall, LA deputy DA warns George Gascon 'you're next'
A Los Angeles deputy district attorney predicted that San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin will be recalled Tuesday and that his own boss will be next.

"I think tomorrow Boudin is going to be recalled, and what I want to tell everybody and tell [Los Angeles DA] George Gascon is, you're next," Hatami told Fox News. "The people of Los Angeles have had enough."

Gascon is facing his second recall attempt since taking office in December 2020, when he immediately implemented a series of progressive reforms, including not seeking cash bail or the death penalty. His opponents have blamed him for the region's crime surge.

"I think that people need to realize that the way the situation is going, the best thing for everybody here in Los Angeles is to recall George Gascon and get him out of office," Hatami said. "Even if you want some of the reforms that he wants to implement, I still believe that it's better to get him out."

A 2021 recall attempt failed to gather enough signatures by the filing deadline to go to a vote. The Recall George Gascon campaign said it had collected 500,000 signatures as of Monday, meaning 67,000 more are needed from registered voters by the July 6 deadline to put the recall question on a ballot. foxnews.com

Progressive DA's 'Three-Strikes' Ban Struck Down by Court
DA Gascon can't ignore California's 'three-strikes' law, appellate court says
'He is an elected official who must comply with the law, not a sovereign with absolute, unreviewable discretion,' the California Court of Appeal finds

Polls Are Open in California: Your guide to California's 2022 primary election
The ballot will have candidates for U.S. Senate, governor, state senator, attorney general, U.S. representative in Congress, local races and more. In Los Angeles, voters will decide on mayor, city controller, city attorney and City Council seats.

   Important explainer: What Happens Next If DA Chesa Boudin Is Recalled?

   WSJ Coverage: San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin Faces Recall Election

   San Francisco DA recall effort a 'lose-lose for Democrats'

The Retail Wage War Continues
Walmart dangles a $210,000 average salary to store manager recruits

Walmart is trying to be employer of choice with programs to recruit and train for careers.

This may be a good year to get recruited and promoted at Walmart. Walmart executives said at the company's annual meeting Thursday that it has launched a pilot program to give college graduates and those graduating within a year, including Walmart employees, a jump-start into management.

Through the College2Career program, they're offered a job as an "emerging coach" with a starting salary of at least $65,000 a year. These positions come with the potential to move into store management in as little as two years and into a six-figure salary.

Walmart store managers were paid an average salary of $210,000 last year, and the stores they lead are each like a big business under one roof with average annual sales of $100 million and 300 employees.

The retailer has more than 5,300 U.S. stores and said it has 1,200 new Walmart, Sam's Club and supply chain managers that it's putting through what it's calling an "immersive leadership experience."

The company is training people for jobs that didn't exist just a few years ago, such as InHome delivery specialists, Stomski said. Walmart plans to hire 3,000 people for the service that delivers groceries into customers' refrigerators. It's starting in Dallas later this summer. dallasnews.com

Couche-Tard, 500 Circle K stores in USD & Sweden, to deploy AI-powered cash registers at stores
Convenience store retailer Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. says it will deploy more than 10,000 touchless self-serve cash registers within three years at over 7,000 Couche-Tard and Circle K stores.

The system, called smart checkouts by the company, is powered by artificial intelligence designed by the firm Mashgin.

The system uses computer vision to recognize items presented from virtually any angle and registers them instantly in a single transaction without the need to scan barcodes.

Customers will deposit their items at the checkout system that uses cameras to record everything in less than a second and pay as usual. canadiangrocer.com

Negotiations Could Lead to Sale of Kohl's
Kohl's says it has begun negotiations with Franchise Group Inc. - operator of the Vitamin Shoppe - that could lead to sale of company
Kohl's Corp. said Monday evening that it has entered into negotiations that could result in a sale of the company.

In a news release posted on its website, Kohl's, based in Menomonee Falls, said that it "has entered into exclusive negotiations with Franchise Group, Inc., ... for a period of three weeks in relation to (Franchise Group's) proposal to acquire Kohl's for $60 a share."

That purchase price values Kohl's at about $8 billion. Kohl's shares soared 13.5%, or nearly $6, in after-hours market trading after the announcement, which was posted to Kohl's website at 6:37 p.m. Monday.

Franchise Group is a holding company for a collection of retail brands including Pet Supplies Plus and The Vitamin Shoppe. jsonline.com

Blaming Businesses for Inflation
Is 'Greedflation' Rewriting Economics, or Do Old Rules Still Apply?

Economists and politicians are debating whether monopolistic companies are fueling inflation in ways that confound longstanding theory.

Since prices started to escalate a year ago, politicians and economists have seized on inflation to tell their preferred story about what went wrong, and what policies would bring it back into line. Some say it's very straightforward: Supply and demand, Economics 101.

The White House and progressive organizations, however, say wait a minute: This time is different. In a time of extraordinary disruption, they contend, increasingly dominant corporations are taking the opportunity to jack up prices more than they otherwise could, which is squeezing consumers and supercharging inflation. Or "greedflation," as the hypothesis has come to be known. nytimes.com

Here's what Walmart is doing to fight inflation
The retail behemoth has asked suppliers to avoid price increases and offered to place orders further out or accept changes in packaging.

Amazon expands cashierless grocery format in California

J.M. Smucker to Take $125 Million Hit From Jif Peanut Butter Recall

Baby formula shortage set to last into the summer

CISA's 'Shields Up' Campaign
'Shields Up': the new normal in cyberspace for the forseeable future
When the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency - or CISA - launched the Shields Up campaign early this year, it did so with one goal in mind: to help individuals and organizations defend against cyber intrusions, particularly from Russia. Through its sharing of best practices, tools, and resources to prepare for, respond to, and mitigate the impacts of potential cyber incidents, CISA and its counterparts at FBI and other federal agencies have worked with industry and the American people to maintain a heightened cybersecurity posture in the face of continuing cyberthreats stemming from the current crisis.

Through this extensive coordination across the public and private sectors, underpinned by the Biden administration's elevation of cybersecurity as a core national security imperative, this approach is working. Despite relentless Russian cyberattacks on Ukrainian networks, which have had spillover impacts on the networks of other European nations, the U.S. has not to date suffered a major Russian state-sponsored attack. But, as we in the cyber world are well aware, the prospect of cyberattacks here at home - whether by Russia or other malign state and non-state actors - will not dissipate anytime soon, raising the important question: When will we be able to put our shields down?

In today's complex, dynamic, and dangerous cyberthreat environment, the answer is that our shields will likely be up for the foreseeable future. How, then, should we maintain our cybersecurity posture in the long term? We need an approach that is as audacious as well as actionable, protective as well as practical.

First - the government must continue to work with private sector leaders to make the necessary investments in cybersecurity. Second - there will certainly be times when we must respond to periods of elevated threats with a heightened sense of alertness and associated measures to detect, respond to, and recover from potential cyberattacks.

As part of this framework, we should aim to tailor warnings about cyber incidents to the specific threat being addressed. Cyber incidents, like weather events, can range from the large-scale to the local. When a cyberthreat arises that is both severe and wide-ranging, a general warning to the American people will be warranted. But when a more localized threat arises, in which case a far more targeted warning must be issued, comprising actionable guidance with corresponding specificity. With this new normal baseline - marked by continuous investments in resilience, and an alert system primed to catalyze the right response by the right people at the right time - we will all be better off. cyberscoop.com

World's Biggest NFT Marketplace Struggles to Prevent Theft & Fraud
Thefts, Fraud and Lawsuits at the World's Biggest NFT Marketplace

OpenSea, one of the highest-profile crypto start-ups, is facing a backlash over stolen and plagiarized nonfungible tokens.

As OpenSea has grown, it has struggled to prevent theft and fraud. The glitch that cost Mr. Chapman his ape has led to months of recriminations, forcing the start-up to make more than $6 million in payouts to NFT traders.

Customers also complain that OpenSea is slow to block the sale of NFTs that were seized by hackers, who can turn a quick profit by flipping the stolen goods. And plagiarized art has proliferated on the site, outraging artists who once viewed NFTs as a financial lifeline. The company is facing at least four lawsuits from traders, and one of its former executives was indicted this month on charges related to insider trading involving NFTs.

OpenSea's troubles are piling up just as demand for NFTs cools amid a crash in cryptocurrency prices. NFT sales have dropped about 90 percent since September, according to the industry data tracker NonFungible. OpenSea is also contending with competition from newer marketplaces built by established crypto companies like Coinbase.

The company's clashes with users illustrate some of the central tensions of web3, a utopian vision of a more democratic internet controlled by regular people rather than giant tech companies. Like many crypto platforms, OpenSea does not collect the names of most of its customers and advertises itself as a "self-serve" gateway to a loosely regulated market. But users increasingly want the company to act more like a traditional business by compensating fraud victims and cracking down on theft.

In three interviews, OpenSea executives acknowledged the scale of the problems and said the company was taking steps to improve trust and safety. OpenSea, which is based in New York, has hired more customer-service staff, with the aim of responding to all complaints within 24 hours. The company freezes listings of stolen NFTs and has a new screening process to prevent plagiarized content from circulating on the platform. nytimes.com

Major Cybersecurity Conferences Kicks Off
RSA Conference 2022 Kicks Off in San Francisco

Annual Cybersecurity Conference Returns to the Moscone Center

RSA Conference, the world's leading information security conferences and expositions, opened its annual event yesterday in San Francisco. Taking place June 6 through Thursday June 9 at the Moscone Center, RSA Conference is in its 31st year of bringing together the world's top cybersecurity, government, and business leaders to learn, discuss emerging trends, and formulate the best strategies to help organizations and communities address current and future cyber threats.

RSA Conference 2022 again has two keynote stages: The West Stage featuring sponsor keynotes, panels and esteemed guest speakers, and the South Stage which brings highly coveted sessions from industry experts to a broader audience. Both stages opened June 6th with a notable lineup of prominent speakers.

In addition to its keynotes, RSA Conference features over 600+ speakers, 25 track sessions, 350+ sessions, and 400+ exhibitors from across the industry. yahoo.com

Windows Users Targeted
'Clipminer' Malware Actors Steal $1.7 Million Using Clipboard Hijacking
The malware targets Windows users via Trojanized downloads of cracked or pirated software and then starts in on cryptocurrency mining and clipboard hijacking.

Hottest new cybersecurity products at RSA 2022

LockBit 2.0 gang claims Mandiant as latest victim; Mandiant sees no evidence of it

Hacienda Heights, CA: Man pleads guilty to scamming Amazon out of $1.3M
An Amazon vendor from Hacienda Heights pleaded guilty Monday to bilking the online retailer out of more than $1.3 million by manipulating the company's payment system. Ting Hong Yeung, 41, entered his plea to a federal wire fraud charge, according to the Department of Justice. Sentencing was set for Aug. 29. Yeung admitted gaming the Amazon payment system, resulting in him receiving payment for merchandise he listed for sale but never actually shipped to buyers, according to his plea agreement. Amazon disburses payments to third-party merchandise sellers roughly every two weeks, after the sellers provide shipping numbers to prove that merchandise was actually shipped to customers. Prosecutors said Yeung would list expensive merchandise at low-ball prices to drive up sales. But instead of shipping purchased items to customers, Yeung would submit bogus tracking numbers to Amazon. When customers complained about not receiving purchases, Yeung would stall their refund requests long enough to ensure he received the customers' money from Amazon. The scheme resulted in Yeung collecting payment for items that were never shipped, while Amazon would provide refunds to disgruntled customers. foxla.com

Suffolk County, NY: More than $100,000 of Fireworks Seized from Store in Mastic, 2 Woman Arrested
Suffolk County Police arrested two women for selling illegal fireworks at a store in Mastic on Friday. Responding to community complaints, Seventh Precinct Crime Section officers responded to Smokes R Us, located at 194 Poospatuck Lane at approximately 1:55 p.m. where they saw signs on the door that fireworks were for sale. After further investigation, police found 250 cases of fireworks on the shelves and in storage. The fireworks are valued at more than $100,000. Police arrested the owner of the shop, Danielle Treadwell, 47, of 194 Poospatuck Lane and the store manager, Althea Hatcher, 56, of 31 Newkirt Ave., West Babylon. They were charged with Illegal Storage of Explosives, an E Felony under New York State Labor Law and Unlawfully Dealing with Fireworks and Dangerous Fireworks. They were issued Field Appearance Tickets and will be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on a later date. longisland.com

San Francisco, CA: High-end eyewear store repeatedly robbed, owners say SFPD non-responsive
James Peo, the owner of designer eyewear store Veo Optics in San Francisco said his two San Francisco shops have been robbed multiple times by the same people. "In just the last two weeks alone we've had over $56,000 stolen from us," said Peo. Security cameras captured pictures of the suspects clearing out shelves at the Union Street location two weeks ago. Peo said calls to police did nothing, and Monday, the thieves returned. This time they targeted the shop on Valencia Street. "They pushed their way into the door. They had their little white bags and they started to fill them up," said Peo. Employees told them to leave. A female optician grabbed some lenses. That's when Peo said the thieves pepper sprayed her and ran. Peo said, "When my female employee is getting pepper sprayed in her face, and they steal $56,000 worth of merchandise, and we're not getting help, how do we feel as business owners? It's unacceptable. It's unacceptable. Period. This must stop now."  ktvu.com

Destin, TX: 'Not your typical shoplifter': Criminal organizations target Okaloosa County retailers
Three people were arrested May 17 after they were reportedly seen stuffing $3,066 worth of fragrances and hair irons from the Ulta Beauty store into a set of Luis Vuitton purses. Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office investigators believe the incident may have been a part of organized retail theft. And the Ulta Beauty store in Destin is not the only business to be affected by retail crime rings in recent years, OCSO Deputy Shane Bininger says. "It's not your typical shoplifter. These are groups. These are organizations, usually two or more, that impact various retailers to steal a product," Bininger said. "They take that stolen product and upload it to online marketplaces to sell for profit." nwfdailynews.com

Opelika, AL: 2 suspects sought in Walmart theft investigation