Is Face Recognition the Only Good Answer to Retail's $18-24B Fraud Problem?
According to Appriss Retail, U.S. retailers saw more than $369 worth of returned products, and $18-24 billion of those returns were fraudulent. There are lots of ways that return fraud is being perpetrated ranging from fake receipts to cloned gift cards. But one of the most common schemes involves buying an item and returning a fake item in its place. Unfortunately, the counterfeit items are becoming so convincing that it's often nearly impossible to distinguish them from the genuine articles.

Antonio Linares, the operator of Fake Education, a site dedicated to preventing fraud told The Fashion Law, "We are now at the point where the fakes are almost identical to the real thing ... where they are almost 99 percent identical."

Given that the quality of the counterfeits is rapidly improving, it's becoming increasingly unrealistic to expect store clerks tasked with handling returns to be able to spot the difference. Therefore, strategies aimed at preventing return fraud need to move away from spotting phony receipts or merchandise and instead focus on spotting the people who commit the crimes. And facial recognition technology may provide the best means of doing so. Read the full blog post here: facefirst.com
 

Business Owners Upset Over Increase of Shoplifters Due to Prop. 47
Some Thieves Hit Stores 5 Times Per Day
Small business owners in San Diego County are sounding an alarm over thousands of dollars in losses to shoplifters. The problem is that those shoplifters don't appear to be facing any consequences.

A 7-Eleven franchise owner told NBC 7 every single day shoplifters come in and take what they want if they keep it under a certain amount. The owner hopes the city will step in to do something because right now they claim police have their hands tied.

"It's happening every day, hour by hour," said 7-Eleven Franchise Owner, Jassi Dhillon. At every one of his six locations, he said snacks fly off the shelves, but are often not paid for. "It's unbearable. It's out of control. You will have the same guy coming in five times a day, picking things out," said Dhillon.

He said it feels it's no longer a priority for police because it's now considered petty theft. Under Prop 47, which passed in 2014, anything stolen below a $950 value keeps the crime as a misdemeanor. He showed NBC 7 several surveillance videos from his cameras recording people shoplifting.

El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells is aware it's become a major problem for small business owners, now that a group of 7-Eleven store owners are speaking up. Dhillon said he loses between $15,000 and $20,000 a quarter at every location. He hopes law enforcement does more in the future to help curb the growing problem. nbclosangeles.com

Shoplifting harms store owners, state
Massachusetts Retailers Say DA's Hands-Off Shoplifting Policy Hurts Business
How do you attract - and keep - retailers when the county's district attorney has declared shoplifting off-limits for prosecution?

It's a point that's top of mind with the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, which recently lambasted Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins' hands-off policy on prosecuting shoplifters and said her move made it "open season on our retail stores."

The notion that because shoplifting is a non-violent crime, it's low-level and therefore unimportant clearly has little empathy for the store owner with razor-thin profit margins, trying to make a living while his or her inventory walks out the door.

How bad can it be? Massachusetts businesses lose an estimated $1 billion annually in stolen merchandise, Retailers Association General Counsel Ryan Kearney told Kashinsky. And those five-finger discounts leave the state roughly $62.5 million short in sales tax revenue. bostonhherald.com

Oxford, UK: Shoplifting investigations see dramatic decline since change in law
Oxfordshire Town Chambers Network director Keith Slater said part of the reason for the drop in call-outs was because of the law change in 2014. This re-defined 'low-value shoplifting' as a summary offence, meaning police forces no longer investigate thefts from shops of a value of under £200. Anyone who is caught in the act of stealing goods worth less than £200 can still be arrested and face prosecution but these cases are frequently rushed through courts with defendants able to enter their plea by post. oxfordtimes.co.uk
 

Rep Maxine Waters, D-Calif. Wants to Overhaul Credit-Reporting Industry
House Committee Passes Bill to Ban Employment Credit Checks
The House Committee on Financial Services on July 11 passed legislation that would prohibit employers from using credit reports for employment decisions, except when required by law or for a national security clearance.

The bill would also prohibit hiring managers from asking questions about applicants' financial past during job interviews or including questions about credit history on job applications.

Opponents of the practice say that it blocks upward mobility, disproportionately affects minority job seekers and can be an invasion of privacy.

On the other hand, those in favor of credit checks on job candidates argue that the information is an indicator of a person's judgment and potential risk to the organization, especially for certain positions involving finances and accounting.

The legislation is a component of a multi-bill overhaul of the credit-reporting industry brought forward by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., chair of the committee.

Waters says "an individual's credit history has been shown not to predict their job performance," she said. "Nevertheless, credit information is increasingly used by employers. People who have been unemployed for an extended period of time, and whose credit standing has been damaged because they were unable to pay their bills, cannot secure a new job to end their financial distress because prospective employers conduct credit checks as part of an application process."

Employer groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) oppose the bill because it overreaches.

Currently ten states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington), the District of Columbia, and the cities of Chicago, New York City and Philadelphia have passed laws restricting the use of credit reports used by employers for employment purposes, with several more jurisdictions poised to join the trend, she said.  shrm.org

Employers Can Limit Union Activities in Public Spaces on Their Property
Labor board says employers must consistently apply nonsolicitation policies

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently overturned board precedent, which previously held that nonemployee union representatives could access an employer's public spaces if they weren't disruptive.

Employers can now ban nonemployee union representatives from organizing in public spaces on their property-so long as their policies are applied consistently to all nonemployees. "The decision broadens employers' right to restrict union access to company property," explained David James, an attorney with Nilan Johnson Lewis in Minneapolis. shrm.org

Retail sales soar in June
Good News For Retailers Approaching Back-to-School & Q4
June retail trade sales rose 0.4% from May, and 3.3% year over year, according to the U.S. Commerce Department's monthly tally, released Tuesday. But May's numbers were revised downward, to a 0.3% rise from April and a 2.7% from May last year. Nonstore retailers (mostly e-commerce) were up 1.7% month over month and 13.4% year over year, the department said.

Along with gas stations, department stores (where sales fell 1.1% from May and 5.2% from last year) and electronics stores (where sales fell 0.3% since May and 5% since last year), were the only segments to see month-over-month declines. Sporting goods, hobby and bookstore sales were flat from May, falling 3.3% year over year. Clothing and accessories sales rose 0.5% month over month and fell 0.9% year over year; health and personal care store sales rose 0.5% month over month and 5.5% year over year, and furniture and home goods sales rose 0.5% month over month and 0.8% year over year.

The National Retail Federation also released its own take, using the government's numbers. Retail sales rose 0.6% in June, seasonally adjusted from May, and 2.3% unadjusted year-over-year. Those numbers exclude automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants. "We believe retail sales growth for 2019 will be over 4.0%." retaildive.com 

Amazon Faces Cart Glitches, Strikes On Prime Day
Workers for Amazon in Germany and Minnesota are striking to protest wage practices and working conditions as Prime Day gets underway. In Minnesota, workers started to walk out in the afternoon and were to reportedly strike over six hours for a period that overlaps with morning as well as evening shifts. According to CNBC, workers were chanting "we work, we sweat, Amazon workers need a rest!" and "Amazon, hear our voice!"

An Amazon spokesperson told PYMNTS on Tuesday (July 16), "Roughly 15 associates participated in the event outside of the Shakopee [Minnesota] fulfillment center. It was obvious to the 1,500-full-time workforce that an outside organization used Prime Day to raise its own visibility, conjured misinformation and a few associate voices to work in their favor, and relied on political rhetoric to fuel media attention. The fact is that Amazon provides a safe, quality work environment in which associates are the heart and soul of the customer experience, and today's event shows that our associates know that to be true. We encourage anyone to come take a tour anytime."

And some shoppers took to social media to complain that they couldn't add any items to their shopping carts on Monday (July 15). According to reports, one media outlet tried to add products to a cart and experienced similar challenges just after 11 a.m. Eastern time. However, the items were reportedly added at a later time and "any issues" appeared to be resolved as of 1:30 p.m. pymnts.com

Sennco Selects Connected IO for Loss Prevention Solutions
ConnectedIO (CIO), a leading provider of robust cloud connected wireless edge solutions today announces that they have been selected by Sennco, a leader in retail asset protection to provide routers and cloud management capabilities to their portfolio of retail customers.

Sennco leverages CIO Cloud-IO management portal and CIO Edge-IO edge tools to provide connectivity and analytics at the edge.

Sennco will leverage the agile hardware, software and services provided by ConnectedIO to deliver next generation shopping and security experiences to their customers. prweb.com

Posted 7-10-19: DTiQ Launches Enhanced Video Analytics Capabilities
Enables Restaurant and Retail Operators to Track, Maximize In-store Customer Engagement
With Enhanced Video Analytics, DTiQ clients will be able to monitor the customer experience across various real-time dimensions, including: customer count, traffic heatmapping, speed of service, combined video/audio analytics, POS station interaction analysis (counter, kiosk, drive-thru), customer abandonment, custom analytics and more.

Enhanced Video Analytics provides real-time alerts and historic/forecast trend reports to inform employees, store management and corporate leadership when their key performance indicators are being met-and when they're not-so the right decisions can be made to increase operational efficiency. Initial deployments are being used to inform:

● Staffing and scheduling
● Merchandising (store layout and displays)
● Employee coaching and incentives
● Inventory and operational programs
● Speed of service optimization (in-store, mobile pick-up, drive-thru)

It is available to select DTiQ customers today, and will be an option available to all customers as of July 15 of this year. For more information, visit https://www.dtiq.com/products/intelligent-video/ dtiq.com

4th Home Depot Noose Found - Across U.S.
Woman Finds Noose in Wilmington, Del. Home Depot Store
Lisa Flowers was shopping at Home Depot on Miller Road in North Wilmington on Friday when she discovered a noose tied into the end of a spool of rope. "NO IT'S NOT OK," she wrote on Facebook. Her photos of the noose have since been shared by hundreds of users. She said a Home Depot employee told the family the store was not responsible for the noose. "We're appalled and disturbed by this incident," said Senior Manager Corporate Communications Margret Smith at Home Depot. "We're investigating it diligently and have notified law enforcement." Nooses have been found in other Home Depots in Pittsburgh; Portland, Oregon and Passaic, New Jersey. delawareonline.com

Rochester, NY: Toddler dies after falling into Tim Hortons grease trap
Police say a three-year-old boy was killed Monday, after falling into an unsecured grease trap behind a Tim Hortons restaurant in Rochester, New York. Rochester Police said that they received a call at 10:56 a.m. about a child missing from the restaurant. At 11:03, they received a second call that the child had been found in a grease trap behind the location. Witnesses removed the boy from the trap and had started CPR by the time first responders arrived. The child was transported to the hospital, but efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. Evidence led police to believe that the boy fell through a plastic lid into a tank that contained used grease in a liquified form, Police said. It was located just 6 feet from the restaurant's back door. democratandchronicle.com

Queens, NY: Restaurant employee killed by dumbwaiter in freak accident
Granville Wiltshire, 67, of Queens, New York, was pronounced dead early Monday morning outside The Door restaurant where he worked. Witnesses said a dumbwaiter freight elevator, which is used to carry item between floors, fell on Wiltshire and pinned him to a wall around 6.30am. nypost.com dailymail.co.uk

The Loss Prevention Foundation Announces ThinkLP as Newest Partner
The Loss Prevention Foundation (LPF) announced its newest Associate level scholarship partner, ThinkLP. The Associate level partnership secures certification course scholarships for distribution to retailers, universities and internal associates. It also enables ThinkLP to provide complimentary LPF memberships to loss prevention practitioners. yourlpf.org

Buffalo Wild Wings worker fired after woman says she received mustard swastika on burger bun