Big City Shootings Continue Amid Summer Violence Surge

1,090 Shootings - 345 Killed - 1,138 Injured in 15 Big Cities Past 9 Weekends
The D&D Daily's Big City Weekend Violence Study - Memorial Day to Labor Day

The Daily's study analyzes weekend shooting data in 15 major U.S. cities from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend 2022

Starting Memorial Day Weekend, the D&D Daily began compiling and analyzing data from 15 major U.S. cities to get a snapshot of summer gun violence.

This past weekend, from July 22nd through July 24th, there were 120 shootings recorded in these same cities, resulting in 27 deaths and 142 injuries.

The chart below shows the totals for each of the past nine weekends dating back to Memorial Day weekend.

The D&D Daily will continue to track this data throughout the summer to capture the weekend violence trend in our nation's big cities as warm weather typically brings about more crime and violence.

Click here to see the list of incidents per city and follow along each week this summer as this spreadsheet will be updated every Monday. docs.google.com

Read more coverage about America's crime and gun violence epidemic in the section below
 

Global Shoplifting Surge
UK: Shoplifting rises 21% year-on-year
Incidents of shoplifting have risen 21% in the 12 months to March 2022, according to Office of National Statistics data. While the figure is down 11% compared to a decade ago, the rise in shoplifting over the past 12 months has sparked concern from the industry.

Association of Convenience Stores chief executive James Lowman said that the jump in shoplifting numbers is down to stores being closed due to Covid-19 restriction however added that it's still a "massive issue for retailers".

"The overall increase in shop theft is likely to be partially due to many retailers being closed or partially closed during the period of Covid restrictions. Additionally, many convenience retailers were operating on reduced numbers of customers in store for safety reasons, which can make it more difficult for thieves to steal from stores.

"Shop theft continues to be a massive issue for convenience retailers, and is mostly driven by organised groups stealing to sell on elsewhere and those who are suffering from a drug or alcohol addiction. Retailers have told us that they do not see any evidence of the cost of living crisis driving ordinary people to steal from stores, it is still the same groups looking to cash in at the expense of hard working business owners. We strongly urge all Police and Crime Commissioners to prioritise dealing with shop theft in their plans for local forces, as if there is not intervention there is a strong likelihood that these so called 'low level' crimes will escalate to abuse, violence, robberies and burglaries as the criminals become more confident that they won't be caught."

Usdaw General Secretary Paddy Lillis was "deeply concerned" by the increase in incidents of shoplifting.

"Shoplifting is not a victimless crime, theft from shops has long been a major flashpoint for violence and abuse against shopworkers," he said. "Having to deal with repeated and persistent shoplifters can cause issues beyond the theft itself like anxiety, fear and in some cases physical harm to retail workers."

Lillis added that the increase could be down to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions and the rising cost of living putting pressure on consumers.  conveniencestore.co.uk

Michigan's ORC Law in the News
Runestad bill to fight organized retail crime signed into law
Sen. Jim Runestad's legislation to penalize organized retail crime under the state's racketeering statute was signed into law Thursday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

"Criminals at the top of these organized mobs and rings will now be held accountable, not only for retail theft but also for coercing youth and other vulnerable individuals to commit organized retail crimes on their behalf," said Runestad, R-White Lake. "We've all seen video after video showing the perpetrators bursting into businesses with hammers, bags, and other accessories to commit robberies in a highly organized manner - shoplifting has blown up into a multi-billion industry across America and Michigan is not immune from this alarming trend.

"The criminal rings organizing this activity take advantage of the very poor, drug addicted, and human trafficked individuals to steal high-value items from retail stores - they put innocent customers and store employees in unnecessary danger - and they must be stopped."

Michigan's Organized Retail Crime Act, which was passed in 2012, prescribed felony sentencing for organizing, supervising, financing or assisting another person in committing organized retail crimes. Senate Bill 691, now Public Act 174 of 2022, adds organized retail crime to the state's racketeering statutes - which include other crimes, such as drug trafficking, extortion and prostitution - and allows law enforcement to pursue enhanced criminal penalties against individuals who solicit or conspire to commit these offenses regardless of the value of the stolen property.

PA 174 gained wide bipartisan support in the Legislature and also had the backing of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, Michigan Solicitor General Fadwa A. Hammoud, Michigan State Police, Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police, Target, and The Home Depot. misenategop.com

Another Buffalo Tops Store Hit With Mass Shooting Threats
Man Charged With Threatening Racist Violence Against Buffalo Supermarket

The arrest of the man, in Washington State, came a week after the reopening of a different Buffalo grocery store where a gunman killed 10 Black people in May.

A Washington State man threatened twice this week to unleash racist violence on a Buffalo supermarket, officials said on Friday. The threats came two months after a gunman allegedly driven by white supremacist hatred killed 10 Black people at another store in the city.

The Washington man, Joey David George, made the threats in phone calls to a Tops supermarket on Buffalo's Elmwood Avenue, saying he planned to use assault rifles and other weapons he had to kill Black people at the store, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Mr. George, 37, of Lynwood, Wash., also said in the calls that if he did not find people to kill at the Elmwood Avenue store, he would go to a second Tops supermarket - the one that was the site of the racist massacre in May - and kill people there, the complaint says. He ranted about a "race war" during his second call to the store, according to the complaint. nytimes.com

41% Decrease in Law Enforcement Deaths - 134 Year-to-Date
19 Deaths in June: 12 Gunfire - 6 Auto-Related - 1 Heart Attack
In June, 19 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty. The cause breakdown (June 2022 only) is: 4 automobile crash, 12 gunfire, 1 heart attack, 1 vehicle pursuit, and 1 vehicular assault. This means that the year-to-date total for line of duty deaths is at 134, a 41% decrease from the same time last year.

The Officer Down Memorial Page extends our deepest condolences to the families, friends, and agencies who lost a loved one to a line of duty death this past month. We encourage our supporters to read the memorials of each of the officers who died in the line of duty. odmp.org

Locking Up Steaks
ALDI shopper spots steak in 'security boxes' at local store - and people are divided

The UK customer has set tongues wagging with a photo of the unbelievable anti-theft measure.

"My local ALDI has had 'so many steak thefts' they now put them inside a box approximately eight times their volume," the shopper wrote in their Reddit post. The photograph prompted many social media users to respond to the unbelievable security measure.

"At what point do grocers regress to the old General Store format? You know, like the Wild West days where you furnish a shopping list and an attendant gets it?" asked one. 7news.com.au

Tops, Instacart attempt to help customers who are hesitant to return to the Jefferson Avenue store
It's now been a week since the Tops Market on Jefferson Avenue reopened after the May 14 mass shooting, and while some people have returned to the store, others are a bit more hesitant. Tops and Instacart are hoping to help those residents.

Pandemic court closures could be driving high crime rates

Retail crime is on the rise, especially for small businesses

Rochester mayor declares 'state of emergency' over gun violence

Family Dollar Safety Issues Continue
Family Dollar recalls 400+ personal products stored at the wrong temperature, just months after closing infested distribution center in Arkansas

Family Dollar is recalling 400+ personal-care products at stores around the country.

Family Dollar is recalling hundreds of personal-care products that were improperly stored, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

The voluntary recall includes more than 400 products such as cough syrup, toothpaste, sunscreen, and hand soap, among others. The products were "stored outside of labeled temperature requirements" and accidentally shipped out to stores around the country between May 1, 2022 and June 10, 2022, according to the FDA.

Family Dollar has reached out to affected stores "asking them to check their stock immediately and to quarantine and discontinue the sale of any affected product," according to the FDA. Customers who purchased a recalled product can return it to their Family Dollar store, with or without a receipt, for a refund.

The recall comes just two months after the company permanently closed its distribution center in Arkansas after federal investigators found live and dead rodents, dead birds, and animal droppings there. During the FDA's fumigation, inspectors found more than 1,100 rodents.

In response to the findings, Family Dollar temporarily closed hundreds of stores and issued another recall on impacted products. You can view the full list of products from Family Dollar's most recent recall here. businessinsider.com

The Quitting Trend that Just Won't Quit
The Great Attrition -- or Resignation -- is making hiring harder. Are you searching the right talent pools?

People keep quitting at record levels, yet companies are still trying to attract and retain them the same old ways

It's the quitting trend that just won't quit. People are switching jobs and industries, moving from traditional to nontraditional roles, retiring early, or starting their own businesses. They are taking a time-out to tend to their personal lives or embarking on sabbaticals. The Great Attrition has become the Great Renegotiation.

Competition for talent remains fierce. For certain categories of workers, the barriers to switching employers have dropped dramatically. In the United States alone, there were 11.3 million open jobs at the end of May-up substantially from 9.3 million open jobs in April 2021. Even as employers scramble to fill these positions, the voluntary quit rate is 25 percent higher than prepandemic levels. At the current and projected pace of hiring, quitting, and job creation, openings likely won't return to normal levels for some time.

What we are seeing is a fundamental mismatch between companies' demand for talent and the number of workers willing to supply it. There is a large pool of active and potential workers who are shunning the traditionalist path.

As a result, there is now a structural gap in the labor supply because there simply aren't enough traditional employees to fill all the openings. Even when employers successfully woo these workers from rivals, they are just reshuffling talent and contributing to wage escalation while failing to solve the underlying structural imbalance. mckinsey.com

Target puts the squeeze on suppliers after inventories pile up
Target Chief Executive Officer Brian Cornell pledged in a June blog post that the retailer would take necessary actions to adapt to a post-pandemic landscape, paring a record $15.1 billion in unsold merchandise.

Behind the scenes, Target's actions this summer include putting pressure on its vendors, asking them to pick up the tab for transporting goods and requiring some to retain more merchandise at their own warehouses, 11 Target vendors told Reuters. reuters.com

Olympia Sports is closing its remaining 35 stores

Gas prices continue to drop -- with no end in sight

Lowe's offering employees 4-day work weeks
 

Senior LP & AP Jobs Market

Director Field AP job posted for Bath & Body Works in Columbus, OH
The Director, Asset Protection is responsible for representing the Asset Protection function and acting as a liaison between the field leadership team, the Asset Protection field team, and the home office team. This position is responsible for planning, developing, implementing, and directing company-wide asset protection programs across the field organization. The position is responsible for educating field leadership on potential shrink risks within stores and recommending solutions. careers.bathandbodyworks.com
 

Last week's #1 article --

How stores can learn from casinos to stop repeat shoplifters

$500M T-Mobile Data Breach Settlement
T-Mobile Reaches $500 Million Settlement in Huge 2021 Data Breach

The company, which said the hacking had affected 76.6 million people, agreed to pay $350 million to settle claims and spend $150 million to bolster security.

T-Mobile has agreed to a settlement totaling $500 million in a class-action lawsuit filed by customers after the company disclosed in August that sensitive data had been breached in a cyberattack.

In a court filing late Friday, the mobile phone giant said it would pay $350 million to settle the customers' claims and spend $150 million over the next few years bolstering its cybersecurity protection and technologies.

The breach affected 76.6 million people in the United States, according to the company. It exposed highly sensitive data, including customers' first and last names, Social Security numbers and driver's license information.

It was not clear how much individual T-Mobile customers would receive from the settlement, though the proposed agreement, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, stipulates that individual payments cannot exceed $2,500.

At the time of the breach, T-Mobile said the compromised files included current accounts as well as the records of people who had applied for credit with the company. nytimes.com

Top Brands Impersonated in Phishing Emails
The rise and continuing popularity of LinkedIn-themed phishing
Phishing emails impersonating LinkedIn continue to make the bulk of all brand phishing attempts; according to Check Point, 45% of all email phishing attempts in Q2 2022 imitated the style of communication of the professional social media platform, with the goal of directing targets to a spoofed LinkedIn login page and collecting their account credentials.

The phishers are generally trying to pique the targets' interest with fake messages claiming that they "have appeared in X searches this week", that a new message is waiting for them, or that another user would like to do business with them, and are obviously taking advantage of the fact that a record number of individuals are switching or are considering quitting their job and are looking for a new one.

Other brands that phishers loved to impersonate during Q2 2022 are (unsurprisingly) Microsoft (13%), DHL (12%) and Amazon (9%).

"Some new brands entering the top 10 were: Adidas, Adobe and HSBC although all on low single digits, these brands will be followed closely by researchers in Q3 for any developments," Check Point added.

LinkedIn users in cyber crooks' cross hairs

LinkedIn currently has over 810 million members, which presents a very large pool of potential victims. To cyber criminals, LinkedIn accounts present a treasure trove of personal data, as well as an effective means to reach other potential victims en masse and with tailored messages.

According to the FBI, scammers have been using the social network to lure users into cryptocurrency investment schemes. LinkedIn followed FBI's alert with a warning about other scams users are targeted with.

As noted before, LinkedIn-themed phishing emails are more likely to come in the form of fake notifications about messages, contacts and searches featuring the target, occasionally even mentioning that people from specific high-profile companies have been looking at the target's profile.

Other popular approaches (via email) include fake notifications about unusual activity on the target's account and a temporary restriction of its use, or offers (or even threats) to upgrade their account. helpnetsecurity.com

Ransomware Command & Control Network Uncovered
Researchers uncover potential ransomware network with U.S. connections
Typically, when it comes to ransomware, researcher and cybersecurity companies scramble after attacks to understand the origin of the malware that infected systems and locked crucial data.

But researchers with Censys, a firm that indexes devices connected to the internet, said Thursday they've flipped the typical script and found what appears to be a ransomware command and control network capable of launching attacks, including one host located in the U.S.

Matt Lembright, Censys' director of federal applications and author of the report, told CyberScoop that they came across the network after running a search through the company's data for the top 1,000 software products currently observable on Russian hosts. After seeing Metasploit - penetration testing software frequently used for legitimate purposes - on just nine hosts out of more than 7.4 million, the team did some additional digging.

The team eventually found two Russian-based hosts containing a combination of Acunetix, a web vulnerability tester, and DeimosC2, a command and control tool to use on compromised machines after exploitation.

Further analysis that included historical data tied to those hosts led the researchers to additional hosts and connections to the MedusaLocker ransomware variant, which was the subject of a July 1 alert from the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

The information has been shared with the FBI, he added, to determine whether it's connected to any known attacks.  cyberscoop.com

Remote Work App 'Wide Open' for Attacks
Critical Bugs Threaten to Crack Atlassian Confluence Workspaces Wide Open
Atlassian on Thursday urged organizations using its Questions for Confluence app to immediately update to the latest version of the software or to apply a mitigation measure to protect against a critical vulnerability in the product - one of three critical bugs disclosed by the vendor this week.

The "patch now" advice was prompted by the public disclosure of a hardcoded password associated with the Questions app that gives a remote, unauthenticated attacker a way to log into Confluence and access all content in the broader confluence-users group.

Many organizations use Confluence for project management and collaboration among teams scattered across on-premises and remote locations. Often Confluence environments can house sensitive data on projects that an organization might be working on, or on its customers and partners. darkreading.com

How to identify and combat online fraud

Beware of password-cracking software for PLCs and HMIs

Shopper Behavior Impacted by Fake Reviews
Fake online reviews lead shoppers to overpay, new study says
Fake online product reviews cost shoppers 12 cents for every dollar they spend, and increase the likelihood they buy inferior products, according to a new working paper to be presented Friday at the NBER Summer Institute.

Why it matters: Intuitively we know fake reviews are bad, but the paper offers a deeper picture of how phony write-ups and inflated star ratings change shopping behavior.

Zoom out: Online markets that bring together large groups of buyers and sellers, with more information on pricing and quality, should theoretically be more transparent and better functioning than brick and mortar markets.

That's never been quite how it works on the internet. Platforms endlessly battled with fakers and fraudsters to gain user trust. (Just ask Elon Musk about Twitter bots.)

Context: Amazon does try to keep fake reviews off the platform, including by cracking down on Facebook groups where people are offered money or stuff to write them. But smaller sellers, with little brand recognition, have a big incentive to keep trying.

The pandemic led to a surge in both online shopping and fake reviews - during the 2020 holiday shopping season, about 42% of the reviews on Amazon were fakes, according to one estimate.

Worth noting: The researchers found that shoppers who use Amazon more frequently were more likely to be affected by phony ratings. Typically, you think more sophisticated participants would be less likely to be duped - but frequent Amazon users shop the platform faster and tend to trust it more, he says.

What's next: Metcalfe says that online platforms could do more to warn users or guide them on how to spot fake reviews. That would "improve consumer welfare immediately."  axios.com

50K Sq. Ft. Fulfillment Center - 150 New Staff
H-E-B opens fifth e-commerce fulfillment center
To meet booming demand in its online grocery business, H-E-B has opened a new e-commerce fulfillment center in Leander, Texas The 50,000-square-foot fulfillment center, located at 651 North U.S. Highway in Leander, will service H-E-B Curbside and Home Delivery orders across the Austin suburb and surrounding cities in the Central Texas region, H-E-B said yesterday.

Expected to employ more than 150 staff, the Leander facility marks the fifth e-commerce fulfillment center that H-E-B has opened since 2018. The Texas grocer, based in San Antonio, said that by the end of next year it aims to open additional facilities across the state, including in Plano to help support the its expansion into the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. supermarketnews.com

Amazon begins rollout of 'thousands' of Rivian electric delivery vans

Amazon's PR and policy chief Jay Carney leaves to join Airbnb

Update: Colorado Spring, CO: Top Dollar Pawn transferred over $1.3 million in stolen goods, court records allege
Court documents obtained by The Gazette detail the alleged over-four-year money-laundering scheme at Top Dollar Pawn locations that investigators say resulted in the transfer of more than $1.3 million in stolen goods. Top Dollar Pawn and four co-defendants, Daria Mauro, Walt Mauro, Mischa Jargowsky and Jack Jargowsky, are accused of 29 charges, including pattern of racketeering and 27 separate charges of money laundering. In the affidavit for a requested search warrant filed in the U.S. District Court for Colorado, new details have emerged over the scale of the money-laundering scheme, and the extensive FBI and CSPD investigation into the pawnshop. The joint investigation into Top Dollar Pawn between the FBI and the Colorado Springs Police Department began in April 2021, according to the affidavit. Through the investigation, the affidavit states that Top Dollar Pawn was "the largest known fence of stolen goods in the Colorado Springs and Pueblo area." The affidavit claims that the pawnshop would knowingly buy stolen items from boosters, and sell those items in store and on their eBay account. Some of the stores in which the retail thefts took place included Walmart, Target, Lowe's and Home Depot, according to the affidavit.  gazette.com

Chicago, IL: 3 From South Suburbs Accused Of Stealing 200 TVs At Railyard
Three south suburban residents are accused of stealing a shipping container filled with over 200 televisions and worth nearly $300,000, according to authorities. The trio went to a railyard and stole the container, which was filled with pallets of televisions in transit to be sold at a retail store, according to the news release. The charges were the result of a lengthy investigation involving the state's attorney's Organized Retail Crime Task Force as well as BNSF Railway and Hodgkins police. "Organized retail crime is not limited to occurring at brick-and-mortar retailers and can instead take place anywhere along the supply chain," Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in the news release.  patch.com

Update: Newport Beach, CA: Arrests and $58K Worth of Merchandise Recovered in High-End Heist at Fashion Island Store
Newport Beach police four suspects were arrested in connection with a Neiman Marcus store robbery at the Fashion Island shopping mall, and $58,000 worth of merchandise was recovered. Police also said the four may have been involved in similar crimes in the Los Angeles area. The four suspects -- a man, a woman and two juveniles -- were arrested on Wednesday afternoon and booked on suspicion of robbery, the Newport Beach Police Department reported. The adult suspects were identified as Dominic Burrell, 20, of Lancaster, and Brionnah Riley, 20, of Palmdale. Information was not released on the juveniles. The crime occurred about 4:15 p.m. Wednesday at the Neiman Marcus store in the mall at 601 Newport Center Drive, police said. Officers went to the location "on a report of six subjects stealing high-end hand bags from the Chanel portion of the store,'' police said in a statement. "The group fled Fashion Island in two different vehicles. described as a red sedan and a white BMW,'' police said. "Newport Beach police officers quickly located the white BMW and attempted a traffic stop on the vehicle.'' The BMW driver kept going, leading authorities on a pursuit, police said.  nbclosangeles.com

Serial Shoplifter Allegedly Stole 18 More Times in Chicago While on Bail
A woman with 12 shoplifting convictions has been charged with doing the same thing 18 more times in Chicago, prosecutors said Friday. The most recent incidents occurred while she was out on bail in a shoplifting case, CWB Chicago reported. Ingrid Campos said she targeted TJ Maxx and Marshalls stores believing they had no security and would not pursue suspects, according to Assistant State's Attorney Brian Burke. "Campos allegedly shoplifted from chain stores 18 times between February 28 and July 7, then sold the stolen merchandise for half the price in nearby alleys and at a salon," the point said. sale. During some incidents, the suspect allegedly took items such as bags, clothes, shoes and cosmetics. Earlier this month, detectives tracked the suspect outside a Marshalls store. She allegedly sold stolen items in a nearby alley. After Campos was arrested, she claimed she had a drug problem that led her to commit the crimes. According to the CWB Chicago report, the suspect was charged with multiple counts of retail theft and five counts of operating a continuing financial crime enterprise. She was also reportedly wanted for failing to appear in court for a retail theft offense. A judge ordered the suspect to pay $300 for bail, adding that Campos had to pay an additional $100 "because she broke bail rules in her current case and an additional $1,000 for an outstanding warrant. ", concluded the report. goodwordnews.com

Janesville, WI: Woman with multiple open criminal cases arrested outside Janesville thrift store for retail theft
The Janesville Police Department arrested a 30-year-old woman Friday after an officer found her walking out of a thrift store with stolen merchandise, according to a department news release. Toni Vincent, 30, was arrested after leaving GIFTS Thrift Store, with items that were not paid for, the news release stated. Police said Vincent threw drug paraphernalia to the ground and walked away from the officer. After the arrest was made, the officer found illegal drugs and more stolen retail items, according to the release. Online court records showed she had 15 open criminal cases in Rock County dating to January, including several retail theft charges, prior to Friday's arrest. The most recent arrest was for possession of narcotics, possession of drug paraphernalia, retail theft and 15 counts of misdemeanor bail jumping. gazettextra.com

Rowan County, NC: Up to $40,000 worth of jewelry stolen from booth at flea market

Falls Township, NY: Man wanted for $5,000 theft of Rogaine from BJ Wholesale

Riverhead, NY: Police Search For Duo Accused Of Stealing More Than $3K In Clothing From Tommy Hilfiger at the Tanger Outlets

Riverhead, NY: 2 Men Steal Credit Cards, Buy $2K In Gift Cards, iPad from Target

Chambersburg, PA: Police seeking female suspect in $1700 theft from Rural King store

Naples, FL: Man arrested, accused of stealing items totaling over $1K at Costco

Honolulu, HI: Woman caught stealing over 60 items, valued at over $800 at an Ala Moana area store