It's 'Prosegur Week' on the D&D Daily! Check out today's 'Vendor Spotlight' from Prosegur Security directly beneath the 'Top News' column to learn about EVO, the first EAS system that pays for itself through advertising.

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D&D Daily Exclusive

Retailers Share Industry Insights and Strategies at 10th Annual Axis Retail Leadership Forum

Retailers large and small flocked to Nashville last month to participate in the 10th annual Axis Retail Leadership Forum. The two-day program brought together a cross-section of retailers to share insights and strategies for handling the current challenges facing the industry. More than three dozen retailers - representing retailers from mom-and-pop stores to national chains - attended sessions ranging from loss prevention and loyalty program fraud to the latest advances in surveillance technology and analytics. The agenda also included Axis' roadmap for future product development as well as presentations from major retailers on procuring and integrating systems, best practices for device management, and effective investigation and interrogation techniques.

The forum, which was back in-person for the first time since 2019, provided an opportunity for participants to network with peers and industry leaders, discuss hot issues of the day, learn about current best practices, and collaborate on creative ways to solve common industry problems. Eligible attendees at the conference earned up to seven Continuing Education Units (CEUs) towards their Loss Prevention Foundation LPC Recertification.

Though the Axis Retail Leadership Forum is hosted by the technology company, the conference agenda is shaped by a Retail Advisory Board whose members are drawn from practitioners within the retail community. The 2022 advisory board includes senior level management from loss prevention, asset protection, and IT operations. Over the past decade, the diversity within the advisory board has helped to evolve the popular forum from an LP/AP conference to one that provides valuable content for improving a retailer's entire business operation.

"Our very first Retail Leadership Forum was all about introducing Axis to the retail community," explained James Stark, Retail Segment Development Manager for Axis Communications. "But now it's the community's vision."

Click here to read the full recap
 

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The U.S. Crime Surge
The Retail Impact

NRF Urges Congress to Pass INFORM Consumers Act to Curb ORC

RE: INFORM Consumers Act
Dear Leader Schumer, Speaker Pelosi, and Republican Leaders McConnell and McCarthy:

The National Retail Federation recently released its annual National Retail Security Survey. This annual survey was conducted among senior loss prevention and security executives across the retail industry. As a percentage of total U.S. retail sales, annual retail shrink increased in 2021 to $94.5 billion. Retailers also reported a 26.5% increase in organized retail crime (ORC) over 2020.

We write today to urge you to take immediate action on the bipartisan Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers (INFORM Consumers) Act. The surge in organized retail crime (ORC) has been detrimental to retailers, employees, consumers and the economy. Protecting the American consumer - no matter how they shop - is of the utmost priority. In addition to the overall increase in ORC, more than 80% of retailers have reported an increase in violence and aggression tied to these crimes. Much of the stolen products end up being sold online and through other avenues.

ORC is a national problem affecting retailers both large and small that warrants federal intervention. The INFORM Consumers Act is a critical part of the solution. By requiring online marketplaces to verify the identity of high-volume third-party sellers, the bill makes it more difficult to fence stolen merchandise online, thereby reducing demand for stolen products.

The bill has garnered overwhelming bipartisan support, as well as support from industry and law enforcement since it addresses both retail and consumer safety concerns. Likewise, the bill will ensure that small businesses can continue to operate online without an undue burden of compliance regulations that will continue to vary state by state without the implementation of a federal, uniform standard.

Click here to see the full NRF letter

Weakened PDs & Fewer Penalties Driving ORC Crisis
Organized Retail Crime Reaching "Crisis Scale" in the U.S.

The massive wave of retail thefts in the United States over the past two years have become a major challenge for both the retail industry and law enforcement.

Weakened law enforcement policies and lesser penalties for these criminal bandit gangs have hit a critical juncture, as crime in the United States has hit proportions not seen in three decades. The number of increasingly professional organized retail crime (ORC) rings and their frequent attacks have reached crisis scale, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF) in a Sept. 14 report.

These crimes have hurt thousands of businesses and have contributed to higher prices for consumers and loss of key retailers in many communities, as countless stores have closed to due to lack of security.

A Spike in Organized Thievery

According to the 2022 National Retail Security Survey, issued by NRF, the total loss of stolen goods hit $94.5 billion by the end of 2021, up from losses of $90.8 billion in 2020. A sudden increase store violence is another growing area of concern, such as random attacks on store personnel, robberies, and ORC gangs.

The majority of surveyed retailers reported a 89.3 percent increase in violence and a 73.2 percent uptick in shoplifting. The reported incidents of both ORC and employee theft rose 71.4 percent, much of it involving organized crime or for the gangs' own benefit. The NRF survey showed that 60.3 percent of retailers are increasing their security budgets.

Radical Crime Policies and Recidivism

Wealthy liberal enclaves throughout the country with district attorneys thought of as "soft on crime" appear to be the regions most affected by the crime wave and which has only grown worse since the pandemic.

The top five metropolitan areas affected by store bandit gangs in the past year were the Californian cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland; New York; Houston, Texas; and Miami, Florida.

Retailers across the country are calling for stronger legislation, especially at the federal and state level, along with better enforcement of existing laws to quell increasing acts of violence and theft, which are hurting their survival. zerohedge.com

Self-Checkout Theft Concerns Makes the NY Times
Wegmans Discontinues Self-Checkout App, Citing Losses

Self-checkout systems are intended to make shopping convenient, but they also can lead to more thefts, experts said.

Citing losses, the supermarket chain Wegmans announced that it had halted the use of its self-checkout app in which customers scanned their groceries as they shopped.

"SCAN users have told us they love the app and convenience it offers," Wegmans said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the losses we are experiencing prevent us from continuing to make it available in its current state."

At grocery stores, there are three main options for self-checkout systems. One is an app, like the one Wegmans used, in which shoppers scan items as they go through a store. There are also self-checkout lanes, near the traditional registers that are staffed by store workers, in which shoppers scan and bag their purchases.

A third was spearheaded by Amazon at its brick-and-mortar Amazon Go stores: Shoppers put items into their carts, and their accounts are automatically charged upon leaving without having to stop at a register.

A study of retailers in the United States and Europe released in 2016 found that retailers with self-service lanes and apps had a loss rate of about 4 percent, which is more than double the industry average.

Walmart suspended the use of its Scan & Go app in 2018, four months after introducing it to more than 100 stores. A former Walmart executive, Joel Larson, told Business Insider that the app was phased out in part because of theft.

"Retailers in particular are very sensitive to loss prevention issues because the margins in their business are tighter, especially the grocery store retailers," Mr. Wimer said. The self-checkout lanes with an employee monitoring customers are more likely to remain in stores, he said. But he did not believe a cashier could ever be fully replaced, which was a concern when this system started.   nytimes.com

U.S. Needs to Invest in Crime Data Collection
What's Dangerous Is America's Lack of Crime Data
Is crime rising? To which the shocking answer is - nobody knows. Not because anything unusual is happening, but simply because the usual state of America's information on crime and policing is incredibly poor. On crime the US is, to a shocking extent, flying blind. As a July report from the Brennan Center for Justice noted: "More than six months into 2022, national-level data on crime in 2021 remains unavailable."

There is some data. In America's largest cities, the murder rate rose in 2021. And since national crime trends almost invariably follow the trends observed in this sample of 22 cities, analysts are confident that there was a nationwide increase in murders last year. It's also very likely that there was an overall increase in shootings and violent assaults. But beyond that, it's hard to say.

It's possible to draw sharper conclusions by going back to 2020, the most recent year for which there is official data. The FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program makes clear that there was a very large increase in murdering in 2020. It also shows that the rise took place across the board - murders rose 20% in rural counties and 20% in suburban ones.

That said, the increase in central cities with 250,000 or more people was even larger - about 34%.

For 2021, the picture gets much fuzzier. Murder rose in big cities, but by a much smaller amount than it did the prior year. And in smaller communities? Who knows.

For 2022, researchers tell me the best source is the data assembled by a private company called AH Datalytics, which shows murder is running at a pace that's about 3.5% lower this year than last year.

The DOJ should be given some money to create a system that can be easily updated by law enforcement agencies, and actually filing that information in a timely way should be a condition of receiving federal police grants. A small team at the Bureau of Justice Statistics could have the job of phoning up departments who haven't done it and "reminding" them to update the numbers. And then the data could be released on a regular basis in a machine-readable form - the same way numbers for jobs, inflation, and other major economic statistics are.

A serious federal investment in crime data collection is no panacea, and it's not exactly a winning political slogan. But it would be a huge boost to all kinds of crime-control efforts. washingtonpost.com

Editor's Observations on Crime Data Collection

Obviously the journalist is not in the law enforcement community and is unaware of the nuances both the public and private LE communities face with collecting real-time data. The FBI is the first to admit their disappointment with the difficulties and impediments in collecting crime data. Being an unfunded and voluntary system for agencies it's a challenging effort.

Having just rolled out the first FBI 'Quarterly Uniform Crime Report,' with an expanded property crime section on Sept. 6, 2022. The data for the nation is derived from (the new and much more detailed) National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) reports, voluntarily submitted to the FBI. As their historic Summary Reporting System (SRS) data collection was just phased out in 2021 after rolling out the NIBRS on Jan. 1, 2021. cloud.gov

For example in 2022, the FBI Quarterly Uniform Crime Report for the nation is based on data received from 11,490 of 18,933 law enforcement agencies. Due to agency participation being under the 60 percent threshold, data trends by region and aggregate population group will not be available. Remember this is unfunded for the reporting LE agencies. And creating the new NIBRS was a huge effort by the FBI.

Same thing holds true to a certain extent for retail's National Retail Security Survey conducted in partnership with the Loss Prevention Research Council and sponsored by Appriss Retail. With it being an unfunded voluntary survey coupled with a few retailers confidentiality and privacy concerns, it's faced its own challenges over the years. However with the LPRC now managing the process we're bound to see the numbers of participants increase.

Lastly, the journalist wasn't far off base with his comments. It was merely evident he lacked the political and industry knowledge. -Gus Downing

FBI Logs Thousands of Arrests During Violent Summer
FBI & Law Enforcement Partners Nearly 6,000 Violent Criminals This Summer
FBI Director Christopher Wray announced today in a video message the results of joint violent crime enforcement efforts throughout the summer, recognizing the essential cooperation of local and state law enforcement agencies around the country.

Between May 1, and Sept. 2, 2022, the FBI and local and state law enforcement partners arrested nearly 6,000 alleged violent criminals and gang members and seized more than 2,700 firearms connected to criminal conduct. Throughout the summer, the FBI and its partners also disrupted nearly 845 and dismantled 105 violent gangs and criminal enterprises and seized large quantities of fentanyl and other deadly narcotics.

"Keeping our communities and our country safe is the Justice Department's priority, every single day. At the beginning of this year, we further intensified our department-wide efforts to combat violent crime, including by directing all 94 U.S. Attorneys' offices to develop and implement district-specific violent crime reduction strategies," said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. "Together with our law enforcement partners across the country, we will continue to do everything we can to protect our communities from violent crime."

"I believe the FBI's most sacred duty is to ensure people can live free from fear in their own homes and neighborhoods," said Director Wray. "To that end, we dedicate agents, analysts, and technical resources across the country to work with state and local law enforcement on these operations."

These joint violent crime enforcement efforts resulted in FBI operations occurring in many communities across the country, including in New Mexico, California, Texas, Illinois, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C., as summarized here.

Similar to the those listed here, the FBI and our law enforcement partners conducted numerous operations in many other cities across the nation, including Cleveland, Buffalo, New Haven, Charlotte, Springfield, and more, and will continue these efforts against violent crime to help keep our communities safe for everyone. justice.gov

"Crime Surges in the Twin Cities" A "Historic Stretch of Violent Crime"
Minneapolis & St. Paul Seeing the Same As Most Big Cities

To help fight crime, Hennepin County, MN., looks to neighborhood organizations

The county has given $5 million to more than 50 groups in 2022.

The county is rolling out the initiative as crime surges in the Twin Cities. Hennepin County is doling out $10M as part of an urgent new strategy aimed at preventing carjackings, assaults and shootings during a nearly historic stretch of violent crime.

The county is giving money to local community groups as well as hiring a "safe communities" director and gun-violence prevention coordinator in its first coordinated campaign to reduce violent crime.

From hospital staff to talk to victims, intervention specialist, mental health and anger management counseling, community violence prevention courses at the Community College, to teams of outreach workers hitting crime hotspots from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and "literally ran criminal activity off the corners." startribune.com

Philadelphia police stepping up patrols in city after several violent weekends
The department has been struggling to maintain order through violent weekends all summer long. Chiefs have been telling upper leadership at the police department that this is something that they believe may work to help shifts overlap for this weekend.

California's Newsom signs bill that cracks down on hate crime

Oakland County Prosecutor's Office launches commission on gun control

Senior LP & AP Jobs Market

Chief Executive Officer job posted for Signal Security Group in Orlando, FL
Rapidly growing franchisor seeking for a multi-market leader who can build, lead and execute scalable growth. Leader open to collaborate, build and execute growth strategy with well-resourced owner inside a franchise brand in the Southeast region. Hands on and approachable leader who can foster a great culture for the team and customers while developing and implementing a strategic plan. indeed.com

VP, Asset Protection job posted for Casey's in Ankeny, IA
As the Vice President of Asset Protection, you'll be accountable to ensure the organization's processes, controls and systems are of the highest standard, driving efficiencies and protecting our assets, guests, business and team members. In this role, you'll provide expertise and leadership in all aspects of loss prevention across the enterprise, and be responsible for leading and developing the asset protection team to reduce waste in enterprise processes and systems. recruiting.adp.com

Lead Dir., Infrastructure Security Services job posted for CVS in Tabernacle, NJ
This is a critical member of the Enterprise Information Security (EIS) organization, focused on delivering enterprise security solutions that spans endpoint and network security services; this would include overseeing endpoint minimum security baseline control standards and detection and response (EDR) strategy, Web Application firewall and network security policies. jobs.cvshealth.com
 

More Data Means Higher Risk of Cyberattacks
Collaboration is key to balance customer experience with security, privacy

Security and privacy teams working with sales, marketing and design ensures a good user experience while protecting data and maintaining regulatory compliance.

Organizations of all sizes and stripes are collecting increasing amounts of data on individuals as they seek to create better customer experiences and deliver personalized services. A study of 1,000 executives from Skynova, which offers online invoicing for small businesses, found that 86% of the 1,000 business owners and executives it surveyed gathered data from its customers. It found 75% of businesses with fewer than ten employees did so, compared to 93% of those at organizations with 100-plus workers. The study also showed that 64% collected data on their customers from their social media sites.

Yet collecting and using all the data creates problems, as Cohen points out. Organizations risk the data being stolen in a cyberattack, and they risk collecting or using data in ways that run afoul of the myriad data privacy laws that have emerged in recent years around the globe.

They also risk alienating the very individuals they're trying to serve with their data-driven user experience (UX) initiatives. A 2021 KMPG survey brings that dichotomy into focus. It found that 70% of the 250 business leaders surveyed said their companies increased collection of consumer personal data during the prior year. Yet 86% of the 2,000 general population respondents said data privacy is a growing concern for them, 68% said the level of data collection by businesses is concerning, and 40% don't trust companies to use their data in an ethical manner.

Business leaders seem to be taking note: KMPG found that 62% agreed that their companies should do more to strengthen data protection measures. Enterprise executives are now trying to determine how to create policies and practices that guarantee they have and can use the data needed to enable UX - including personalized digital interactions and services - while also safeguarding user privacy and data security.

Getting that balance right is non-negotiable, says Damon McDougald, global digital identity lead with professional services firm Accenture. "Consumers are concerned about the data that they have to provide to get a service, where that data goes, and whether that data stays with the company," McDougald says. But at the same time "a good customer experience and a bad customer experience is the difference between keeping or losing customers."

There is, of course, no magic formula to calculate the right balance, but UX and privacy experts say executives can take to find the proper trade-offs between enabling user experience and supporting data privacy. csoonline.com

The State of Public Cloud Security
Most critical security gaps in the public cloud
Orca Security released the 2022 State of the Public Cloud Security Report, which provides important insights into the current state of public cloud security and where the most critical security gaps are found.

The state of public cloud security

Crown jewels are dangerously within reach: The average attack path only needs 3 steps to reach a crown jewel asset, meaning that an attacker only needs to find three connected and exploitable weaknesses in a cloud environment to exfiltrate data or hold an organization to ransom.

Vulnerabilities are the top initial attack vector: 78% of identified attack paths use known vulnerabilities (CVEs) as an initial access attack vector, highlighting that organizations need to prioritize vulnerability patching even more.

Storage assets are often left unsecured: Publicly accessible S3 Buckets and Azure blob storage assets are found in the majority of cloud environments, which is a highly exploitable misconfiguration and the cause of many data breaches.

Basic security practices are not being followed: Many basic security measures such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), encryption, strong passwords, and port security are still not being applied consistently.

Cloud-native services are being overlooked: Even though cloud-native services are easily spun up, they still require maintenance and proper configuration: 58% of organizations have serverless functions with unsupported runtimes, and 70% of organizations have a Kubernetes API server that is publicly accessible. helpnetsecurity.com

Hackers Conning Employees in $223k BEC Fraud
Florida Man Pleads Guilty to $223,000 Money Laundering Conspiracy

Email Hacking Scheme Targeted Fort Leonard Wood, Other Victims

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A Homosassa, Florida man pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a $223,000 money-laundering conspiracy, which was part of an email hacking scheme that targeted a program at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., as well as victims in Tennessee and Idaho.

Franklin D. Huggins, 54, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Huggins admitted that he participated in a money-laundering conspiracy related to a $223,427 wire fraud scheme from Jan. 1, 2017, to Jan. 28, 2019.

Huggins's co-conspirators targeted Fort Leonard Wood and two businesses through a business email compromise scheme. In a business email compromise scheme, conspirators hack into a business email account, then send an email from what appears to be an employee of the business, instructing that money be sent to certain bank accounts.

Conspirators sent emails to individuals associated with businesses in an attempt to gain unlawful access to business email accounts. After hacking the email accounts, conspirators then utilized the business email accounts to portray themselves as those businesses and individuals. Under such assumed identities, conspirators engaged in what seemed to be normal financial transactions with other victim businesses, individuals, and entities, requesting money for certain purposes. These victims, believing they were conducting business with the real individuals, sent money to the conspirators based upon those false representations. justice.gov

'Webcam Peeking Attack' - Who's Peeking On Your Zoom Calls?
Eyeglass Reflections Can Leak Information During Video Calls

A group of academic researchers have devised a method of reconstructing text exposed via participants' eyeglasses and other reflective objects during video conferences.

"Using mathematical modeling and human subjects experiments, this research explores the extent to which emerging webcams might leak recognizable textual and graphical information gleaming from eyeglass reflections captured by webcams," the academics note in their research paper.

Dubbed 'webcam peeking attack', a threat model devised by academics shows that it is possible to obtain an accuracy of over 75% when reconstructing and recognizing text with heights as small as 10 mm, captured by a 720p webcam.

To mitigate the risk posed by webcam peeking attacks, the researchers propose both near- and long-term mitigations, including the use of software that can blur the eyeglass areas of the video stream. Some video conferencing solutions already offer blurring capabilities, albeit not fine-tuned. securityweek.com

New Opportunities for Collaboration with the Council Coming in 2023
This week, the PCI SSC hosts the first in-person Community Meeting in Toronto, Canada since 2019. In this blog, we interview Lance Johnson, Executive Director of the PCI SSC about his major announcement related to the PCI SSC Participating Organization (PO) program.

Human Error at the Center of Cybersecurity Crises
The key to cybersecurity crises at Twitter, Uber, and Take-Two Interactive? Reducing human error

Securing your Apple device front through unified endpoint management

DDoS Attack Against Eastern Europe Target Sets New Record

4 charged with conspiring to steal $425,000 in fitness trackers from North Texas department store distribution center
Two brothers and two other people have been charged with systemically stealing more than $425,000 worth of fitness trackers from a Corsicana warehouse, according to U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham. The scheme spanned about four months, federal authorities said in a news release Monday. Brothers Antonio Marcell Lewis, 41m, and Samuel Earl Lewis, 36, along with Aaron Lincoln, 43, and Ricka Smith, 37, were arrested Thursday and they made their initial appearances on Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee Toliver. The four were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit theft from interstate shipment on Sept. 8 from the Corsicana warehouse. Corsicana is about 80 miles southeast of Fort Worth. The brothers then sold the fitness trackers to unauthorized retailers, authorities allege. If convicted, they face up to five years in federal prison. msn.com

Store Sales Consultant's Fraudulent "My Rewards" Scheme
DOJ: California Man Pleads Guilty to $400,000 Fraud Scheme Involving Minnesota-Based Retailer
ST. PAUL, Minn. - A California man has pleaded guilty to wire fraud after defrauding his former employer, a Minnesota-based retailer, of more than $400,000,

Michael John Gennarelli, 32, of Huntington Beach, California, was employed as a sales consultant and mobile supervisor for Company A, a retail store based in Minnesota. Gennarelli unlawfully accessed Company A's computer network and obtained sales receipt information for high-dollar-value purchases that were not associated with a "My Rewards" account, Company A's customer loyalty program. Gennarelli then created numerous fraudulent "My Rewards" accounts, applied the stolen sales receipts information, and claimed the associated "My Rewards" points for the value of such purchases. In total, Gennarelli issued himself approximately $467,307 in "My Rewards" certificates, $393,200 of which he redeemed for merchandise and gift cards in Company A stores and on Company A's website.

A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later time. justice.gov

County Truck full of $50,000 of Cowboy Boots
San Luis Obispo County, CA: Theft of SLO County truck full of cowboy boots leads to arrest of alleged chop shop operator
An alleged chop shop operator was arrested Thursday in connection to the theft of a San Luis Obispo County box truck carrying cowboy boots, according to the California Highway Patrol. San Luis Obispo County Auto Theft Task Force officers responded Aug. 31 to reports of a stolen Ford E350 truck containing approximately $50,000 worth of "Western-style boots," the CHP said in a news release Friday, prompting an investigation by that agency and the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office. After working with the Kern County Auto Theft Task Force, investigators arrested Bakersfield resident Arturo Nolazco Marquez, 45, on suspicion of operating a chop shop that held "evidence linking him to the stolen 2002 E350 box truck and retail merchandise," the release said. sanluisobispo.com

Aptos, CA: CVS Robbery suspects caught with guns, Plan B and Nicorette
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office said they arrested two after a robbery was reported at a CVS in Aptos Saturday. Two suspects allegedly entered the store and took bags full of nicotine gum, cigarettes, Plan B, razors, and lozenges. They threatened staff before leaving the store and drove off in a gray Taurus. Coryeon Wyatt, 18, and Keoinjhanie Russell, 21, of San Jose, were caught and taken into custody. According to deputies, the store items, a ghost handgun, and a stolen handgun were found in the vehicle. Both suspects were charged with robbery, firearm charges, conspiracy, and for warrants from other counties. Deputies added they were wanted for similar crimes in San Jose and from earlier in the evening at CVS stores in Salinas and Prunedale. kion546.com

Coral Springs, FL: Police chase U-Haul truck involved in grand theft at Target store in Coral Springs
A U-Haul truck led Coral Springs Police on a chase. Police chased the truck after it was suspected to be involved in a grand theft that occurred at a Target store at 441 and Wiles Road, Monday. The chase ended with a bailout in the area of 4100 NW 21st St. in Lauderhill. One person then ran into an apartment complex. A large police perimeter was established to search for the suspect. The alleged thief remains at large. wsvn.com

Cleveland, OH: Postal worker stole $8000 of sneakers, iPhones
A mail processing clerk at the United States Postal Service's Brooklyn branch is accused of stealing parcels worth nearly $8,800. Brandon Monteal Williams, AKA Brandon Trotter, 32, took "numerous parcels" containing high-end merchandise between January 2022 and March 2022, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio told the FOX 8 I-Team. That includes five pairs of "high-valued sneakers" totaling about $1,949, nine Apple iPhones valued at about $6,049 and one $800 Samsung Galaxy phone, according to his indictment filed Thursday. Williams is also charged with embezzling up to $1,000 from the postal service itself between February and March. Williams faces counts of theft of mail by a postal employee and misappropriation of postal funds. Those federal statutes carry a combined prison sentence of up to six years. fox8.com

Orange, CA: 3 suspects at large following robbery of T-Mobile store
Authorities are seeking three suspects wanted for a robbery that occurred at T-Mobile store in Orange on Monday. According to the Orange Police Department, the suspects entered the store, located on E. Chapman Avenue, at around 6:15 p.m., where they stole thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. The suspects then fled from the scene and are still at large.  cbsnews.com

Memphis, TN: Thief hits South Memphis Family Dollar 5 times in less than a month
Memphis man who spent time in prison for burglary and theft is locked up again, accused of stealing from a South Memphis Family Dollar store five times over the last three weeks. Police said Devin Merriweather, 34, took around $6,300 in cash, clothing, and cigarettes from the Family Dollar Investigators said on two separate occasions, Merriweather forced his way into the manager's officers and took the money and nearly $1,000 worth of cigarettes. Merriweather is also accused of entering the store at various times of the day and walking out with over $500 worth of clothing without paying. We noticed there was a SkyCop camera parked right outside the business. Merriweather is also charged with aggravated assault and aggravated burglary in a residential burglary back in July. Police said Merriweather and three others took around $2,500 worth of property from a Memphis apartment. nvestigators said Merriweather also threatened the man who lived there with a gun and left behind his wallet with his ID inside. wreg.com

Oklahoma City, OK: Three suspects wanted for allegedly stealing from Nike Store

Lancaster County, PA: Suspect stole $400 in underwear from Tommy Hilfiger store at Tanger Outlets