Congressional Hearing TODAY on Addressing ORC

"From Festive Cheer to Retail Fear: Addressing Organized Retail Crime"
NRF VP of AP & Retail Operations will testify today before Congress

NRF Testifies on Organized Retail Crime TODAY
TODAY, David Johnston, NRF's vice president of asset protection and retail operations, will testify before the House Homeland Security Committee Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Subcommittee on the issue of organized retail crime (ORC). The hearing, "From Festive Cheer to Retail Fear: Addressing Organized Retail Crime," will feature a federal government panel and a non-government panel. NRF will testify about the ongoing impact of ORC on retailers, their employees, their customers and the communities they serve, especially the impact of the rise in violence, and support for the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (H.R. 895).

In addition, last Friday NRF participated in a staff briefing for members of the House Republican Main Street Caucus. The briefing, "The Nightmare Before Christmas: Retail Theft on Main Street," included Jonathan Gold, NRF's vice president for supply chain and customs policy, and two retailers talking about the challenges of ORC.

Click here to tune into today's hearing at 2:00 p.m. ET


RILA Sends Letter to Congressional Subcommittee Ahead of ORC Hearing
Changing the Tide on Retail Theft Requires Smart Policy, Targeted Resources and Better Collaboration
Washington, DC - The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) Senior Executive Vice President, Public Affairs Michael Hanson issued the following statement ahead of today's U.S. House Homeland Security Committee hearing on organized retail crime (ORC).

"We appreciate lawmakers' attention to the growing challenge of retail crime and its impact on retail employees, customers, and communities.

"Retail crime is not an urban or rural problem, it is not a Republican or Democratic problem, it is not an East or West problem, it is affecting every state and cities large and small across the nation. And unfortunately, as offenders have become more organized and brazen, retail employees are increasingly exposed to threats and physical violence.

"There are no shortcuts to solving this problem. RILA is committed to finding and enacting solutions at every level of government. We are partnering with prosecutors, law enforcement, community partners and social service organizations to curb this trend over the long-term.

"Among the lessons learned by retailers throughout this fight is that sustainable change, in which we restore vibrancy to communities, requires a comprehensive approach. For leading retailers, that means prosecution for violent offenders or habitual offenders who make a living re-selling stolen product; diversion and second chance opportunities for young people who make wrong decisions; and thoughtful collaboration when it comes to addressing societal issues like homelessness, addiction, and mental health challenges.

"The retail industry is committed to changing the tide on retail theft. All reasonable and legitimate solutions are welcomed. We look forward to continuing to work the Chairman, Ranking Member and the members of the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence along with other interested parties within Congress, the administration, federal law enforcement, state legislatures, police departments, state attorneys general, and social services to help bring an end to deter organized retail crime and its negative impact on every community across the country."

RILA's full letter to the Subcomittee can be found here.


DOJ: Justice Department Announces Release of Violent Crime Reduction Roadmap
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced today the release of the Justice Department's Violent Crime Reduction Roadmap, a one-stop shop to assist local jurisdictions in developing, implementing, and evaluating strategies to prevent, intervene in, and respond to violent crime. The Roadmap helps connect jurisdictions with the information and resources they need to meet the complex and evolving challenges to help reduce violent crime.

The announcement came during the opening session of the Department's Violent Crime Reduction Summit, which brings together federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial partners across the country to identify evidence-informed practices to increase public safety, enhance partnerships in the participating communities, and reduce violent crime. The Summit is convening executive leaders and key stakeholders from Project Safe Neighborhoods and National Public Safety Partnership sites, as well as grantees from several violent crime reduction programs including the Local Law Enforcement Crime Gun Intelligence Center Integration Initiative, Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative, and the Rural and Small Department Violent Crime Reduction Program.

"We have spent two and a half years using every available resource to combat the violent crime spike we saw during the pandemic, and this is a guide to the programs and strategies that we have seen work," said Attorney General Garland.

The dozens of Justice Department resources available from the Roadmap are organized around actions outlined in Saving Lives: Ten Essential Actions Cities Can Take to Reduce Violence Now, developed by the Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan think tank for the criminal justice field.  justice.gov


USA's Top ORC Hot Spot City
Private security demand grows as retail crime rises in Memphis
Memphis security companies are busy with so much crime in the area. In fact, the security expert we spoke with Saturday was training women at New Hope Baptist church in South Memphis on how to defend themselves. Bennie Cobb also spoke to us about the importance of businesses hiring security now.

"Memphis has been off the chain as far as car burglaries, carjackings, flash mobs breaking into businesses. Business is good," said Bennie Cobb, Owner of Eagle Eye Security.

Cobb said unfortunately there is a price to pay for not having security-especially during the holiday season.

"All the eyes you can have on the street right now, in your business, around your home, in your personal space and even while you are out shopping. We know law enforcement is short of manpower so it's very important to have physical security. Whether it's a camera or a physical body," said Cobb.

Cobb said his company has been busy trying to meet the demand of businesses. He said business owners often complain about security services being so expensive. He says it's even more expensive to not have security.

"Security guards are requiring more money. Their job is more and more dangerous and challenging. Businesses want it and need it, but a lot of businesses don't want to pay for it or can't afford it," said Cobb.

He said thieves are out Christmas shopping and willing to do whatever it takes to get their product. He says businesses have to be willing to protect their product at all costs. actionnews5.com

Editor's Note: According to the D&D Daily's 2022 ORC Report and 2023 Mid-Year ORC Report, Memphis is the top ORC city in America.


Crime Was #1 Issue in Houston Mayor Race
But data shows crime has changed little since 2019

Voters say Houston crime is a top concern. What can crime data tell us about citywide trends?
A majority of voters say crime is their top concern ahead; a University of Houston poll found almost half of voters listed crime as their top concern.

The finding comes even as public safety officials in Houston, such as Police Chief Troy Finner, and experts across the country have cited data showing crime has declined in 2023, compared to 2022.

Residents' perception of crime has not always matched up with what researchers have unearthed while trying to understand the causes and solutions to crime, according to a psychologist who had studied the phenomenon.

But what is the data showing Houstonians about the state of public safety ahead of the election? Finner repeatedly has touted declines in most crime categories from 2022 to 2023, and the statistics largely bear that out.

But is crime worse now than it has been in the past 5 years? Zooming out shows little change in overall crime trends in Houston, for ill or for good.

Between 2019 and 2023, the average number of daily crimes has gone down only slightly, dipping from about 622 crimes to 618. The data behind these averages was provided by the Houston Police Department and detailed offenses against persons, property and society. houstonchronicle.com

Data Breach Impacted 2 Million Dollar Tree Employees
Dollar Tree faces class action lawsuit over recent security breach

Lawsuit says officials failed to notify those impacted in a timely fashion

Dollar Tree is now facing a class action lawsuit following a recent security breach that affected nearly 2 million employees, according to local reporting.

The lawsuit was filed by former Dollar Tree worker Kenneth Stanley and states that Dollar Tree officials failed to notify workers immediately after hackers obtained access to worker information including names, dates of birth, and social security numbers.

Dollar Tree allegedly shared the private, unencrypted information of its employees and customers with a human-resources software vendor, Zeroed-In Technologies, LLC, which then stored that private information in an unencrypted, Internet-accessible environment on its public network.

According to Zeroed-In Technologies, the company's systems were hacked between Aug. 7 and 8. However, Zeroed-In said it waited nearly four months, until at least November 27, to begin notifying impacted employees and customers, which may have violated state and federal laws, according to a statement from the law offices representing Dollar Tree workers in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit lists three charges: negligence, breach of implied contract, and unjust enrichment. supermarketnews.com


'Physical Security Entities' Targeted by North Korean Hackers
North Korean hacking ops continue to exploit Log4Shell

Two years after it was disclosed, the Log4j vulnerability continues to enable North Korean hacking operations.

Two years after the Log4j vulnerability was revealed, North Korean hackers are continuing to use the flaw in a ubiquitous piece of open source software to carry out attacks as part of a hacking campaign targeting manufacturing, agricultural and physical security entities, according to research released Monday.

Carried out over the course of 2023 and described in a report released by Cisco's Talos Intelligence Group on Monday, the campaign employed at least three new malware families and relied, in part, on the Log4Shell exploit, highlighting the long tail of the Log4j vulnerability and how failure to patch the flaw is providing a ready tool to malicious hackers.

The campaign was the work of one of a plethora of North Korean hacking units operating under the broad Lazarus umbrella, a term industry and government researchers use to refer to the array of North Korean government hacking operations that engage in everything from cyberespionage to cryptocurrency thefts, ransomware and supply chain attacks.

The Log4j vulnerability has "been extensively exploited by the Lazarus umbrella of [advanced persistent threat] groups to deploy a multitude of malware, dual-use tools and conduct extensive hands-on-keyboard activity," the researchers wrote. cyberscoop.com

   In Case You Missed It: LogoFAIL vulnerabilities impact vast majority of devices


FBI Rolls Out Cyberattack Reporting Role
FBI Outlines Its Role in Upcoming SEC Cyber Disclosures
The Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a memo describing its new process for helping determine whether a public company can delay disclosing a cyberattack under SEC regulations set to go into effect Dec. 18.

The Securities and Exchange Commission says a company must report a cyber incident that is deemed material within four days of that determination-unless the disclosure would be a risk to national security or public safety.

Who makes that risk call? Ultimately, the U.S. Attorney General. The FBI, however, gathers the information needed to evaluate. Within two hours of a hacked company making a delay request to the FBI's CyWatch cyber center, the bureau must verify the basic information and notify the victim's FBI field office. Various steps for documentation ensue, as well as consultation with other parts of the U.S. government. The attorney general then issues a decision in writing to the SEC and victim company. wsj.com  fbi.gov


Apple: 2.5B Records Exposed, Marking Staggering Surge in Data Breaches

Henry Schein says 29K people affected in September cyberattack

#5 Safeguard Your Important Documents with Cloud Backups

Physical protection like sealed boxes and fireproof safes are great for vital documents, however nature can be unpredictable, so having a digital backup is critical.

Digitize Your Documents: Use multifunctional printers with scanning capabilities or simply utilize smartphone scanning apps to create digital copies of your essential documents and photos.

Store in the Cloud: Once digitized, upload these files to a secure cloud storage service. This ensures that even if physical copies are damaged, you have a virtual backup safe from natural threats.

App Based Versions: Check to see if there is an APP based version of your important documents.

Remember, while physical copies are crucial, having a digital backup provides an extra layer of security and peace of mind.
 

DOJ: Kern County Man Pleads Guilty to Six-Year, $825,000 Credit Card Fraud Scheme
FRESNO, Calif. - Miguel Leyva, 36, of Wasco, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft charges for his role in a long-running credit card fraud scheme,

According to court records, between February 2016 and August 2022, Leyva and his partner and co-defendant, Karina Arceo, stole the personally identifiable information (PII) for more than 125 victims.

Leyva and Arceo used the stolen PII to open thousands of fraudulent credit cards in the victims' identities. They used false identification documents to open the credit cards and provided billing addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses over which they had control so that any communications related to the credit cards would go to them instead of the victims. They then made hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent purchases on the credit cards in Kern County and elsewhere. The fraudulent purchases included home appliances, automobile accessories, designer clothing, tickets to concerts and sporting events, and travel, among other items. Altogether, their scheme caused a total actual loss of more than $825,000.

Leyva is scheduled to be sentenced on April 1, 2024. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and $250,000 fine for the conspiracy charge, and a mandatory two years in prison, consecutive to other counts, for the identity theft charge. justice.gov


DOJ: Bronx Ring Leader Gets 12 Months - One Day for $1.5M Nationwide Credit Card Fraud Affecting Thousands of Account Holders
NEWARK, N.J. - A manager for a conspiracy that used stolen credit card information to make fraudulent retail purchases around the United States was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in prison, Trevor Osagie, 32, of the Bronx, New York, previously pleaded guilty.

From at least 2015 through November 2018, Osagie conspired with a network of individuals based in the New Jersey/New York area who made trips around the United States in order to use stolen credit card information to purchase gift cards, flights, hotels, rental cards, and other goods and services. Other participants in the conspiracy obtained stolen credit card information through the "dark web" and other sources. In addition to recruiting at least one individual to create the fraudulent credit cards, Osagie managed the individuals who traveled around the United States conducting the fraudulent transactions. The conspirators made over $1.5 million in fraudulent purchases using over 4,000 stolen credit card accounts.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Martini sentenced Osagie to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $1.43 million in restitution. justice.gov


Tucson, AZ: 3 fast-food workers arrested over theft ring allegedly run out of fried chicken restaurant
Three fast-food employees have been arrested for running a complex and extensive theft ring out of the fried chicken restaurant they worked at, police say. The investigation began in December of last year in Tucson, Arizona, when a shoplifting case led investigators to become aware of "potential trafficking-in-stolen-property activity that involved employees of a chicken storefront," according to a statement from the Tucson Police Department (TPD) in Arizona. "Investigators noted activity consistent with a fencing operation in which staff members of the restaurant were paying known shoplifters for items that were stolen from businesses in the area," the Tucson Police Department said. Detectives from Operations Division West/Neighborhood Crimes Unit and Operations Division South officers continued monitoring the business. Once TPD investigators noted the magnitude and complexity of the investigation, agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and investigators from the affected business began working jointly." Their investigation, which lasted almost a year, came to a head on Nov. 29 when TPD officers, along with HSI Agents, served simultaneous search warrants at the restaurant and two homes they had been surveilling. "As a result of the search warrants, police recovered thousands of dollars in stolen property to include tools, clothing, shoes, diapers, and electronics," TPD said in their statement. Three people were arrested in connection with the operation: 52-year-old Lydia Grijalva-Velasquez, 61-year-old Fabian Rodriguez Rios and 45-year-old Francis Sophia Vasquez.  abc7chicago.com


Los Angeles County, CA: Authorities searching for women who used 'booster skirt' to rob Sephora in Malibu
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is asking the public for help identifying two women they say are part of an organized retail theft group. Investigators say the women captured on surveillance cameras stole from a Sephora store on Cross Creek Road in Malibu back on Nov. 3. Officials say they shoved $3,600 worth of cosmetics inside a black booster skirt, which is a garment with a loose elastic waistband that can be used to hide items. The women then took off in a black 2011 Toyota Sienna minivan.  abc7.com


Las Vegas, NV: Arrest report: Woman arrested following fraudulent credit card scheme
One of three women accused of using thousands of dollars in stolen credit cards to purchase gift cards, among other things, was recently arrested by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD). Desireh Cliett is being charged with various credit card fraud and burglary charges after being arrested on December 1 near the 215 and Buffalo. According to a police report, Cliett and two other women are accused of using the stolen cards at various Albertsons, Target, and Neiman Marcus locations across the valley in July and August 2023. One man, who reported his credit cards and phone missing after having a brief encounter with the trio, told police that approximately $60,000 was stolen across several different cards. In September, one of the two other suspects was identified as Danjane Sheppard. Online arrest records show that she has yet to be detained but does have prior grand larceny, theft, and prostitution charges. The third suspect has yet to be identified. Investigators used Cliett's Facebook profile to match the outfit she was seen wearing in-store surveillance videos, which was a distinct cheetah pattern dress. Records also indicate that Cliett is an escort and was charged back in March 2023 for stealing a Rolex watch from a tourist she had met.  news3lv.com


Memphis, TN: Burglars hitch store's door to truck, steal $5K worth of cell phones
Burglars pulled the door off a mobile phone store by strapping it to the rear of a truck, police said. The crime happened after midnight, about 1:30, Dec. 11, at the T-Mobile Store in Oakhaven, according to the Memphis Police Department (MPD). When officers arrived at the store at 4222 Winchester, responding to an business alarm, they found the store's front door in the parking lot. It was was strapped to a trailer hitch, police said. A witness told police he saw four people drive a pickup truck pull the door open. The men then went inside the store and left in the truck with various merchandise, he informed police.  fox13memphis.com


Memphis, TN: 3 shoplifters on run, 1 pepper sprayed employee in Wolfchase
Memphis police are looking for the suspects involved in an assault and theft at a store in Wolfchase. On December 8, officers responded to a shoplifting at Macy's on Germantown Parkway around 2:55 p.m. Police say three women entered the store and took items from the store without paying. One of the women pepper-sprayed a store employee, said police.  actionnews5.com


Irvine, CA: The Irvine Police are searching for two women who stole $2000 of Legos at Target and $1700 of booze from Albertsons

Nassau County, NY: Uniondale man stole more than $10,000 in cigarettes from Nassau 7-Eleven stores