Dick's Sporting Goods' Anti-Theft Technology
CSA Q&A: Dick's Sporting Goods cuts theft with surveillance cameras

Faced with shoplifting and other sources of in-store loss, Dick's Sporting Goods has responded with camera monitoring.

Chain Store Age recently spoke with Jih-Hao Cheng, director of loss prevention, Dick’s Sporting Goods, about benefits the country’s largest sporting goods retailer has received since installing the Liveview Technologies surveillance camera platform.

Using the Liveview Technologies Platform, Dick’s is able to set up perimeters on its properties. When someone crosses them, store management gets an alert. The camera units come with technology that can sense motion, as well as provide custom sounds and lighting. Dick’s is able to know who's logging in and viewing any camera in the system in real time, track video searches, and monitor system access.

What types of issues was Dick's Sporting Goods facing with in-store loss and theft?

Like many retailers, we encounter shoplifting and other bad actors in our stores. Our primary focus is making sure that we are providing a safe environment for our associates to work and for our customers to shop.

What made you select Liveview Technologies as an in-store loss prevention solution?

We began a pilot with Liveview in mid-2019. We chose LiveView because they have a great, reliable product, but what impressed us over time was the level of support we received from the Liveview team. They are always readily available to assist and have gone to great lengths to be an excellent solution provider, and we've expanded our work with them as a result.

What benefits does Liveview Technologies provide?

One of the unique advantages of Liveview is its deterrent value. We believe that bad actors are less interested in our store when they see it is well monitored. Also, the cost of using this technology can be less compared to some of the more traditional methods used in this space. Most importantly, we've seen a material positive impact by creating a safer environment for our customers and associates, and supporting law enforcement with the apprehension of bad actors.

Can you share any future plans for the Liveview Technologies solution and/or for loss prevention?

We continue to source and identify strategies and tactics to provide a safer environment for our customers and associates, mitigate losses, and help law enforcement apprehend bad actors. We are constantly measuring the impact of our solutions and thus far, these Liveview units have provided incredible positive insights and impact in our efforts to promote a safe environment in our stores.

More broadly, what advice do you have for retailers facing growing rates of in-store theft?

Continue looking for new, creative and alternative ways to address safety and loss concerns. Develop a strategy to facilitate constant testing and piloting of new solutions, be patient, and be willing to work through it or move in another direction. Finding the right solution provider, such as Liveview, who is willing to work with you is key. chainstoreage.com

Retail Crime Wave is Upending the Industry
From Bullet-Proof Glass to eCommerce Shift, Crime Spree Spawns Rethink on Retail
As much as high-priced luxury goods are a favored target, the rise in these large-scale, high-profile thefts goes well beyond designer boutiques and high-end stores, and has also seen hits on pharmacies, apparel and even bulk heists of laundry detergent and shampoo from supermarkets.

So prevalent is this spate of theft that 21 CEOs from some of the nation's biggest retailers asked for help from Congress last week to fight a problem they say is both costly and dangerous to customers and employees alike.

"This trend has made retail businesses a target for increasing theft, hurt legitimate businesses who are forced to compete against unscrupulous sellers, and greatly increased consumer exposure to unsafe and dangerous counterfeit products," the group added, while calling for quick passage of legislation to address the problem.

Tough Problem, Tough Solutions

Of course, the fact that this troubling trend is happening during the critical retail holiday season has only heightened the need for rapid solutions. Where once a family outing to the mall or other retail venue in December would have included a photo on Santa's lap amid holiday muzak and colorful decorations, shoppers in hard-hit areas today are apt to find seasonal displays housed behind bullet-proof glass, or have their browsing being watched-over by armed guards or police - that is, if they decide to go at all.

Is It Even Worth It?

For some retailers, including CVS and Walgreens, the rise in crime in a few of the worst-hit ZIP codes in California or Illinois was greater than the business case for keeping a location open, causing some stores to simply close their doors.

What's also interesting is the effect that all of this has had on digital sales, or more precisely the corporate and consumer embrace of them. While retail CEOs and trade associations have targeted the proliferation of online black-market resellers as a major reason why mass-shoplifting is rising, the fact that increased digital security fraud and ID verification efforts have made theft on that side comparably small cannot be overlooked.

Add in the general current shortage of individuals looking for (or willing to take) public-facing jobs on the front lines of retail, as well as the ongoing societal comfort and frequency of online shopping, and the case for safely making sales another way starts to make a lot of sense. pymnts.com

More Coordination Needed to Combat Theft Wave
As Smash-and-Grab Raids Go Viral, the Retail Industry Is Fighting Back
Organized retail crime is running rampant in the run-up to Christmas. As captured on smartphones and closed-circuit video cameras across the U.S. and splashed all over social media, thieves have increasingly taken to smash-and-grab raid tactics. They're looting stores through their windows and brazenly wheeling out shopping carts loaded with stolen goods.

Industry groups have sounded the alarm, saying the thefts are not being carried out by lone actors, but are the handiwork of organized crime rings that pose a major threat to the retail industry and everyday consumers who want to shop in peace.

"Organized retail crime is not something new, but if you think about the things that are stolen and fenced by such groups, usually it's cargo theft or theft from warehouses," Christian Beckner, VP of retail technology and cybersecurity at the National Retail Federation, told PYMNTS in an interview. "This smash-and-grab trend you've seen in the past couple of months is the latest iteration of that."

The NRF is one of a number of retail industry bodies leading calls for policymakers to do something. It has recently launched a social media campaign calling for more collaboration and partnership between government, law enforcement and the retail industry, and is looking for immediate action to make the holiday season safer for shoppers.

Beckner said the NRF has put a lot of energy into trying to understand how the criminal gangs operate, including how the stolen goods are moved and where and when they're being resold. At the same time, the NRF is calling for lawmakers to implement policy reforms in order to help law enforcement go after the ringleaders responsible for the raids.

Its voice is being heard, with various prosecutors and attorneys' general offices signaling that they're about to take a tougher stance on the issue. As Beckner pointed out, California and Illinois have both established organized retail crime task forces to try and tackle the issue before it gets out of hand. Other states, including Arizona, Florida and New Mexico, are trying to emulate that model - but much work remains to be done, Beckner said.

What's urgently needed is more coordination between the various law enforcement agencies responsible for preventing retail crime. Beckner said there's not enough collaboration between Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI Postal Inspection Service, local police departments and other stakeholders.

"You have a number of different federal law enforcement agencies that have some responsibility, but there is no single agency that is the clear lead to address this," he noted." pymnts.com

Smash and Grab? Don't Come to Arizona
Op-Ed: Arizona's 'Tough-on-Crime' Approach to Retail Theft

Unlike soft-on-crime California, we take retail theft seriously.

Most Americans remember the riots and the looting of summer 2020. While media attention has dwindled on these crimes, looting in major cities has continued-and is escalating this Christmas season. The center of organized retail theft is the San Francisco Bay Area.

Since 2000, 40 states have increased their theft financial thresholds, including California, where in 2014 voters more than doubled the value of merchandise a defendant could steal before facing a felony charge. The practical effect is that anything up to $950 is fair game, and the incentive for police to act is close to zero. According to a 2020 survey by the National Retail Federation, three of the top 10 cities affected by organized retail crimes are in California.

Studies show as much as $68.9 billion in goods were stolen from retailers in 2019. The economic impact of retail crime is $125.7 billion in lost sales and 658,375 lost jobs. Asset-protection managers believe that such crime will get worse. Organized theft enriches criminal organizations and encourages other types of lawless behavior.

America can't sustain this crime wave, and no one should tolerate it. Yet many justify the lawlessness. During riots in Washington in May 2020, one restaurant owner whose windows were smashed said: "The rage is justified. . . . If I need to suffer some broken property, let's be real, that isn't suffering." In response to California's recent crime explosion, some experts discourage the use of the term "looting," which one described as "a term that we typically use when people of color or urban dwellers are doing something." With attitudes like these, no wonder these crimes continue to soar.

As Arizona's attorney general, I have refused to capitulate to the lawless mob. Our office has provided law-enforcement resources and worked with the state Legislature and the Arizona Retailers Association to establish an Organized Retail Crime Task Force in our office. We are prosecuting those who stole at least 70 ceiling fans worth some $28,000 from various home-improvement stores in Arizona and resold them on Facebook marketplace at a fraction of the retail price. We expect our efforts will deter such theft and hope our task force becomes a model for California and other states. wsj.com

SF Mayor & Broken-Windows Policing?
Refunding the San Francisco Police

Mayor London Breed undergoes a law-and-order conversion.

As crime has risen, the defund-the-police movement has become a political liability even for Democrats in progressive cities. Exhibit A is San Francisco, where Mayor London Breed appears to have had a law-and-order conversion for the ages.

"It's time that the reign of criminals who are destroying our city-it is time for it to come to an end," Ms. Breed said Wednesday in a fiery speech that defied her previous tolerance for growing public disorder in her once charming city. "And it comes to an end when we take the steps to be more aggressive with law enforcement, more aggressive with the changes in our policies, and less tolerant of all the bull- that has destroyed our city."

That's a welcome statement, but it's a reversal for Ms. Breed, who championed sizeable cuts to the police budget in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder. The mayor now says she'll introduce a supplement to the current budget to pay for more policing. She also wants more funding in the next budget for officer overtime and police-academy classes.

Ms. Breed added that one immediate priority is "fixing the lights, adding additional lighting in very dark areas, dealing with broken trash cans and trash all over the neighborhood." She wants to target open-air drug dealing, and she's also coordinating with police and the sheriff's office on a felony warrant sweep. That sounds suspiciously like broken-windows policing.

What prompted this change of heart? Ms. Breed acknowledged Wednesday that "the fact is things have gotten worse over time."

No kidding. By Dec. 12, San Francisco had 53 homicides this year, up from 48 in all of 2020 and 41 in 2019. Smash-and-grab robbery gangs and shoplifting in the city have become global viral videos, and police data show an 18% increase in larcenies since last year. Homeless camps on the street, drug use, and public disorder are rampant.

Residents are fed up with the lawlessness, and tourists are afraid to visit. San Francisco's radical district attorney, Chesa Boudin, faces a recall election in June. There's a lot of ruin in a city, but apparently even the progressives in San Francisco may have had enough. wsj.com

Minneapolis mayor vows to bolster police staffing, counter wave of youth-driven robberies, violence

Deputy Chief Amelia Huffman joined Frey at a Thursday news conference.

Minneapolis has identified 39 people under the age of 18 who have three or more arrests, while 29 have five or more, he said. Repeat offenders are responsible for 75% of robbery arrests, including carjackings, and they need to be held accountable, the mayor said.

"Nobody here is suggesting that we're just going to arrest our way out of this problem, but if we fail to couple compassion with accountability - and that goes from the courts to the prosecutors, to police, to politicians - we are resigning ourselves to failed outcomes," he said.

Frey said the city will try to quickly replace the one-third of officers lost to attrition over the last couple of years. In lieu of a fully staffed Police Department, he said the city will continue to rely on mutual-aid relationships with other law enforcement agencies. We will bring in 190 new officers over the course of 2022, but there's no guarantee that's going to happen," Sautter said.

Additionally, 638 people were shot, which is up 176% from 234 in 2018 - Frey's first year as mayor. startribune.com

Loveland, CO: Experts say smash and grabs are organized retail crimes

Here's what to do if you see organized retail theft happening while shopping

Victim Impact Statements - Follow-through is the key to success

More than 40% of Victim Impact Statements are never returned by retailers.

Do not lose your restitution opportunities!

It is fair to say that without an organized program for collecting and responding to Victim Impact Statements, most retailers are missing an opportunity to inform jurisdictions of their full loss. Retailers may not be awarded restitution from a loss suffered in their stores, warehouses and/or corporate locations if they do not respond to official requests. Without having a central location for jurisdictions to send Victim Impact Statements, they will most likely be sent to the location where the theft occurred; where they may sit unanswered or worse yet, be discarded. Victim Impact Statements are deadline driven and normally require research and follow through. Each year thousands become stale due to lack of response or are rejected as incomplete. While the basic information may be the same, each jurisdiction has its own set of rules and expectations for completion. Knowing the nuances required by each jurisdiction can make the difference to the restitution awarded.

The Zellman Group has a long-standing relationship with thousands of Courts and Department of Corrections across the country. This relationship ensures smooth communication between all parties. Our centralized process ensures every Victim Impact Statement arrives from the jurisdiction of offense to our firm. Zellman processes all Victim Impact Statements well within deadlines and manages all follow-up. Our process ensures that our retail partners will recover substantially more money with very little expense.

Click here to learn more.

The Zellman Group, LLC is a full-service Loss Prevention provider located in Greenvale, NY. Contact us at info@zellmangroup.com or at 516-625-0006.

Retail Employees Affected by Ransomware Attack
Ransomware attack threatens paychecks just before Christmas

For many Americans who are paid biweekly, Dec. 17 is the final payday before Christmas.

A major payroll company has been crippled by ransomware hackers, leaving some companies around the country scrambling to cover employees' last paychecks before Christmas and many workers wondering if they'll get paid on time.

Kronos, one of the largest workforce management companies in the U.S., was hit with ransomware Saturday, according to the company's public updates page, and announced Monday that its programs that rely on cloud services - which a number of companies use to pay employees and manage their hours - would be unavailable for "several weeks."

For many Americans who are paid biweekly, Dec. 17 is the final payday before Christmas.

A spokesperson for Kronos declined to name which ransomware group was responsible, whether the company planned to pay, how much the hackers demanded or to provide a full list of customers that use its cloud services and were affected.

A number of major companies, including Whole Foods, GameStop and Honda, as well as state and local government agencies like the state of West Virginia and city of Cleveland, rely on Kronos for payroll and scheduling services for their employees.

"Whole Foods has instructed us to use a paper punch sheet to keep track of our hours & our Team Leads have been instructed to hand write the schedule, since the schedule writing system is also down," she said in an email.

Rachel Malish, a spokesperson for Whole Foods, said that the company sent a memo to employees Wednesday that it had found a way to pay all employees on Friday. GameStop didn't respond to requests for comment. nbcnews.com

Holiday Cybersecurity Warning
CISA, White House urge organizations to get ready for holiday cyberattacks

The US government provided a list of things companies need to do ahead of the Christmas holiday to protect themselves from cyberattacks.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the White House have released warnings to companies and organizations across the country, urging them to be on alert for cyberattacks ahead of the Christmas holiday.

CISA has released "CISA Insights: Preparing For and Mitigating Potential Cyber Threats" to provide critical infrastructure leaders with steps to proactively strengthen their organization's operational resiliency against sophisticated threat actors.

In a letter sent out on Thursday, White House Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology Anne Neuberger and National Cyber Director Chris Inglis said there are typically breaches around national holidays because cybercriminals know that security operations centers are often short-staffed.

"There are specific steps that you, as leaders, can initiate now to reduce the risk of your organizations during this time of heightened risk and into the New Year. In many cases, criminals plan and actually begin an intrusion before the holiday itself -- they infiltrate a network and lie in wait for the optimal time to launch an attack. It is therefore essential that you convene your leadership team now to make your organization a harder target for criminals."

The two urged organizations to make sure all patches are up-to-date, enable logs, back up data, investigate incidents quickly, change passwords, mandate multi-factor authentication, manage IT security schedules and make employees aware of phishing.

CISA's warning focused on critical infrastructure owners and operators, telling them that security personnel coverage needs to be sketched out now in light of the coming Christmas holiday, and incident response plans need to be updated.

The FBI sent out its own notice on Wednesday notifying potential victims of the Log4j vulnerability that they "may be unable to respond to each victim individually, but all information we receive will be useful in countering this threat."

While some cybersecurity experts have said cybercriminal interest in Log4j is waning, Microsoft said nation states and other groups are exploiting the bug, including Chinese government-linked group Hafnium as well as groups from North Korea, Turkey and Iran. zdnet.com

Securing the Remote Workplace
Security priorities are geared toward ongoing remote and hybrid work
Nearly two years into the pandemic, SME IT admins report they're considered an important voice in company operations and fewer are feeling overwhelmed despite facing continued complexity in managing hybrid-remote work models, a JumpCloud survey reveals.

The report details the ongoing impact of COVID-19, expectations about IT budgets, growing confidence in securing hybrid-remote work, and overall satisfaction within the IT organization. The report represents more than 1,000 IT decision-makers from small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) across a variety of industries.

"While millions of organizations have transitioned to hybrid-remote work, these results highlight that IT admins continue to look for ways to improve the employee experience and make workflows simple and secure," said Tom Bridge, principal product manager at JumpCloud.

IT budget and priorities

Security priorities are geared toward ongoing remote-hybrid work: The top three security priorities are adding layered security for truly secure remote work, making remote work easier for end users, and making remote work easier for admins.

Employees are getting better at following best security practices: In May, 74% said remote work makes it harder for employees to follow good security practices (50% agree; 24% strongly agree). Now, only 59% agree (44.3% agree; 14.2% strongly agree).

SME IT admins security concerns

SMEs are committed to educating employees about security: 82% agree their company regularly communicates best security practices with employees.

Top security concerns have evolved: The top three concerns are software security exploits (37%, a 2% decrease since May), ransomware (35%, a 7% increase since May), and use of unsecured networks (33%, a 4% decrease since May). In May, IT admins' top three concerns were software vulnerabilities (39%), employees using the same username and password across apps (37%), and using an unsecured network (36%). helpnetsecurity.com

Online shopping at risk: Mobile application and API cyber attacks at critical high
Conducted by Forrester Consulting, this survey of online commerce companies evaluates the main impacts that malicious automated traffic have on businesses and their key cybersecurity priorities for the coming year.

Focusing on mobile application and API protection

● Two-thirds of respondents report that focusing on mobile application and API protection is a key priority for the next 12 months.

● 45% of surveyed respondents reported the cost of man-hours spent mitigating threats as the main impact of bot attacks, followed by loss of revenue (41%), and loss of customer trust (39%).

● Businesses are prioritizing protection against three types of online fraud: Card fraud, inventory fraud, and account fraud.

Impacts of malicious traffic

As malicious bots leverage scale and automation, they disrupt good customer traffic, diminish customer experience, and commit fraud. Respondents reported that protection from online fraud, particularly in the form of card fraud, inventory fraud, and account fraud, is of critical importance.

Safeguarding CX at all costs

It is a top priority for the surveyed organizations to safeguard user performance and app availability (86%), to provide a top customer experience (CX) and app experience (84%) with bot detection and management that is consistent across mobile apps, websites and APIs (79%), and false-positives identified in real-time (76%).

The survey data is clear: firms have a collective business priority to ensure optimal customer experience, user performance, and a consistent approach, regardless of platform, toward bot management. What's more, they know they cannot handle these automated threats on their own, and predominantly look for the qualities of responsiveness and industry expertise to guide them through their bot management solution. helpnetsecurity.com

'Hacking-for-Hire' Groups
Meta takes down 7 hacking-for-hire operations that targeted 50,000 users
Meta removed seven "surveillance-for-hire" organizations that used Facebook to target at least 50,000 individuals across 100 countries for surveillance operations, some of which included the deployment of spyware, the company announced in a report Thursday.

The operation marks a major step in efforts by the social media company against a sprawling surveillance industry that Facebook security experts warn is becoming more "democratized" and easily accessible to spy on not just high-profile targets, but ordinary users.

The company removed hundreds of accounts belonging to firms known as Israeli Cobwebs Technologies, Cognyte, Black Cube, Bluehawk CI, India-based BellTroX, Macedonia-based Cytrox, and an unknown entity in China. Of the seven firms, only Cobwebs and Cognyte did not engage in what it called "exploitation" phase activities, or actually delivering malware to hack victims.

Facebook sent cease and desist letters to the six named companies.

The social media platform has clashed with the growing spyware market for years. Facebook sued notable spyware vendor NSO Group in 2019 for allegedly using its messaging app WhatsApp to deploy malware used for spying on 1,400 mobile devices. NSO Group has disputed the claims.

Nathaniel Gleicher, head of security policy at Meta, says the latest report aims to highlight how the surveillance industry goes well beyond Israeli-based NSO Group, which is the subject of ongoing scrutiny by the U.S. government, and starts much earlier than attackers deploying spyware onto a target's phone. cyberscoop.com

Over 500,000 users have been infected after downloading app from Google Play
 

Backlash Against Amazon After Deadly Tornado
Sister of Amazon warehouse worker who died in a tornado says she's furious 'the richest company in the world can't keep their employees safe'

The sister of one of the Amazon warehouse tornado victims said the company failed its employees.

The sister of one of the Amazon workers who was killed when a tornado ripped through a company warehouse in Illinois said Tuesday she was furious that the trillion-dollar e-commerce giant couldn't keep its employees safe.

"I'm angry," Rachel Cope, the 28-year-old sister of Clayton Cope, 29, told Insider. "The richest company in the world can't keep their employees safe ... That's just disgusting."

Clayton Cope, a US Navy veteran and maintenance mechanic for Amazon, was one of the six employees killed after a tornado devastated a massive delivery site in Edwardsville, Illinois, on Friday night and caused the roof of the building to collapse.

All Amazon "cared about was making sure that people's Christmas presents got delivered," Rachel Cope said.

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider on Tuesday but said in a previous statement that management at the Edwardsville facility "acted incredibly quickly" to get workers into a designated ground-level shelter at the site.

A manager who survived the disaster told the Cope family that he saw Clayton "physically helping people get to the shelter" amid a "frantic" situation before the tornado hit, Rachel Cope said.

"My brother was a hero," she said. "He was a really, really, really good guy. He was the kind of guy that would do anything for anybody."

Rachel Cope, who said she previously worked at a nearby Amazon warehouse for over a year, said the company should have been better prepared. yahoo.com

How to be a Safe Online Shopper
Tips to stay safe while shopping online this holiday season

USA Today reports that online shopping is expected to dominate this holiday shopping season. But how can you buy online and feel fine?

First, update your passwords. Aim for passphrases that include numbers and symbols that you can easily remember. Go mobile. Add your debit and credit cards to your digital wallets to take advantage of their encryption protection.

Before typing in your credit card number, always verify that checkout is secure by confirming the URL starts with HTTPS. The 'S' is a good indication your data is secure. Sign up for customized transaction alerts. Receive an email or text every time your debit or credit cards are used.

Scammers are also taking advantage by claiming to be from financial institutions, asking for your personal information so they can make sure you are not compromised. In reality, anyone who contacts you directly asking for your information over the phone, via email or via social media is likely not authorized to do so. Hang up. Call your financial institution to confirm if the message was legit.

And financial experts say that during this shopping season, it's smart to check your accounts daily. wfmz.com

Amazon same-day delivery rolls out in Cincinnati

Seattle, WA: Nearly 3 dozen people arrested in downtown organized retail theft
Seattle police officers arrested 35 people in a downtown organized retail theft operation. Throughout Wednesday, police saw people stealing and walking out of a store on 2nd Avenue with tens of thousands of dollars worth of cutlery, kitchen sets, detergent and several bottles of liquor. Police said officers stopped the suspected thieves and recovered the items. They were given trespassing notices and banned them from returning to the store for a year. Police released the suspects, but one man was booked into the King County jail on a Department of Corrections warrant. The police department said it will continue to work with businesses in the downtown core area about organized theft and to make sure customers are safe during the holiday shopping season. q13fox.com

Providence Man Admits to Defrauding Food Suppliers of $800,000+, Assaulting Federal Officers
- A Providence man arrested nine days after he assaulted and fled federal agents and task force officers as they attempted to arrest him on charges that he defrauded businesses of more than $800,000, pled guilty in federal court today to charges of wire fraud and assault of a federal officer.

Paul Diogenes, a/k/a Paul Dejullio, 49, admitted to the court that he created a fictitious catering company, listing his alias as president, to obtain credit from food distributors that he used to purchase more than $831,760 in luxury foods, including hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of lobster, sea bass, shrimp, scallops, filet, rib eye steak, and wild boar.

Diogenes admitted that he resold much of the product, in some instances to the same business whose stolen banking information he used to gain credit from the food distributors. In furtherance of the scheme, Diogenes fraudulently claimed that the food he was selling was from a restaurant that he recently closed. justice.gov

Miami, FL: Gun Shop Owner Says Employee Stole $90K Worth Of Assault Weapons
A Miami business owner says some dangerous weapons were taken by someone they thought they could trust. "We have the biggest concern out of everything is that there's 31 different firearms, high caliber in the streets," says Jessica Grande, owner of Big Brothers Pawn and Gun Shop. Grande says her employee was caught on this surveillance video carrying those guns wrapped in a garbage bag and loaded them into the back of a truck outside the store on 26 Avenue and NW 21st Terrace. After realizing guns and even some jewelry were missing, the owner says she texted the employee. "He replied to my text, we didn't get robbed, it was me," says Grande. Grande says despite this happening last month, no arrest has been made. The robbery took a punch to Grande's business, but the bigger concern now is safety. Fourteen AK-47s, 15 AR-15s and two sniper rifles are gone. newsbreak.com

 Alameda, CA: "At my wits' end": California toy store repeatedly hit by thieves
California toy store owner says she is "at my wits' end" after thieves and robbers have targeted her store multiple times, forcing her to pay tens of thousands of dollars for added security. "We almost went under," Helen Dean, the owner of Toy Safari in Alameda, told NewsNation. "In fact, each of the attacks ... we've had to assess and evaluate and come to a decision and I don't think I could take much more." Toy Safari has been hit three times, with Legos and Pokemon cards the primary target. "I think that toy stores are notoriously accessible and easygoing and friendly and therefore vulnerable," Dean said. fox5sandiego.com

Mohegan Lake, NY: Former highway superintendent pleads guilty to stealing thousands in merchandise from Home Depot
A Yorktown businessman and his accomplice pleaded guilty to stealing thousands of dollars' worth of merchandise from a Home Depot in Mohegan Lake. Police say Eric DiBartolo, 59, of Yorktown, was accused of bringing merchandise to the checkout and was not charged for many of his items. He pleaded guilty to petit larceny while 59-year-old Tyrone Bass, of Cortlandt, a cashier, pleaded guilty to criminal possession of stolen property. As part of their sentence, both men must perform 50 hours of community service and are banned from all Home Depot locations. DiBartolo, a former Yorktown highway superintendent, also paid nearly $15,000 for the items stolen from the store. brooklyn.news12.com

San Mateo, CA: Trio arrested in connection with retail theft at Old Navy
Police have arrested three young women suspected of burglary from a store in the Hillsdale Shopping Center. San Mateo police said officers responded to a 4:50 p.m. report of a theft from the Old Navy store at 49 W. Hillsdale Boulevard. They quickly spotted a vehicle matching the description of the suspects' car on East Hillsdale Boulevard and performed a traffic stop. A search of the vehicle found shopping bags filled with Old Navy merchandise. eastbaytimes.com

Strongsville, OH: Man caught on video hitting Ulta and Best Buy for thousands in merchandise
A man was caught on camera shoplifting from an Ultra cosmetics store and Best Buy in separate incidents days apart. Multiple cameras in both places caught him red-handed, first stealing a more than $2,000 camera by swiping it right off an unattended register then running through the parking lot to his car. wkyc.com

San Antonio, TX: Man caught stealing thousands of dollars' worth of copper wire from Lowe's

St. Marys, PA: Man accused of stealing more than $3,000 in items from Walmart