Lowe's Launching 'Project Unlock' to Battle ORC
Lowe's combats organized retail crime with blockchain, RFID

Lowe's Cos. Inc. is leveraging cutting-edge technology in a new initiative to curb store shrink called "Project Unlock."

Project Unlock combines low-cost RFID chips and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to activate power tools at the point of purchase while also creating a secure, publicly accessible, and anonymized record of legitimate purchases by blockchain.

To support Project Unlock, Lowe's has built a blockchain record that verifies and tracks all legitimate purchases. As a result, Lowe's intends to make it easy for customers to see if they're purchasing stolen goods, or for law enforcement to crack down on organized crime rings that conduct professional shoplifting operations.

Under Project Unlock, a unique NFT is created for each physical product. Lowe's is launching the proof of concept with power tools, but the retailer says it sees potential to use this blockchain- and RFID-based security system for other items in its stores, and ultimately across the entire retail ecosystem.

According to Lowe's, it is the first retailer in the home improvement vertical to develop an anti-theft solution using blockchain and RFID technology. Lowe's provides more information on Project Unlock and how it works in a short video here.

"We are inventing the technology that makes at-purchase activation and transparent purchase records possible so we can tackle theft in a way that is virtually invisible to our customers," said Seemantini Godbole, Lowe's executive VP, chief digital and information officer. "We see a future in which solutions like Project Unlock can help the entire retail ecosystem create a great environment for our customers."

Lowe's builds out technology capabilities

Lowe's is actively developing its technology infrastructure. The home improvement giant recently opened a 357,000-sq.-ft. tech hub in Charlotte, N.C. The company says the new facility is part of its commitment to becoming the most customer-centric omnichannel retailer. chainstoreage.com

ORC Is Becoming More Violent Than Ever
Organized retail crime has ballooned into a $100 billion problem - and store employees are dying over it

Retailers like Target, Walmart, and Walgreens said organized retail crime highly threatens business.

Retailers like Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Walgreens, and more have called out retail theft as a threat to their businesses. Eight out of 10 retailers in the study said these crimes have become violent and Walmart even said stores may have to close if the thefts don't subside.

Many times, the stolen products almost immediately end up online, disguised amid the millions of legitimate third-party sellers. The rise of e-commerce has, in large part, fueled organized retail crime. It's a lot easier to sell online than to "fence" stolen goods at brick-and-mortar pawn shops and flea markets, Scott Glenn, Home Depot's vice president of asset protection, told Insider last year.

"This money is used to buy weapons, this money is used to do the same thing that narcotics money is used to do," Tarik Sheppard, an NYPD captain and the president of the Metro Organized Retail Crime Alliance, told NBC Nightly News.

CVS has been adding time-delay safes to its brick-and-mortar locations, and Rite Aid execs recently warned that they're "looking at literally putting everything behind showcases" to deter thieves. Home Depot introduced power tools that won't work if thieves steal them, while Big Lots said during an earnings call in March that it would increase its use of carts with wheel locks to prevent people from pushing cartloads of goods out the door.

Retailers have also argued that these store-level technologies don't go far enough to deter theft. They're pushing for a federal crackdown on trafficked goods online in the hopes that it would deter these thefts in the first place. Dozens of retailers and industry groups - including Amazon, Home Depot, Lowe's, Target, Walmart, and Walgreens - wrote a letter to congressional leaders in October urging them to pass legislation that would require online marketplaces to verify the identity of third-party sellers that sell high volumes of goods.

That bill, the INFORM Consumers Act, passed in the US House of Representatives last month and is currently waiting on a vote in the US Senate. Another bill introduced in the House in October aims to set up an organized-retail-crime center within the Department of Homeland Security to facilitate training and the sharing of information nationwide.  businessinsider.com

San Francisco Police Staking Out Retail Crime Hot Spots
S.F. police are secretly staking out stores like Gap & Safeway to arrest shoplifters
Over the past month, a group of San Francisco police officers have been installed at various grocery stores, pharmacies and clothing outlets across the city in an effort to crack down on retail theft as it happens, officials said Friday.

While police officials offered few details on how the operation worked in order to keep details of the ongoing theft-abatement effort concealed, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department said officers made 60 arrests since late November.

The operation, according to SFPD Deputy Chief Raj Vaswani, began in late November, and said it would last until at least next month, with the department planning on continuing it into January 2023.

Spokespersons for Safeway and Gap Inc. confirmed that their respective stores participated in the anti-theft operations. Vaswani said the operation also included Old Navy, Target, Whole Foods, CVS, Walgreens and Macy's locations.

"Operations like this not only yield results in arrests and prosecutions, they also send a message that there will be consequences when you cross the line in San Francisco," San Francisco Mayor London Breed said in a statement. "There has to be accountability in this city and we will keep building on the strong partnerships with our retailers to address theft in their stores so we can create a safer space for both residents and workers."

According to SFPD's crime dashboard, burglary - defined as "the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft" - is down 20% since last year. Larceny, which included shoplifting as well as things like bicycle theft and stealing of car parts, is up 9.6%.

"Addressing retail theft is a priority for my office and we have been working closely with the San Francisco police to ensure that there is accountability and appropriate consequences in all cases," San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a statement.

Chris Nelson, head of asset protection for Gap Inc., said in a statement that the company continues to "struggle with organized retail crime in the Bay Area." Partnership with law enforcement, Nelson said, was "critical."  sfchronicle.com

NYC Mayor Holds Retail Crime Summit with Businesses & Law Enforcement
Mayor Adams holds summit to brainstorm how to combat retail theft in NYC
Mayor Eric Adams hosted a summit with law enforcement and business leaders Friday to brainstorm on how to stop the surge in retail theft across the Big Apple.

The two-hour conference at Gracie Mansion covered new potential uses for tech in the fight, best practices for surveillance and bolstering existing law enforcement partnerships, the mayor's office said in a press release.

The idea session, aimed at creating a "citywide strategic prevention plan," was attended by the city's five district attorneys, state Attorney General Letitia James, NYPD officials and reps from more than two dozen local business groups and a handful of major retailers, such as Target and Starbucks.

"Our retail stores have my commitment that we will continue to work towards real, long-lasting solutions on the issue of retail theft," Adams said in a release. "The vast participation at today's summit sends a clear and unified message that will not allow anyone to simply walk away with impunity when they take something without paying for it."

Retail theft has continued to terrorize businesses in New York City this year. Through September, the latest figures available, cops already had more than 47,000 reports of minor and major thefts from stores. That's nearly 10,000 more than all of 2019, when just under 38,000 reports for petit and grand larceny from retailers were recorded, NYPD data shows.

Among the attendees was controversial Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, who has been criticized for not cracking down hard enough on crimes like theft. nypost.com

LE's Perspective on Reform
Law Enforcement Reform-Or Not?
In recent years, thanks (in this author's opinion) to careful manipulation of videos and events, there has been somewhat of an outcry for "law enforcement reform." Many law enforcement professionals take umbrage at this push because, from their perspective, very little is being done incorrectly and, all too often, the "reform" is simply prohibiting enforcement of the law at all. The push seemingly is to let criminals get away with crimes and further restrict officers from any attempt to arrest them and charge them with a crime. Several states now have made it easy for those arrested and charged to get out of jail almost immediately with no incentive to appear in court when the time comes. Is it any wonder that morale is low in so many agencies? Or that recruiting and retention is challenged?

In response to the call for more "reform," several professional organizations that support law enforcement have examined what could be done differently, and if anything is/was being done wrong i the first place. Without exception, every one of those organizations admit that officers make mistakes. Understand that while the mistakes can be quite minor, circumstances can force situations to accelerate and snowball, creating major incidents out of minor mistakes. Those same organizations will sometimes challenge society to find another profession wherein those doing the work are held to the same standard of perfection. No other profession, however, has as many legal restrictions on HOW the work can be done. officer.com

It's not just buyers emptying shelves in stores; retailers say organized crime rings are becoming a bigger problem

'Organized Retail Thieves' Strike Temecula Stores: Sheriff's Dept.

US: 101.7M Cases - 1.1M Dead - 98.8M Recovered
Worldwide: 657.7M Cases - 6.6M Dead - 631.3M Recovered

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 362   Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 820

Holiday COVID Surge Boosting Pharmacy Demand
Pharmacies see more demand for COVID-19, flu vaccines during holidays
As people get ready to travel and get together for the holidays, many are going to local pharmacies to get their COVID-19 and flu vaccines to help protect them against respiratory illnesses this season. Washington state health leaders are encouraging people to get vaccinated or get their boosters as several respiratory viruses are surging across the state.

Matt Binder, co-owner and pharmacist at Ostroms Drug & Gift in Kenmore, said he has noticed an increase in people getting vaccinated.

With less than a week until the holidays, Binder said it's not too late to get the vaccine. While the flu vaccine takes about two weeks before antibodies develop in the body and provide protection against influenza, Binder said it's better to have some protection than none.

Binder said they've been administering around 450 vaccines a week, which is a greater demand than what it was just a few months ago. Wallace whose getting both vaccines said he had been putting off getting the shots but decided not to wait any longer.

Chris Altman, director of immunization and clinical programs for Rite Aid and Bartell Drugs, said their pharmacies are also seeing high volumes they typically don't see this time of year. Health experts said the sooner the better for getting COVID-19 and flu shots. komonews.com

1 Million COVID Deaths Coming in China?
New models predict at least 1 million deaths in China amid covid surge
A fast-spreading covid-19 outbreak in China has researchers predicting a surge in virus-related deaths next year, with several analyses forecasting more than 1 million fatalities in a country that until now has largely kept the coronavirus in check.

Earlier this month, China dramatically loosened its strict "zero covid" policies following a wave of protests in towns and cities where residents were fed up with years of stringent lockdowns, mass testing and centralized quarantines. The demonstrations marked the most significant show of public dissent in China in years.

But many of China's 1.4 billion people remain vulnerable to the virus because of limited exposure, low vaccination rates and poor investment in emergency care. And now, funeral homes and crematoriums in Beijing, the capital, are struggling to keep up with demand, Reuters reported. washingtonpost.com

OSHA moves to make COVID-19-related standards permanent
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has finalized a draft of a COVID-19 permanent standard that aims to protect healthcare workers from exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Long-term care advocates have said such a move isn’t necessary when facilities are already following COVID-19 mitigation measures.

After months spent collecting stakeholder input, the agency late last week sent the draft standard to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget for review — the last step in the process before a rule is released. Details have yet to be unveiled, but a prior temporary standard required employers to maintain infection prevention and control programs, provide paid leave to encourage vaccination and track COVID-19 cases.​​ mcknights.com

U.S. hospitalizations continue to rise due to "tripledemic"
Hospitals across the U.S. are being stretched thin due to an influx of patients brought on by a triple threat of flu, respiratory syncytial virus and COVID-19 cases. Michael George has the details.

Why Remote Work Will Win This Winter

COVID-19 is about to explode in China. What that could mean for the U.S.

Retailers & Other Brands Under Scrutiny for Chinese Ties
Major brands suspected of illegally sourcing products made by forced labor in China

In three reports analyzed by Insider, 106 were named, many of them household names.

If you're buying a car, electronics, clothing, or beverages from one of dozens of major household names, you could be buying products made in part by forced labor in the Xinjiang region of China.

That's despite efforts by companies over the past year to diversify their supply chains and comply with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law after evidence emerged of human-rights abuses committed by the Chinese government against Uyghur Muslims, including forced labor, government surveillance, forced sterilization, and reeducation camps. Some have called the treatment a genocide.

Many companies are still intertwined with China, however. Many companies have challenged their inclusion in these reports, while others say they have taken steps in recent years to improve their supply chains. Insider reached out to all the major brands listed below for comment.

Retail's Holiday Hiring Struggles
Survey: Hiring remains difficult for retailers

Holiday hiring is holding steady, but attracting and retaining talent remains a big challenge for retailers.

That's according to a new survey of 100 major U.S. retailers by global organizational consulting firm Korn Ferry, which found that seasonal store hiring has remained steady despite mixed signs about the economy.

Three-quarters (75%) of retail respondents said they did not change their seasonal hiring plans, and only 10% said they have decreased the number of seasonal employees they hired versus what they had planned earlier in the year.

In other findings, nearly half (44%) of the retailers reported that they are hiring for new positions and replacing for turnover. And 37% said they are considering restricting new positions, but are still replacing for turnover.

Hiring continues to be difficult. Eighty-three percent as 83% of respondents said they have trouble hiring store employees.

"It's incredibly challenging to staff stores to ideal levels, so retailers should find unique ways to incentivize workers to join - and to stay," said Korn Ferry retail expert Craig Rowley. "That may come in the form of flexible work schedules, discounts and other incentives."  chainstoreage.com

'People Shaping Retail's Future 2023'
NRF Foundation Announces The List of People Shaping Retail's Future 2023
WASHINGTON - The NRF Foundation today announced the honorees of The List of People Shaping Retail's Future 2023 - a dynamic group of retail leaders who will be celebrated at the NRF Foundation Honors in New York City in January.

The List of People Shaping Retail's Future 2023 honorees are:

• Ministry of Supply Co-founder and CEO Aman Advani
• The Home Depot Senior Director of Workforce Programs Erin Izen
• Gap Inc. Head of Customer and Community Belonging and Enablement Bahja Johnson
• Walmart Executive VP, Global Chief Technology Officer and Chief Development Officer Suresh Kumar
• Steve Madden Creative and Design Chief Steve Madden

"This year's distinguished honorees of The List demonstrate the many pathways to success within retail, and serve as a reminder that our industry provides meaningful opportunities to people of all backgrounds," said Tony Spring, chairman and CEO of Bloomingdale's and chairman of the NRF Foundation Board of Directors. "We are proud to recognize these talented individuals for their dedication to our incredible industry."

Each honoree has been featured in a video interview by the NRF Foundation in recent weeks, offering an inside look at their careers and influence on retail.

More information is available at nrffoundation.org/honors.  nrf.com

Starbucks Facing Largest Strike of Union Drive
More than 1,000 Starbucks baristas at 100 stores will walk out in longest strike in year-old union drive
Starbucks workers around the U.S. are planning a three-day strike starting Friday as part of their effort to unionize the coffee chain's stores.

More than 1,000 baristas at 100 stores are planning to walk out, according to Starbucks Workers United, the labor group organizing the effort. The strike will be the longest in the year-old unionization campaign.

This is the second major strike in a month by Starbucks' U.S. workers. On Nov. 17, workers at 110 Starbucks stores held a one-day walkout. That effort coincided with Starbucks' annual Red Cup Day, when the company gives reusable cups to customers who order a holiday drink.

More than 264 of Starbucks' 9,000 company-run U.S. stores have voted to unionize since late last year. fortune.com

San Francisco's Retail Comeback?
Shoppers crowd Union Square amid comeback for S.F. retail magnet
According to Marisa Rodriguez, executive director of the Union Square Alliance, foot traffic in the neighborhood as of last week has been up 12% from the year before, with an average of 51,767 pedestrians a week.

That's still 72% below pre-pandemic levels in 2019, when the tourist mecca averaged 184,514 pedestrians per week. Sales tax receipts are off 37% from before the pandemic, while hotel occupancy in the area has dipped to 66%, compared with 82% three years ago.

The Union Square merchants association is doing its part to revitalize the area. Rodriguez said the energy this year is better, both on the square and in the surrounding area, including at the first ever holiday market at Hallidie Plaza by Powell BART Station. Attractions there include a clown show, beer garden and seasonal vendors. sfchronicle.com

Biggest city for holiday shopping in every state

New York stores banned from selling cats, dogs, rabbits


Last week's #1 article --

Odd items under lock and key at retail stores in San Diego as U.S. retail theft soars

Cybersecurity: Top Holiday Priority for Retailers
The rising threat of cybersecurity for retailers

Stores across the country have their holiday lights on display and retailers everywhere are gearing up for the all-important fourth quarter and busy holiday shopping season.

As managers stock their shelves and shoppers hit the stores, many customers are pulling out their phones as they 'Tap to Pay' their way through self-checkout lines. Others are circumventing the big-box experience altogether, opting for curbside pickup of 'Buy Online, Pickup in Store' (BOPIS) orders, an offering made popular during the darker days of the pandemic that seems here to stay.

Cybersecurity risks in retail environments

While these conveniences have advantages for consumers and retailers alike, there are security pitfalls to abandoning the shopping traditions of holidays past.

BOPIS orders, for one, are often easy targets for fraud. Minimal customer information is required to make a purchase - there is no shipping address to verify against the cardholder address, for example - and because it is a "card not present" transaction, the fraud often becomes the retailer's risk.

Additional security risks are incurred as connectivity through the Internet of Things (IoT) becomes increasingly prevalent in retail via self-checkouts, ATMs, mobile payments and more. Many businesses rely on IoT systems, but they lack the security measures necessary to ward off cyberattacks. Vulnerabilities are inherent in retail payment systems, often stemming from the vast array of software, hardware, and cloud-based components needed to power them.

Third-party risk affects retail

Beyond the point of sale, the manufacturers, wholesalers and fulfillment centers that play an integral role in today's retail supply chain can also pose an additional security threat.

Most retailers utilize multiple vendors, and those vendors have vendors, which creates a hidden web of potential data risk. In fact, 60% of security incidents result from issues arising from third parties, according to a recent Forrester report. As one example of how risk can creep into the supply chain, smaller retailers often use an unbranded fulfillment service that warehouses goods and ships items purchased online directly to the consumer.

Know what information is being collected at the point of transaction: securitymagazine.com

'Surveillance-for-Hire': Secretly Tracking People Online
Meta takes down surveillance-for-hire firms, calls for government action against the industry
Facebook's parent company Meta barred at least seven companies from the platform over the past year that were involved in surveillance-for-hire activities in an effort to disrupt an industry that's made it increasingly easy to secretly track people online, the company said Wednesday.

"This industry effectively democratizes surveillance, making it available to many more government and nongovernment groups than could build them on their own so they're exponentially increasing the supply of threat actors in the world," said Facebook Head of Security Policy Nathaniel Gleicher in a briefing with reporters.

He called on democracies worldwide to step up actions to outlaw these types of firms and activities, saying, "No single company can tackle a society-wide challenge like this alone."

Meta has made battling spyware on the platform a priority over the past several years. It has an ongoing lawsuit against NSO Group, the notorious Israeli spyware purveyor, alleging that the company violated federal anti-hacking law after deploying its spying software against 1,400 users of WhatsApp, which Meta owns. NSO Group disputes the allegations and has tried and failed to get the lawsuit tossed.

Meta revealed its latest actions in a report released Thursday that was accompanied by a policy paper offering 13 recommendations for confronting the surveillance-for-hire industry. Recommendations include banning the sale of surveillance software, establishing institutions to help victims seek legal recourse and using export control lists to limit the availability of surveillance technologies.

Meta's research builds the company's first surveillance-for-hire report released last year. That report revealed Meta had blocked the internet infrastructure of seven different surveillance-for-hire firms that may have targeted 50,000 Facebook and Instagram users.

The 2022 report did not name the number of users the surveillance-for-hire companies targeted. In an interview with CyberScoop, Meta's Director of Threat Disruption David Agranovich said Meta alerts targeted users on a rolling basis. So far this year, he said, Meta has notified users in 200 countries that they've been targeted. cyberscoop.com

BEC Gangs Stealing Food to Repackage & Resell
FBI: Criminals Using BEC Attacks to Scavenge Food Shipments
Cybercriminal rats are at play: Several food suppliers and distributors have experienced hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses after fulfilling fraudulently placed orders for food and ingredient shipments.

Threat actors have typically used business email compromise (BEC) attacks to steal money from unwary organizations in recent years. But in a new twist, cybercriminals are using them to steal food shipments and ingredients from suppliers and distributors around the country.

The FBI and the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA OCI) on Dec. 16 issued an alert warning that the attacks have been going on since at least the beginning of this year and have cost several organizations hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses so far.

The goal behind these thefts often is to repackage and resell the stolen food items without regard for safety and sanitation regulations, they said.

The FBI and FDA OCI urged organizations in the food sector to play closer attention to vetting new customers and vendors, especially to things like the new company's name and branding. darkreading.com

5 Ways to Improve Holiday Retail and Wholesale Cybersecurity

New Botnet Targeting Minecraft Servers Poses Potential Enterprise Threat

Janesville, WI: Robbers use SUV to break into Janesville Best Buy, steal merchandise, authorities say
Robbers used an SUV to break into a Janesville Best Buy early Sunday before fleeing with stolen merchandise, police said. The robbery happened at the chain electronics store at 2850 Deerfield Drive in Janesville just after 4:30 Sunday, Lt. Joshua Norem said in a statement. Police arrived to the store to find the it broken into and the robbers gone, Norem said. The vehicle used in the robbery was a gray 2022 Ford Edge SUV with Georgia license plate CTQ9384, Norem said.  madison.com

Gates, NY: Three arrested in $25,000 Armed Robbery at Verizon
Three Rochester men have been arrested for allegedly stealing $25,000 in electronics from the Verizon Wireless store on Lyell Avenue. Around 3 p.m. Saturday, officers say that the men entered the store and pointed guns at employees and customers. The suspects fled shortly after. No one was injured during the armed robbery. "They demanded all the staff and employees get on the floor, that it was a robbery," Gates Police Chief, Robert Long said. Police wouldn't specify who did what, but said two of them went into the store and one waited in the car. "The two who went into the store, displayed a couple of handguns, one ended up being a real 380 caliber handgun the other ended up being an air soft bb gun," said Long. "Some of the product that was in the store was being monitored by a security company and one of the individuals involved is a parolee, who was wearing an ankle monitor and the GPS was hitting." Within 15 minutes of using third-party security tracking and a GPS ankle monitor, police had a location at a Mobile Gas station on Brooks Avenue. There they found a vehicle occupied by Sonny Rucker, 20, and Jadis Holland, 22, while Jedadahia Duval, 30, was pumping gas at a Brooks Avenue gas station.  whec.com

American Canyon, CA: Five arrested in American Canyon after police car rammed during Walmart theft
An attempted theft from the American Canyon Walmart Saturday night culminated in the ramming of a police vehicle and the arrests of five people, according to police. At 10:15 p.m., employees at the Walmart at 7011 Main St. reported a group of people stealing more than $1,000 of merchandise they had loaded into three shopping carts, according to police Sgt. Chet Schneider. Officers who arrived as five people entered a car in the parking lot tried to box in the vehicle, but the driver shifted into reverse and rammed a patrol car in an apparent attempt to flee, Schneider said in an email. napavalleyregister.com

Oak Brook, IL: Three women steal $4267 in cosmetic skin care products

Oak Brook, IL: Two men charged with $2400 theft from Macy's

Laray, NY: Fort Drum woman arrested after allegedly stealing $800 of merchandise from LeRay Walmart