Everon Announces Grand Opening of Innovation & Operations Center in Dallas Area

Boca Raton, Fla. (April 2, 2024) – Everon, also known as ADT Commercial LLC (“ADT Commercial LLC” or the “Company”), a leading security integrator and premier provider of commercial security, fire and life safety solutions in the U.S., announced today the opening of the Everon Innovation and Operations center – known as the iO – in the Dallas, TX area. The iO is designed to be a hub of learning, innovation, and industry-leading collaboration and is home to the company’s dedicated monitoring and customer operations center, groundbreaking Innovation Lab, and Solutions Showcase demo area.

Read more in today's Vendor Spotlight column below


Part 2 of 2: AT&T Breach Demands Vigilance as Fraudsters Leverage ID Data,
Says Intellicheck’s Lewis
Telecoms are especially appealing to fraudsters, said Bryan Lewis, CEO of Intellicheck, who observed to PYMNTS that SIM card fraud and other scams allow bad actors access to victims’ phone and email accounts, and by extension their bank and brokerage accounts.

“Once I get access to your phone,” he said, “I can change your whole life… I’ve stolen your identity through your phone but now I’m really stealing your identity everywhere.”

He noted that more firms are looking beyond the passcode and two-factor identification, which still have a place in protecting customers’ identities, towards more robust identity validation, using government-issued ID and biometrics.

Banks and other credit-issuing entities are at the forefront of embracing such technologies and initiatives, he said, because they stand to lose consumer trust and take a financial hit when breaches occur. Identity theft, overall, accounted for $43 billion in losses across all companies as recently as two years ago.

Internal training is essential too, because often, data breaches take shape after an employee mistakenly lets a fraudster “in” by clicking on a seemingly official communication via text or email or even divulging information on a phone call.

Lewis noted that Intellicheck, for its part, conducts monthly training sessions with its employees and sends along “test” emails and texts to prod them towards a state of heightened vigilance.

Right now, it’s up to companies to take a proactive approach to identity management and verification, as the regulatory landscape has yet to truly become cohesive. Several states have their own rules on data privacy and facial recognition, and there’s currently no national ID in place for now.

Best practices at the company level demand that companies, Lewis said, identity-proof people before allowing major changes or major purchases, or as they move money out of accounts. And individuals, he said, would do well to sign up for credit monitoring services right away.

Asked by PYMNTS what might be a positive impact might be from the AT&T breach — not a silver lining, but a shift that winds up having benefits down the line — Lewis said that executives will “look at all of their systems and tighten them up… As they say: ‘We thought we though of everything. What vulnerabilities did we miss?’”

As he told PYMNTS, “These high-profile breaches make everybody up their game in terms of protecting data.  pymnts.com

Click here to read Part 1 of this article from yesterday's edition of the D&D Daily
 

Top Senate Democrat Urges DOJ to Help Fight ORC
Sen. Schumer wants 'increased federal penalties' to 'cut the snake off at the head'

Schumer calls on DOJ to help address organized retail theft in Rochester area
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling on the Department of Justice to help address a rise in organized retail theft in the Rochester area and across the nation.

Schumer spoke at a news conference on Tuesday in front of Victor Crossing Shopping Plaza. That’s the area where an Ulta Beauty store has lost $100,000 to theft since 2023.

As News10NBC has reported, four major retailers in Monroe County lost $7 million to theft in 2023 alone. Schumer wants an investigation into how much organized crime rings have contributed to that theft.

Schumer called on the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute organized retail theft using the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which helped to bring down the mafia’s organized crime sprees in the past.

“It was to help federal agents take down the mafia. It was extremely effective by giving the feds new tools to investigate and prosecute these crime rings and the same principles can be used here,” Schumer said. “RICO is national and a lot of these crime rings are national.”

Schumer said people involved in these crime rings often steal items, then sell them to national leaders who know how to re-sell the items on the black market. He said the RICO Act can help federal officials to investigate crime across state lines, allowing law enforcement to see patterns instead of just individual crimes. That will allow officials to go after the leaders.

“The DOJ can help by making sure that we have increased federal penalties for these crimes but, more importantly, that we go after the whole organized crime operation. We’re going to cut the snake off at the head,” Schumer said. whec.com


Businesses Call Out NY Lawmakers for Refusing to Crackdown on Violent Theft
Outraged NYC biz owners are fed up with Carl Heastie over refusal to crack down on violent shoplifters: ‘It’s open season’
Furious Big Apple business owners are tearing state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to shreds over his refusal to beef up penalties for violent shoplifters, with some raging, “It’s open season on retail workers.”

Heastie (D-Bronx) sparked widespread outrage last week when he shut down Gov. Kathy Hochul’s plan to toughen sentences for the criminals, bizarrely declaring, “I just don’t believe raising penalties is ever a deterrent on crime.”

Citywide retail thefts are up overall more than 6.5% — or to 14,910 — so far this year, compared to the same time frame in 2023, when 13,987 incidents were recorded, the latest NYPD crime stats show.

Hochul, in her budget, called for a crackdown on the explosion of retail thefts, which she estimated is costing Empire State retailers $4.4 billion a year. She also said she wants to jack up the penalties for those perps who go after store employees.

But Heastie, whose position as head of the assembly is especially powerful, refused to back the plan.

“If you just keep dealing with the penalties, what happens after people get arrested? You’re still only worrying about what happens after something has already happened,” Heastie said.

Even ex-Gov. David Paterson said he was shocked by the speaker’s position. “It’s like a revolving door — there’s no opportunity for any type of rehabilitation, there’s no opportunity for contrition with the parole board” without harsher penalties, Paterson said Sunday on 770 WABC’s “The Cats Roundtable.”

Heastie did say he is still open to parts of Hochul’s plan, specifically cutting off organized theft rings.

Retailers and authorities have told The Post that such rings are creating a major underground economy as they work through online resale sites such as eBay and Facebook Marketplace to peddle their illicit wares.

“It’s better off to commit a crime than get a job in New York,” said Francisco Marte, president of New York’s Bodega and Small Business Association, to The Post on Monday. nypost.com


Front-Line Retail Workers Facing Crime & Violence
After retail workers bore the brunt of COVID, they now face raging crime

Opinion: Don’t betray NY workers who braved pandemic
While exact numbers are hard to reach, one study showed labor, retail and service workers suffered 68% of the COVID deaths in the pandemic’s first year. In New York, it’s safe to say that scores of these workers died doing their jobs.

And while we honored them in words, it’s time to back that up in deeds. New York mom-and-pop workers now do not feel safe in their stores because too many have been robbed and too many have been attacked. In New York City, shoplifting is vastly underreported.

According to a National Supermarket Association survey of our members, 93% are victims of shoplifting. And 60% say they are shoplifted every single day. Think about that for a second. New York City supermarkets — every single day — are the targets of shoplifting. Merchants made around 63,000 complaints, but most went unresolved.

Those margins are even tighter because our survey found 70% have been forced to spend their money on security. It shouldn’t be this way.

Real actions to take

Gov. Hochul's advocacy for more funds to guard against retail theft is very welcome. These funds would do important things like deploy State Police to build cases against retail-theft rings, fund district attorneys to prosecute property crimes, set up a State Police smash-and-grab unit and ensure funds for local law enforcement to fight retail theft.

We also back legislation that creates the offense of fostering the sale of stolen goods and legislation raising a subsequent offense to grand larceny in the fourth degree.  nypost.com


Theft Sentencing Enhancement Bill Passes in California
CAL Retailers Retail Theft Legislative Win #2

Sentencing enhancement legislation passes out of first policy committee

Another key piece of legislation supported by the California Retailers Association to continue the fight against Retail Theft passed out of its first policy committee this morning.

SB 1242 (Min), part of the Senate Package "Safer California Plan", adds enhancements if arson is used during a retail theft or ORC crime. CRA President and CEO Rachel Michelin testified in support at the request of Senate leadership and the bill's author. View the hearing HERE (click on 04/02/2024 Senate Public Safety Committee - video may not be posted yet so please check back). Read the support letter CRA submitted HERE.

The passage of SB 1242 today and SB 982 (Wahab - March) out of Senate Public Safety Committee is indicative of the clear shift in policy priorities surrounding Retail Theft this year and a testament to the CRA team's strategic and persistent work with state leadership including the Governor's office, Speaker's office, Senate Pro Tem, various members of the legislature and other key stakeholders to ensure CRA is in the best position possible as bills are debated.

The California Retailers Association is the only statewide trade association representing all segments of the retail industry including general merchandise, department stores, mass merchandisers, online markets, convenience stores, supermarkets and grocery stores, chain drug and specialty retail such as auto, vision, jewelry, hardware and home stores. CRA’s mission is to promote, preserve and enhance the retail industry in California by taking significant leadership positions in development of public policy and regulatory measures that impact members and the business climate in California. For more information visit the CRA website at www.calretailers.com.


5 New Bills Focused on Fighting Retail Theft in California
Safer California Plan Gaining Major Momentum Ahead Of Special Senate
Committee Hearings
SACRAMENTO – The Senate’s Safer California Plan – a bipartisan legislative effort to address the fentanyl crisis and combat retail theft and community-based crime – is gaining significant support as it continues to move forward, with hearings for the bills beginning tomorrow (Tuesday).

The package includes 14 bills – nine focused on evidence-based prevention and treatment solutions to address the fentanyl crisis and five directed at preventing, deterring and prosecuting retail theft and community based crimes. The vast majority of the bills focused on retail theft and community based crimes will be heard at a special hearing in the Senate Public Safety Committee Tuesday, April 2. A special hearing also has been scheduled at the Senate’s Health Committee for the Senate’s package focused on the fentanyl crisis on April 10. The bills will be heard together. Details on the bills and committee dates can be found below.

“The Safer California plan is gaining major momentum across the Golden State – folks know it will help tackle the fentanyl crisis through prevention and treatment, and help curb retail crime in our communities,” said Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D-North Coast). “Californians want to feel safe in the communities they call home, and this commonsense series of bills will deploy desperately needed resources into all corners of California to help combat the fentanyl crisis and give law enforcement additional tools to crack down on community-based crime.”

The package, which was met with a raft of support from public safety and medical/addiction professionals following the package’s unveiling during a press conference on February 26, is also continuing to garner support as it moves through the legislative process, most recently from the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs Association, Chief Probation Officers of California, and Long Beach Police Officers Association.  sd02.senate.ca.gov


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