D&D Daily Mobile Edition

The D&D Daily Mobile Edition
LP, AP & Cybersecurity's #1 News Source

4/12/23

D-Ddaily.net

Jennifer Dayss CFI, LPC promoted to Senior Manager Fraud/ORC Investigations for Signet Jewelers

Jennifer has been with Signet Jewelers for more than 18 years, starting with the company in 2004 as Regional Loss Prevention Manager. Before her promotion to Senior Manager Fraud/ORC Investigations, she served as Corporate Fraud/ORC & Regional Loss Prevention Manager for more than two years. Prior to Signet Jewelers, she held LP roles with Galyan's Sports & Outdoors, Limited Brands, Kids R Us, and Montgomery Ward. Congratulations, Jennifer!

See All the Executives 'Moving Up' Here

Submit Your New Corporate Hires/Promotions or New Position

TMA Webinar TODAY at 2:00 p.m. ET

TMA-ATN-01 Monitoring Center Notification of Active Threat Detection

Learn more about TMA-ATN-01 by attending an informational kick-off meeting:

April 12th, 2:00 pm ET Via Zoom Meeting | REGISTER HERE

Initiated: 2023
Status: Seeking participants for Committee, APPLY NOW

Overview:

Monitoring Centers are increasingly the recipient of what may be classified as non-traditional alerts, shot detection as an example. These events require immediate notification to Public Safety. The alert, as well as situational information, may be received in the monitoring center from a human source, technology initiated, or a combination of both.

Monitoring centers are increasingly monitoring shot detection, weapons detection, manual lockdown notification, as well as other innovative threat technologies. Human interaction initiated as part of the alert may indicate an active shooter situation. These detection technologies and subsequent alerts are typically from facilities with high human presence.

Project Need:

When a monitoring center receives electronic notification that one of these systems has been activated, a standardized workflow within monitoring centers is needed to assure timely and accurate notification to identified entities, such as first responders, employees, students etc.

The standard will develop an efficient means for the monitoring center to provide responding authorities with information that assists with an efficient and safe response.

The standard may also facilitate means to initiate other actions, such as “shelter in place”, “wait for further instructions”, and notifications via multiple methods.

Read more here

The U.S. Crime Surge
The Retail Impact

ORC Legislation Advances in Oregon
Tougher penalties for those convicted of organized retail theft

Bill targeting retail theft passes Oregon Senate, heads to House

A bill targeting organized retail theft is headed to the Oregon House of Representatives for consideration.

On Tuesday, the Oregon State Senate passed Senate Bill 340 which would increase jail time for individuals convicted of organized retail theft.

“Organized retail theft is a threat to consumers, employees, and local businesses,” said Senator Floyd Prozanski (D – Eugene). “The passage of Senate Bill 340 is a strong statement that we will not tolerate organized retail theft in our state and will work to ensure safe communities for all.”

In the past year, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 57% of retailers have reported an increase in organized retail crime, including retail theft rings that involve multiple people who engage in frequent theft, and who often resell the stolen property online.

That growing problem has led law enforcement agencies across the metro area to execute a series of shoplifting stings.

During a Judiciary Committee in March, law enforcement officials, grocery store representatives and retail lobbyists testified in support of the bill.

Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton said creating tougher penalties for these rings is only one piece of the solution.

“What it is we need to have is law enforcement whose able to respond, prosecutors who are willing to prosecute. We need courts that are able to convict, and we need jails and prisons that are able to incarcerate. And all of those things need to be present. Sadly, they’re not all present everywhere in Oregon,” he said. koin.com

ORC Legislation Introduced in Texas
HB4779 relating to prosecution of criminal offense of organized retail theft

Legislative Budget Board - Austin, TX | 88th Legislative Regular Session

April 10, 2023 - The bill would limit the conduct constituting the offense of organized retail theft by requiring that the total value of the merchandise be at least $2,500 and that the act be committed with the intent to support, facilitate, or engage in the acquisition of stolen retail merchandise and the redistribution of that merchandise into the supply chain.

It is assumed that any fiscal impact and any impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources would not be significant. While it is assumed that any state revenue impact would not be significant, it would be dependent on the number of offenses committed and the associated court costs.

Local Government Impact: It is assumed that any fiscal impact to units of local government associated with enforcement, prosecution, supervision, or confinement would not be significant. capitol.texas.gov

17% of Mass Shootings Between 1966 & 2021 Took Place in Retail Settings
Retail settings are the 2nd most common location for mass shootings after workplace settings

Workplaces are the most common mass shooting sites, data shows
The shooting in a Louisville, Kentucky, bank on Monday is the latest workplace-related mass shooting to take place in the United States over the last 60 years, according to gun violence data.

The Violence Project, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center that's funded by the National Institute of Justice, has found the current or former workplaces of perpetrators were the most common sites for mass shootings, which the organization defines as four or more people killed by a firearm.

"Most of the shooters had been fired," the organization said.

Between 1966 and 2021, there were 53 workplace shootings carried out throughout the country, according to the Violence Project. This represented more than 30% of the 189 mass shootings recorded during that period, the organization said.

The second most common location for mass shootings was at retail locations, which represented 16.9% of all recorded mass shootings, and the third most common location was restaurants and bars, which represented 13.4% of all recorded mass shootings, according to the Violence Project.

With workplace shootings, the biggest motivator behind the incidents was an employment-related issue, such as a termination, which constituted 70% of the recorded workplace mass shootings, according to the Violence Project's data.

When it comes to the victims of workplace-related violence, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 392 U.S. workers were workplace homicide victims in 2020. Roughly "30% of workplace homicide victims were performing retail-related tasks such as tending a retail establishment or waiting on customers," according to the CDC. abcnews.go.com

New 'Safety & Security Academy' for Jewelers & Pawnbrokers
Meant to advance security education and safeguard businesses from crime

Jewelers Mutual® Group Launches Safety and Security Academy

The free online training program empowers jewelers and pawnbrokers to advance their security education and safeguard their businesses from crime

NEENAH, Wis. – Jewelers Mutual® Group, the insurance and business solutions provider dedicated to the jewelry industry since 1913, recently announced its collaboration with Jewelers’ Security Alliance (JSA) and UL Solutions to develop the Safety and Security Academy, a free online training program available for all jewelers and pawnbrokers in the U.S. and Canada, and their staff.

“Security is always a concern in the jewelry industry, and knowledge is power when it comes to jewelers’ safety,” said Mike Alexander, Chief Operating Officer at Jewelers Mutual. “With crime on the rise, it is more critical than ever to make security education a top priority. Our goal in introducing the Safety and Security Academy is to help our jewelers and pawnbrokers advance their knowledge and skills to keep themselves, their staff, and their businesses safe and secure.”

The Safety and Security Academy is powered by PureSafety On Demand by UL Solutions and consists of 16 courses containing content aligned with the JSA Manual of Jewelry Security. With a total 200 minutes of learning, the comprehensive e-learning program provides foundational education on security best practices. Coursework can be tailored to business and staff needs.

Lessons include learning how to:

• Reduce the likelihood of criminal targeting
• Decrease crime-related losses
• Travel safely with valuable inventory
• Stay safe during and following a criminal incident

“Complacency can be dangerous to jewelers and pawnbrokers, their staff, and their businesses. The Safety and Security Academy is intended for repeat use. We recommend that the coursework is used for new employee onboarding, monthly group training sessions, and ongoing staff refreshers to keep best practices top of mind,” said Alexander.

Jewelers and pawnbrokers interested in learning more and registering for the Safety and Security Academy can visit JewelersMutual.com/security-academy. The training is free-of-charge to everyone in the jewelry industry. jewelersmutual.com

Did Rising Crime Fuel Latest Walmart Closures in Chicago?
Walmart is cutting its Chicago presence in half

Walmart cites unprofitability in decision to close four stores in Chicago

Walmart is halving its footprint in the Windy City.

The retail giant plans to close four underperforming stores in Chicago, including three Neighborhood Market locations and one Supercenter, along with its adjacent Walmart Health center and Walmart Academy. The stores will close by April 16. (Locations listed at end of article.)

In a statement, Walmart explained its reasoning for the “difficult decision” to shutter the stores.

“The simplest explanation is that collectively our Chicago stores have not been profitable since we opened the first one nearly 17 years ago,” the company said. “These stores lose tens of millions of dollars a year, and their annual losses nearly doubled in just the last five years.”

The closings will leave Walmart with four locations in Chicago.

“The remaining four Chicago stores continue to face the same business difficulties, but we think this decision gives us the best chance to help keep them open and serving the community,” the retailer said.

Walmart added that it has tried many different strategies over the years to improve the business performance of its Chicago sites, including building smaller stores, localizing product assortment and offering services beyond traditional retail.

“Unfortunately, these efforts have not materially improved the fundamental business challenges our stores are facing,” the company said. “As we looked for solutions, it became even more clear that for these stores, there was nothing leaders could do to help get us to the point where they would be profitable. chainstoreage.com

Solution Providers Continue to Focus on Fighting ORC
Checkpoint Systems acquires Alert Systems to strengthen its portfolio of solutions to combat Organized Retail Crime

Checkpoint Systems, a global leader in RFID and RF technology solutions, has acquired Denmark-based Alert Systems, a pioneering Internet of Things (IoT) specialist with a focus on metal and magnet detection in the retail environment.

Since 1999, Alert Systems has supplied the global retail industry with solutions to identify tools and techniques used by criminals to steal items from stores. For a number of years Checkpoint has been a partner and major distributor for the company to provide ground-breaking metal and magnet detection products, including Hyperguard, Metalguard and Apparelguard – a revolutionary batch of digital software-driven solutions which work against professional shoplifters using boosterbags and detachers to steal items in hypermarkets, fashion stores, pharmacies and other retail stores.

The success of the partnership has now followed a natural progression to full acquisition, further strengthening Checkpoint’s core focus that is offering world-class loss prevention solutions and bolstering its product line.

Troels Falkenberg, CEO Alert Systems, added: “Checkpoint Systems’ acquisition of Alert Systems is the logical next step in our shared mission to tackle retail crime. With this industry scourge on the rise, it is important that retailers have access to a solid portfolio of solutions to help them effectively manage the issue, and we know Checkpoint Systems is the right organisation to facilitate this. The company has a well-known, long-standing reputation in the loss prevention field and we are delighted to extend our previous partnership into a full acquisition.”

As a global leader in Electronic Article Surveillance, Checkpoint’s families of EAS antennas offer exceptional detection and have been create to meet retailers product protection requirements across a wide range of applications. theretailbulletin.com

Shelby County, TN D.A. Mulroy announces incentives to help fight retail crime

Poll: Mental Health Leads Blame List for Mass Shootings

Facial Recognition's Global Expansion

Study Validates Facial Recognition's Accuracy & Crime-Fighting Capability
UK police claim study support to resume live facial recognition deployments
London Metropolitan Police officials and their counterparts in South Wales say a study they commissioned and participated in has given them the confidence to resume live, historical and operator-initiated facial recognition surveillance.

The United Kingdom’s Metropolitan Police Service and South Wales Police worked with the UK National Physical Laboratory to test systems that in some cases had been used until being paused.

The Met issued a statement saying, “We will used facial recognition technology as a first, but significant, step towards precise community-based crime fighting.”

South Wales officials likewise published a definitive statement: “Deployment of live facial recognition technology will now resume.”

The facial recognition research report, published last month by the national lab, with support from Ingenium Biometrics and the University of Kent, backs police claims that facial recognition surveillance can protect human rights as it reduces and prevents crime.

When checking against 10,000 reference images, one in 6,000 people were falsely matched and there was “no statistically significant race and gender bias,” according to a statement issued by the Met.

The overturning of policing moratoriums by government is now a definable trend among developed economies, notably in the United States. biometricupdate.com

How Facial Recognition Can Close the Security Industry's Labor Gap
Facial Recognition for Access Control: Efficient, Convenient and Accurate

Systems that identify enrolled individuals are the most effective & least controversial

Like so many other sectors of the economy, the security industry cannot find workers. Even steeply rising wages are not attracting enough candidates to fill access-related security positions. Fortunately, help is here, in the form of facial recognition (FR) solutions. With the ability to provide safe, effective and cost-efficient identity verification, FR technology can close the security industry’s labor gap.

Facial recognition technology is having an impact at both the state and local levels across the United States. At last count, 17 state police departments and 744 local police departments utilize FR, and facial recognition is used by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Global Entry system at airports to verify the identity of enrolled individuals who are returning to the United States.

FR access control relies on “cooperative subjects.” Individuals agree to enroll in programs that use their faces to enter a workplace, visit a hospital, board a plane, use a hotel elevator or gain access to some other restricted area. They “cooperate” by submitting to a benchmark reading (ideally, a digitized, 3D “mug shot” encrypted with proprietary algorithms), then, when seeking entry to a location, look at an FR-enabled camera to provide a match. Under these conditions, error rates of the best FR solutions are near zero. Furthermore, the top 20 algorithms accurately identify Black faces equally as well as white faces.

Convenience will also play a role in adoption. Companies hoping to win public acceptance should make participation in FR systems optional. When people waiting in long lines to interact with an overworked security officer see others whizzing by, barely pausing to verify their identity at a biometrics-enabled camera, many will likely be persuaded. securityindustry.org

Border Patrol deploys facial recognition at Port of Boston

OSHA Employee Surveillance Standards Coming?
Worker advocates call on OSHA to set standard on employee surveillance

OSHA has the authority to monitor workplace surveillance because it already oversees hazards to workers’ mental and physical health, the groups argued.

A group of 21 advocacy groups want the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to establish a workplace standard for electronic surveillance and algorithmic management. OSHA has the authority to do so because it already regulates hazards to workers’ physical safety and mental health, which are affected by workplace monitoring, the organizations said.

The group, which includes the Center for Democracy & Technology, a not-for-profit organization promoting human rights in technology policy, sent a letter to the Biden administration Monday outlining its proposals for the OSHA standard, as well as calling for the agency to update existing guidance on workplace injury prevention to include workplace monitoring. The group also recommends the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health fund research on how employee surveillance affects workers’ physical and mental health.

“The Biden administration must use its existing authority to better regulate surveillance tech and protect American workers,” Rachael Klarman, executive director at Governing for Impact, an organization promoting pro-worker policies, said in a news release.

Worker surveillance has been a point of contention between employees and employers as the practice has grown more prevalent through remote work setups. Businesses in the U.S. and Europe used more keystroke, webcam, desktop and email monitoring during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report produced by the University of St. Andrews and published by the European Commission’s Joint Research Council. But excessive monitoring was found to decrease job satisfaction and commitment to the organization and increase stress and likelihood for turnover. In some cases, workers quit their jobs in protest. hrdive.com

OSHA on the Spot for Alleged Discrimination
Union leads walkout, accuses SC OSHA of failing to protect Black workers
South Carolina fails to adequately inspect workplaces that are the most dangerous for employees and that employ the largest number of African Americans, according to a complaint filed Tuesday by a union leading a strike in Columbia.

An estimated 416,000 South Carolinians are employed in the state’s food and beverage, general merchandise, food service and warehouse industries, and a disproportionate number of them are Black, according to the complaint. But between 2018 and 2022, the agency responsible for those workers’ safety conducted only two scheduled inspections of facilities in those industries combined.

In contrast, during the same period, the S.C. Occupational Health and Safety Administration conducted 499 planned inspections of construction and specialty trade contracting industry, where Black South Carolinians are underrepresented, the union said.

This disparity prompted the Tuesday complaint with the federal Department of Labor by the Union of Southern Service Workers, who helped coordinate a three-state walkout Tuesday, which included a protest at a Columbia area warehouse owned by Ryder, a trucking and logistics company. thestate.com

Another Wrinkle in the Remote Work Debate
Work From the Office, Get Laid Off at Home

McDonald’s temporarily closed its corporate offices this week so it could lay off workers virtually. Was that a good idea?

McDonald’s isn’t the only company to tweak the layoff playbook. In January, Google laid off thousands via email. And Mark Zuckerberg, the C.E.O. of Meta, last month announced plans for a year of big cuts in a 2,000-word memo, explaining that Meta staff “wanted more transparency sooner into any restructuring plans.”

Like many work norms, how to fire people is being rewritten in the wake of the pandemic, when downsizing companies often had little choice but to make layoffs via Slack, Zoom and email, and often did so sloppily. With offices open again, and remote work more common, companies now have options — and it’s not necessarily clear what is best for workers.

The case for virtual layoffs. Cynthia Huang, a senior marketing manager, was laid off from a consumer goods company with a hybrid work policy in February. Because she was working remotely that day, she got the news via a video call; others were let go at the office.

Huang said she preferred getting the call at home. “It felt more comfortable than if I had to physically walk out of the office, have everyone watch me, get all my stuff,” she said.

Laying off people at home may sometimes be more compassionate in the hybrid-work era, Sutton said. “If you call people into the office who don’t go into the office very much to lay them off, it’s kind of weird,” he said. nytimes.com

Amazon Is Pausing Stores But Bolstering Tech
Denver Whole Foods stores introduce Amazon technology
A Whole Foods Market in SouthGlenn, Colorado, will become the fourth of the specialty grocery chain’s stores enabled with Amazon’s Dash Cart technology, according to a Monday emailed announcement.

In addition, Amazon One, the company’s palm-based frictionless checkout option, has been added to 11 Whole Foods Market locations in the Denver area.

Despite Amazon Fresh pausing store rollouts, the company is still bolstering its technology in Whole Foods locations and at other retail sites. grocerydive.com

Meijer continues Midwest expansion with two new stores

Why Are Injury Rates for Some Employees So Much Higher than for Others?

U.S. Inflation Eased to 5% in March, Lowest Level in 2 Years

All the News - One Place - One Source - One Time

Thanks to our sponsors/partners - Take the time to thank them as well please. If it wasn't for them The Daily wouldn't be here every day for you.

OpenEye Adds Point-of-Sale Solution
to OpenEye Web Services

OpenEye has launched POS Connect, a new solution within OpenEye Web Services (OWS) that marries transactional data from a retail operation's point-of-sale system with video verification to help reduce shrink and gain insights into operations.

"By combining point-of-sale data with the power of video, POS Connect enables users to streamline their operations, improve customer service and reduce shrink," said Ian Siemer, OpenEye VP of Product. "Adding POS data to the power of OWS alerts creates a more complete picture of operations as well as loss prevention - transforming video surveillance cameras into a tool that drives the whole business forward."

Features:

Reduce shrink and fraud by marrying POS data with video verification.
Create customizable reports for individual locations or regions.
Improve productivity by evaluating employee performance, training procedures and personnel needs.
Get transaction alerts through both email and push notifications with a thumbnail image and video synced with the transaction time from the associated camera.
Simplify management of multiple locations with remote system and user management in the cloud.
POS Connect supports integrations with both local (LAN) and cloud-based point-of-sale solutions and is available on all OWS license types.

Visit openeye.net/solutions/point-of-sale
for more information.

Employee Data Hoarding's Risk to Businesses
Leftover data lurks across the enterprise, creating a business risk

When an organization has little visibility into the data in its possession, it becomes even more vulnerable to data leaks, breaches, and both insider and external threats.

There’s a good chance that someone in your organization is hoarding data. More likely, everyone in the company is holding on to files, emails and other bits of information they don’t need now, but think they might need someday.

Data hoarding presents a huge security risk because it creates a large attack surface, which is difficult to protect. Making things even more complicated — and risky — is the issue that most hoarded data is forgotten data.

There is so much information tucked into folders across multiple devices that the average user has no idea what is stored. When an organization has little visibility into the data in its possession, it becomes even more vulnerable to data leaks, breaches, and both insider and external threats.

There are two primary reasons why data hoarding is increasing as a threat risk: the low cost of storing data in the cloud and the hybrid/remote workforce.

Cloud computing makes data storage scalable and readily accessible. More than 85% of companies store some or all of their data in the cloud, according to a Blancco study. The research is based on a survey of more than 1,800 data retention and disposal decision makers.

And it is a lot of data they are keeping. Many organizations have long-standing policies to keep their data forever, said Russ Ernst, CTO with Blancco. It’s a move that many cloud providers encourage, and because cloud storage is cheap, it is easier than ever to store everything indefinitely.

In hybrid workplaces, employees depend on having data available to them wherever they are working and on whatever device they are using. Not only is more data being kept in the cloud for those purposes, but now corporate data is being stored on personal computers, phones and tablets, commingling with personal data.

This is causing an uptick in duplicate data stored on premise and in the cloud. cybersecuritydive.com

Cybersecurity Professionals Told to Keep Breaches Under Wraps
IT and security pros pressured to keep quiet about data breaches
Organizations globally are under tremendous pressure to address evolving threats like ransomware, zero-day vulnerabilities, and espionage, and they face challenges in extending security coverage across multiple environments and dealing with an ongoing skills shortage, according to Bitdefender.

“The results of this survey demonstrate, more than ever, the importance of layered security that delivers advanced threat prevention, detection and response across the entire business while improving efficiencies that allow security teams to do more with less,” said Andrei Florescu, deputy GM and SVP of products at Bitdefender Business Solutions Group.

Cybersecurity professionals often told to keep breaches confidential

Alarmingly, more than 42% of the total IT/security professionals surveyed said they have been told to keep a breach confidential when they knew it should be reported and 30% said they have kept a breach confidential.

At 71%, IT/security professions in the US were the most likely to say they have been told to keep quiet followed by the UK at 44%, Italy at 36.7%, Germany 35.3%, Spain 34.8% and France 26.8%.

52% of businesses surveyed suffered a breach in the last 12 months

At the same time a large percentage are told to keep breaches confidential, 52% of global respondents said they have experienced a data breach or data leak in the last 12 months. The US led at 75% (or 23% higher than average) followed by the UK at 51.4% and Germany at 48.5% rounding out the top three.

Given the prevalence of data breaches and the overwhelming pressure to keep them quiet, IT/security professionals face a grim situation. 55% of respondents agree they are worried about their company facing legal action due to a breach being handled incorrectly. helpnetsecurity.com

57% of IT Professionals Losing Sleep Over Cyberattacks
Cyberthreats take a toll on IT teams’ work on other projects
93% of organizations find the execution of some essential security operation tasks, such as threat hunting, challenging, according to Sophos.

IT professionals face challenging security operation tasks

These challenges also include understanding how an attack happened, with 75% of respondents stating they have challenges identifying the root cause of an incident.

This can make proper remediation difficult, leaving organizations vulnerable to repetitive and/or multiple attacks, by the same or different adversaries, especially since 71% of those surveyed also reported challenges with timely remediation.

In addition, 71% said they have challenges understanding which signals/alerts to investigate, and the same percent reported challenges prioritizing investigations.

Reactive mode hurts core business priorities

• 52% of organizations surveyed said that cyberthreats are now too advanced for their organization to deal with on their own

• 64% wish the IT team could spend more time on strategic issues and less time on firefighting, and 55% said that the time spent on cyberthreats has impacted the IT team’s work on other projects

• While 94% said they are working with external specialists to scale their operations, the majority still remain involved with managing threats rather than taking a fully outsourced approach helpnetsecurity.com

The Evolving Future of Cyber Insurance
Major Cyber Insurance Overhaul Begins Now

From Lloyd’s of London to the new National Cybersecurity Strategy, the future of cyber insurance is evolving fast. What do you need to watch?

One thing is clear about cyber insurance in the spring of 2023: The status quo is not sustainable.

And now, Lloyd’s of London, a major player in the global insurance market, is calling for dramatic changes in the cyber insurance market. According to The Financial Times (FT), “From next month, Lloyd’s will require the dozens of insurers that operate in the market to include exemptions that would prevent policies paying out if a major attack is judged to be ‘state-backed.’

“Exclusions for acts of war have long been a staple of policies ranging from property to motor, shielding insurers from the potentially crippling claims that a physical conflict generates. But Lloyd’s, a powerhouse in the global industry, believes war exclusions need updating for the Internet age, when cyber warfare can be government sponsored even in the absence of conventional conflict. Failure to exclude significant state-backed attacks from policies would leave insurers exposed to 'systemic risk,' Lloyd’s said when it first announced the plan last summer.”

The article goes on to point out that Fitch Ratings forecasts the total spend on cybersecurity policies globally could reach $22.5 billion by 2025 — up from $10 billion globally in 2022.

According to Tech Monitor, Lloyd's of London's controversial clause has caused consternation for many in the insurance industry as they rush to abide by the deadline: “The cyber war exclusion clause was announced in August of last year and recommends that standalone cybersecurity policies exclude coverage of attacks implemented by state-sponsored cyber criminals. Written by Lloyd’s underwriting director Tony Chaudhry, the clause is expected to add clarity to an unclear field that can lead to billions of pounds worth of risk. govtech.com

Making risk-based decisions in a rapidly changing cyber climate

Cybercriminals use simple trick to obtain personal data

Canadian Retailers Struggle with Theft Surge
Surge in theft leaves business owners struggling to cope

Rampant retail theft is impacting the bottom line, staff morale and customers’ limited resources already strained by high inflation

Theft and violent crime at retailers and public-facing shops have skyrocketed in recent years, industry experts say. It’s omnipresent, sweeping across North America.

It’s caused some companies to shutter, others to rethink how they serve their customers. It’s become the focus of task forces and, recently, a national conference in Canada. It costs the industry billions of dollars annually, experts say, but the true number is not known because theft is vastly underreported.

Meanwhile, inflation persists. The cost of groceries continues to rise — prices increased 10.6 per cent this February compared to last. For seven consecutive months, the inflation rate for groceries has hit double-digit increases.

Goerzen feels compassion for perpetrators — “maybe some people have been moved to extreme measures to get by” — others, however, aren’t so sympathetic.

It’s impossible for the Retail Council of Canada to put an exact dollar amount on the extent of the problem since not all retailers report to the council and not all crimes are recorded. However, shoplifting has increased across all categories, including food and apparel, according to the organization’s spokeswoman.

“Escalating inflation, a growing re-sale market for stolen goods and increase of organized crime are some of the contributors,” Michelle Wasylyshen wrote in a statement.

Stephen O’Keefe, a Toronto-based retail consultant and president of Bottom Line Matters, believes retail theft is the worst it’s ever been, based on data in the United States. Canada usually follows its southern neighbour’s trends, he said.

Organized retail crime is a problem in Canada, too, O’Keefe said. People might sell stolen goods online or, in some cases, back to the retailer they took the items from at a discounted price in the industry’s “grey market.” The Free Press could not confirm this occurs in Manitoba.

Grocery stores’ profit margins typically hover between two and five per cent, pre-tax, O’Keefe said.

But crime is increasingly eating away at those margins, leaving smaller stores facing a difficult dilemma: increase prices to cover the loss, which means they can no longer compete with the box stores, or close for good. winnipegfreepress.com

Related Coverage of Canada's Theft Surge

• Small businesses in Atlantic Canada struggling with retail theft

• Why otherwise honest Canadians are shoplifting at the grocery store

Counterfeits Surge in Canada
Canada needs a strategic plan to safeguard consumers against counterfeit and pirated goods
Counterfeiting is a chronic problem faced by Canadian consumers. According to Canadian manufacturers and exporters, counterfeiting — or the sale of products that purport to be something they are not — costs Canada between $20 billion and $30 billion annually.

Given the scale of this ongoing issue, Canadian governments and industries must come together to design new strategies that will protect Canadians while maintaining the country’s competitive advantage in the global marketplace.

Combating counterfeits

Because the source of counterfeit products is often the same factory that produces the original product, one remedy is to provide supplier factories with limited quantities of raw materials. Hewlett-Packard does this by providing its suppliers with a certain number of printheads that are used to manufacture ink cartridges for the company.

Another solution is to allocate parts to different suppliers so that no one supplier has all the parts needed to build a particular product. At the same time, many emerging market governments are stepping up enforcement efforts to strengthen IP protections.

Using technology

Businesses can also use technologies, such as radio-frequency identification or holograms, on their products to help customers identify counterfeits. Recently, blockchain technology has been considered as a promising solution to counterfeiting. Several blockchain-based applications have been launched with the aim of tagging products with unique identifiers that can’t be duplicated.

A joint approach is key

Anti-counterfeit strategies and the advent of new technologies like blockchain present opportunities for Canadian policymakers and industry leaders to develop an effective plan to combat counterfeiting. Together, Canada’s business and political leaders can build consumer trust while further building Canada’s global advantage. theconversation-com.cdn.ampproject.org

Study of Canada's Worst Mass Shooting Prompts Calls for Reform
Smuggling guns into Canada from the U.S. remains a huge problem

N.S. mass shooting: how gun smuggling happened, and the inquiry’s call for reforms

A decade before a Nova Scotia man used smuggled guns to murder 22 people in the province in 2020, police information systems had labelled him as a firearms risk. Yet those records never found their way to the Canada Border Services Agency, and they didn’t prevent the mass shooter from obtaining a Nexus card — granting him status as a low-risk traveller.

The final report of the public inquiry into Canada’s worst mass shooting, released last week, details troubling breakdowns in information sharing and recommends reforms to develop “fully interoperable systems” for exchanging records between police and the federal border agency.

The report also describes how red flags about the killer didn’t lead to detection of his illegal activities during any of his 21 border crossings between 2016 and the April 18-19, 2020, killings.

It was during that time that Gabriel Wortman — a wealthy, 51-year-old denture maker — is believed to have smuggled three semi-automatic guns through Woodstock, N.B. Two were handguns he obtained from a friend in Houlton, Maine, and the third was a rifle he bought after spotting it at a gun show in Maine.

However, after Wortman threatened to kill his father in 2010, a notable warning went undetected.

After the death threat, Halifax police generated a report on Wortman that included a reference to him as “Firearms Interest to Police.” That was attached to a report in the Canadian Police Information Centre — which intelligence officers with the border agency were authorized to access. The police information centre, operated by the RCMP, is the national information sharing system that links law enforcement and other public safety agencies.

Yet when Wortman applied for and received his Nexus card in 2015, the border agency “did not have access” to the firearms warning, the report says. It also says the border agency didn’t have a record of a 2011 Nova Scotia police intelligence report indicating that Wortman had said he wanted to kill police officers.

The mass shooting inquiry’s final report cites a 2020 border agency assessment that says that before the killings, there was “minimal intelligence ... about firearms smuggling in Atlantic Canada because it was a ‘lower tiered priority’ for the CBSA.”

It also noted the agency had ended the practice of having its own regional intelligence position in the years before the mass killing, even though these officers were key resources when it comes to firearms smuggling from the United States. thestar.com

RELATED: How Canada's worst mass shooting could spark major police reform

In Case You Missed It

Canada Seeing Same Cannabis Burglary Surge as U.S.
Increase in Cannabis Business Burglaries and Break-Ins
In recent months, there has been an uptick cannabis business burglaries and theft across the United States and Canada. As a result, many areas that permit cannabis have released advisories notifying cannabis businesses about this increase and providing guidance on how to better prevent theft. This is especially true in states and provinces that have been hit the hardest as regulatory agencies attempt to bring robbery and burglary rates down to normal levels to avoid unnecessary risk to cannabis businesses.

Where Is This Occurring?

Recently, the US states of Michigan, Colorado, Washington, and the Canadian province of Ontario have released advisory bulletins warning cannabis businesses of new trends in crime centered around these businesses. In essence, the advisory bulletins spell out exactly which type of businesses have been targeted, what methods thieves have been using to breach the premises, and what clues to look out for to ensure a better shot at prevention.

Popular Methods to Robbery & Burglary

These recent advisory bulletins warn cannabis businesses of quick hitting smash-and-grab type burglaries. Typically, a business will be cased and studied by individuals who will then wait until after business hours to attempt to breach the premises. The criminals usually wait in vehicles parked near the premises, typically on the outer edges with multiple individuals in the car. Once the individuals determine it is safe to do so, they will send one person who will attempt to open a back door or window with a tool such as a crowbar or a hammer. Once the building or premise is breached, the rest of the individuals will rush over and, in a short amount of time, grab what they can from inside the business to escape before law enforcement can respond to alarms. While this is a currently popular method of burglary in North America, it is just one of many examples of how criminals can burglarize a cannabis business.

Fraud Risks for Cannabis Businesses

While it is true that theft is the leading issue surrounding physical security at cannabis businesses, fraud is another potential vulnerability in which the diversion of cash or cannabis products can happen. In late September, Michigan warned cannabis businesses of fraud targeting cannabis businesses that take large orders from third-party vendors and buyers. In this case, individuals would place fraudulent orders through retailers and distributors by pretending to be a licensed cannabis company and then have them delivered to third-party locations. While due diligence and simple verification systems should be able to mitigate this risk, this scenario serves as a reminder that the theft of cannabis can come in many different forms. sapphirerisk.com

Public Outrage And Grocery CEO Compensation: What Loblaw Should Have Done

JD Sports Canada in hiring boom, opens Vancouver head office

Dollarama sales surge drives opening of up to 70 new stores across Canada next year

Vancouver, BC: Father stabbed to death outside Vancouver Starbucks after asking man to not vape near his toddler
A 37-year-old dad was stabbed to death in front of his 3-year-old daughter and fiancée outside a Starbucks in Canada after he asked the attacker not to vape in front of his child, his family said. Paul Stanley Schmidt and his daughter Erica were outside the Vancouver coffee shop about 5:30 p.m. Sunday while his fiancée, Ashley Umali, was getting drinks, his mother, Kathy Schmidt, told the Vancouver Sun. A horrifying video posted on social media captured the moment a man suddenly stabbed Schmidt, who was seen clutching his stomach as he staggered and fell to the ground in a pool of blood. Schmidt said she was told that the suspect — identified as 32-year-old Inderdeep Singh Gosa — carried out the depraved attack after her son asked him not to vape in front of Erica. “This is so horribly wrong what happened. He was just trying to protect his daughter. I’m angry and I’m sad,” she told the news outlet. “It all started because he was vaping beside the baby. Ashley’s in shock — she watched the whole thing. She’s so devastated,” Schmidt added. Gosa has been charged with second-degree murder, but Schmidt said she would like the charge to be upgraded to first-degree, which requires proof of premeditation. nypost.com

Oshawa pawn shop employee gunned down outside store
Details are starting to emerge about the man fatally shot in the parking lot outside an Oshawa pawn shop late Thursday evening. Speaking with the media Friday morning, Sgt. Joanne Bortoluss identified the victim as Michael Nigris and said that he worked at the Cash Connections store in the “Teddy’s” plaza where the shooting occurred. Shortly before 8:30 p.m., police were called to the area of King Street West and Park Road South and located a male who had been shot. Bortoluss said “numerous” people unsuccessfully attempted to perform life-saving measures on the 30-year-old Oshawa man Thursday night, but he died at the scene. Area resident Ashley Berkuta knew Nigris as she’s a regular Cash Connections customer. She said Nigris was the “sweetest guy” she knew and was the son of the store’s owner, Danny Nigris. toronto.ctvnews.ca

Quebec, Canada: Six Arrested in Quebec as Police Dismantle International Identity Theft Network
Six people from Quebec have been arrested as part of the dismantling of a vast international network of identity thieves that spanned 17 countries. Hundreds of people have been arrested around the world, according to authorities. These suspects were operating on the Genesis Market website and their business was to make stolen credentials available through various vendors. The customers of these resellers then used these identities to commit various crimes. For example, they used stolen computer account access, combined with sophisticated tools, to conduct fraudulent online transactions under the guise of a victim's identity.
In Quebec, the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) Cybercrime Investigation Service conducted four searches on Tuesday that led to the arrest of four men and two women between the ages of 21 and 37. They could be charged with, among other things, unauthorized use of a computer, as well as possession of a device allowing the unauthorized use of a computer. Investigators seized computer equipment, cell phones, external data storage units and USB keys, as well as equipment used to produce false documents. iheartradio.ca

Toronto, Canada: 6 arrested after string of more than 30 armed robberies, carjackings across GTA
Toronto police have made multiple arrests and recovered nearly $1 million in stolen items following an investigation into a series of armed robberies. Investigators say officers responded to robberies across the GTA between August 2022 and March 2023. The incidents included 23 pharmacy robberies, seven carjackings, two motor vehicle thefts, and two financial institution robberies. The multi-jurisdictional investigation, dubbed Project Repeater, included officers from Toronto, Peel, York and Halton Regions, as well as provincial police. The joint investigation resulted in six arrests, including one minor, and the recovery of over $980,000 in stolen vehicles, cash, and narcotics. Toronto Police Insp. Rich Harris provided details on the investigation on Wednesday morning and said the thieves targeted high-end vehicles, including Cadillac Escalades, various Porsche models, and Land Rovers. The suspects would then allegedly use the stolen vehicles to commit further robberies at pharmacies and currency exchange locations. toronto.citynews.ca

4 suspects sought after loss prevention officer assaulted during grocery store theft
Toronto police are looking for four suspects wanted in connection with a theft at a grocery store and the assault of a loss prevention officer in the east end last Thursday. Police said the suspects entered a grocery store in the area of Danforth and Victoria Park avenues, and two of them began filling a shopping cart with several items. A loss prevention officer took notice of the suspects, and when they walked past the cash register without allegedly paying, the officer approached them. Police said one of the suspects indicated to the officer that he had a firearm. However, that did not stop the officer from grabbing two bags of groceries from the two suspects before they fled the store. Shortly after, a third suspect allegedly assaulted the officer prior to fleeing the store with a fourth suspect. toronto.ctvnews.ca

Employee injured during armed robbery at Cambridge jewelry store: WRPS

Armed robbery reported at Waterloo store

View Canadian Connections Archives

The War Against Online Counterfeits Heats Up in Court
Brands Flock to Chicago Court in War on Internet Counterfeiters
Harry Styles, the NBA, and other big-name brands have filed thousands of lawsuits over the past decade in a Chicago-based federal court to stop alleged online counterfeiters, using a strategy that’s now drawing more scrutiny from judges and academics.

The strategy involves filing intellectual property complaints against a group of online merchants—sometimes hundreds at a time—under a single docket using what’s known as a “Schedule A” filing.

The US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois received 817 Schedule A filings in 2022, a Bloomberg Law analysis of federal dockets found. That’s an increase of more than 900% from 2013, when the first Schedule A cases were filed. The court is on pace to surpass that mark, with nearly 250 of the lawsuits being filed already this year.

The combination of experienced judges and convenient jurisdictional rules is among the reasons that court has become so popular for filing mass counterfeiting suits, attorneys say. The lawsuits seek fast injunctions and often result in default judgments to stop online counterfeiters, whose operations are often based in China or other foreign jurisdictions and are almost impossible to identify.

Brand owners and their attorneys view the lawsuits as one of the few available tactics to counter an enormous rise in counterfeit merchandise flowing into the US from elusive foreign sellers.

The lawsuits allow them to shut down listings and deter counterfeiters through monetary damages, said Justin Gaudio, an attorney at Greer Burns & Crain LLP who filed more than 100 Schedule A cases last year. The strategy is more effective than the “Whack-a-Mole game where you’re sending takedown notices to the platforms,” he said.

In a typical Schedule A case, a brand will sue a large group of entities that sell counterfeit products through their own websites or on e-commerce sites like Amazon.com Inc. or eBay Inc.. In a single lawsuit, brands can list hundreds—or even thousands—of defendants on a document titled “Schedule A,” often filed under seal.

There’s typically little to no publicly available information about the defendants, who are often identified on schedules under names such as “cheapjerseys.sale.” Plaintiffs can quickly ask the court to freeze the accounts of the alleged counterfeiters on the marketplaces. news.bloomberglaw.com

Amazon Plans to Release a ChatGPT Competitor Soon
Amazon, a long-time leader in AI with its Alexa service, has recently found itself competing with a new and very popular AI chat software called ChatGPT. Now Amazon is working to reassure staff that they have a plan and will be releasing their own response to ChatGPT soon, according to The Washington Post.

These AI chatbots offer a lot of personal experience that other older AIs do not. Now instead of just a set number of questions and responses, chatbots offer a more fluid personal experience with a wider range of responses and abilities.

Now Amazon is telling employees in an all-team meeting that soon Amazon will release their response to ChatGPT soon. Though they stopped short of saying exactly what that will look like. cordcuttersnews.com

Walmart Makes a Surprise Move Amazon Can't Copy
Walmart commits to a new customer service for which Amazon does not yet have an answer.

A delivery driver for Amazon gives us a tour of his van—see what it's like inside

Wichita, KS: Wichita stores among worst in nation when it comes to theft: Leaders sound alarm
Members of local law enforcement and those with the local judicial system spoke before Sedgwick County commissioners on Tuesday during a workshop on crime trends. What stood out are theft numbers reported by retail stores in Wichita, at or among the worst nationally for several companies. Wichita Police Department Chief Joe Sullivan noted a significant increase in burglary and retail theft. He said retail theft in Wichita is up more than 30% so far this year compared to the same period last year. “Anything of value that has a serial number or price tag, there needs to be some mechanism in place to track who’s tracking who’s selling those to second-hand dealers,” said Sullivan. He said among larger national chains Wichita ranks among the worst for retail theft. “Victoria’s Secret is the number four store out of 2,000 stores in America, here in Wichita, $30,000 dollars in loss per month. Cabelas’ loss prevention says they are number one in loss in the nation here in Wichita. Walmart stores at 501 E. Pawnee, at Kellogg and Dugan are top five for theft in the region,” said Chief Sullivan. kwch.com

Boardman, OH: 33 vacuum cleaners stolen from Bed Bath & Beyond in Boardman, valued at nearly $17,000
Boardman Police are investigating after 33 vacuum cleaners were stolen from Bed Bath & Beyond in Boardman early Saturday morning. According to a police report, police were dispatched to the store just after 4:00 a.m. Saturday in response to a burglary alarm activation. Upon arrival police observed a store window that was smashed with a rock to gain entry to the store. Police located the rock inside. Police say surveillance camera footage shows a male suspect breaking into the store through the window and heading for the storage room in the back of the store. Surveillance footage then shows the male suspect with four shopping carts loading them up with 33 Dyson vacuum cleaners with values of between $500 and $750 each. Police say a total of $17,000 worth of merchandise was stolen. wfmj.com

Sarasota, FL: SCSO arrests two at Home Depot for $5000 grand theft, cocaine possession
Sarasota County Sheriff’s deputies arrested two men Friday morning for Grand Theft and one with an additional charge of Cocaine Possession. The theft was called in by Loss Prevention at the Home Depot store on Cattlemen Road in Sarasota. These two were identified as the same two men who had committed grand theft at another business in North Port less than an hour earlier. As deputies responded, the suspects gathered numerous items totaling just under $5,000. They made their way to the front of the store. They ditched the cart when they spotted the Loss Prevention Officer following them and fled the store towards their vehicle in the parking lot. Arriving deputies were able to apprehend the suspects at their vehicle. Deputies noticed the rear of the vehicle was packed with tools and electronic items still in boxes, which appeared to be stolen. mysuncoast.com

Doylestown, PA: Man Charged with Felony Retail Theft for Shoplifting; 4 men walked out of the store with nearly $1,200 in Starbucks cups
Police have caught up with a group of thieves who robbed the Cross Keys Giant in March, and one of them is from Fayetteville, N.C. Plumstead police said the theft occurred on March 11. At about 10 p.m., four males allegedly entered the Giant and loaded hand-carried shopping baskets with Starbucks cups and tumblers. The group then allegedly walked past the cash registers and left the store without paying for the merchandise. The value of the cups was estimated to be nearly $1,200. Security cameras were able to identify the car used in the theft. tapinto.net

Eau Claire, WI: Menomonie woman sentenced for $8,000 from Scheels
A Menomonie woman will spend two years on probation for stealing about $8,000 worth of merchandise from Scheels in Eau Claire on nine separate trips to the store. Samantha J. Sundstrom, 32, 3038 Timber Terrace, was found guilty recently in Eau Claire County Court of a felony count of theft. A conditions of probation, Judge Emily Long ordered Sundstrom to pay $6,963 in restitution, have no contact with Scheels and undergo any recommended programming or treatment. She was also fined $1,096. news.yahoo.com

Odessa, TX: Thousands of dollars of clothing stolen from Boot Barn

Plainfield, IL: Pair charged with theft of $650 in Pokemon cards

View ORC Archives

Case Goes Public?
Share it with the industry

Submit your ORC Association News

Visit ORC
Resource Center

Shootings & Deaths

Houston, TX: Man shot by Officer at Family Dollar during auto theft investigation
An alleged auto theft suspect is dead after a struggle ensued with a Houston police officer on the city's south side. The scene began unfolding at about 2:35 p.m. Tuesday in the parking lot of a Family Dollar store at 12201 Martin Luther King Blvd near East Orem. Houston police said an officer was looking into an auto theft investigation and found the reported vehicle in the parking lot of the store. HPD said that when the officer walked up to the car, there was a man in his 40s in the driver's seat. HPD says the man put the car in reverse and rammed into a patrol car. As the officer approached and confronted the driver and asked the driver to step out of the vehicle, at the same moment, the driver actually put the car in reverse and backed and rammed into the patrol car," HPD Executive Assistant Chief Ban Tien said. "After multiple commands for the suspect to exit the vehicle, he finally exited, and officers attempted to detain the suspect, which subsequently led to a struggle between the suspect and the officer." Police said during the struggle, the officer fired one shot after the suspect got on top of him and knocked off his stun gun. HPD says they have not recovered a gun and do not believe the man was armed. Police said the suspect was taken to a hospital in the Texas Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The officer involved suffered minor injuries. abc13.com

Fort Lauderdale, FL: Arrest made in deadly shooting at Pompano Beach convenience store
An arrest has been made in connection to a shooting at a Pompano Beach convenience store last February in which two people were killed, three others were injured. The Broward Sheriff's Office said after reviewing evidence and receiving crucial tips from Crime Stoppers, detectives were able to identify one of the shooters as 18-year-old Damian Charmant. He is currently in custody on unrelated charges and faces additional charges that include two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree attempted murder with a firearm. The shooting happened on February 26th outside the store at 401 N.W. 27th Avenue around 9 p.m. cbsnews.com

Chicago, IL: Ford City shooting: Man shot to death in Ross parking lot
A man was killed in a Monday afternoon shooting in a parking lot near the Ford City Mall, Chicago police said. The shooting happened in the Ross parking lot at 7600 South Cicero Avenue at about 5:30 p.m., police said. A 32-year-old man was shot in the head. Police said the victim was transported to Christ Hospital in critical condition. He was later pronounced dead. There is no one in custody and area detectives are investigating. Police did not immediately provide further information about the shooting. abc7chicago.com

Palm Beach, FL: Teen goes from high school football standout to wanted fugitive for liquor store murder
The Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office announced on Tuesday that a former Palm Beach Central High School football standout is now a 19-year-old wanted fugitive. Detectives accused Brandon Mackenzie Frazier of fatally shooting a man at about 6:40 p.m., on March 21, at 777 Liquors, at 3613 S. Military Trail, in the Lake Worth Corridor area. Deputies reported finding the victim dead inside the 777 Liquors store. And about three weeks after the shooting, a judge issued a warrant for Frazier’s arrest on charges of first-degree murder with a firearm and shooting within an occupied dwelling. Frazier, who is over 6 feet tall, played football as both a cornerback and free safety in high school, according to his Hudl profile. When he was a junior, New Era Prep reported he was the “No. 5 bubble player in Palm Beach County,” which meant he was “on the cusp of having a true breakout moment at some point.” local10.com

LaGrange, GA: 1 suspect arrested, another on the run after 2 Aaron’s employees shot
Two people were injured in a shooting at a LaGrange furniture rental store and police say they have identified the two suspects involved. On Monday evening, police said they were called out to Aaron’s Rent-to-Own store. When they got to Aaron’s, they found two employees, Darius Bailey and Keith Williams, who had been shot. The two victims were treated on the scene LaGrange Fire personnel and EMS, then taken to other hospitals. They were at work and shot inside of the store. LaGrange police said after interviews and an investigation, they were able to identify two suspects, Taquavious Smith, 20, and Zaniyyah Muhammad, 19. Police said the shooting happened over an alleged dispute from a previous incident. Both Smith and Muhammad left the scene in a black car. A short time later, police said Muhammad was found at her residence where she was taken into custody. Police said Smith is still at large and considered to be armed. Police said warrants have been issued for both suspects on two counts of Aggravated Assault. wsbtv.com

Colorado Springs, CO: Shots fired at south Colorado Springs convenience store; suspects at large
Three men opened fire at a convenience store before fleeing the area early Tuesday morning. According to police, one of the suspects had been caught shoplifting and pulled out a gun after he was confronted. “The shoplifter and two other males produced handguns and fired rounds into the air,” a police lieutenant said. No one was injured, and the three men sped off in a car afterward. At the time of this writing, no suspect descriptions or vehicle information have been provided. kktv.com

Chicago, IL: Concealed carry holder shoots would-be burglar breaking into Chicago business
An attempted burglary of a Chicago business was ended by a concealed carry holder who shot at the suspect as he attempted to break into the building. An 18-year-old suspected burglar was shot in the leg and hospitalized after attempting to gain access to a Chicago business Sunday, according to a report from Fox 32 Chicago. The incident happened in Chicago's Lincoln Square area, where a man inside a closed business said he heard a sound coming from the building's back door shortly before midnight Sunday. Upon investigating the noise, the man said he found an 18-year-old man attempting to break into the building. The 40-year-old man, who possesses a valid firearm owner identification card, fired at the suspected burglar, striking him in the leg. The 18-year-old suspect was transported to the Illinois Masonic Medical Center for treatment and was listed in fair condition. The suspect remains in police custody and charges are pending in the case. yahoo.com

Houston, TX: Man dead after shooting in parking lot of north Houston liquor store

Robberies, Incidents & Thefts

Chicago, IL: Stolen credit cards and mail theft conspiracy land man in prison after HSI Chicago investigation
Operation Cash on Delivery yields 11 indictments after conspirators stole more than 657 credit cards and racked up $462,719 in fraudulent charges. A federal grand jury indicted Davey Hines, 30, of Naperville, on one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of theft or receipt of stolen mail, four counts of unauthorized access device fraud and four counts of aggravated identity theft in February 2021 for events that occurred between June 2018 and December 2019. Ten other people were also indicted for their involvement in the scheme as the result of a multiagency investigation dubbed Operation Cash on Delivery. The investigation identified U.S. Postal Service employees who stole credit cards and other financial instruments and provided them to Hines and others in exchange for cash or other items of value. Hines, who also recruited most of the U.S. Postal Service employees, then worked with his co-defendants to unlawfully obtain customers’ personal identifying information, such as dates of birth and Social Security numbers, and fraudulently activate the stolen cards. Over the course of the 19-month conspiracy, Hines and his co-conspirators stole more than 657 credit cards and made more than $462,719 in fraudulent purchases. ice.gov

Omaha, NE: Man federally sentenced for Frontier Justice firearms theft
An Omaha man was sentenced in a federal court Tuesday for firearms theft. Nineteen-year-old Terry Barfield was sentenced to 36 months in prison for stealing firearms from Frontier Justice in Omaha — a federally licensed dealer. He'll follow the prison term with three years of supervised release. The break-in occurred on Aug. 8, 2022, when 44 firearms were stolen from the storefront of Frontier Justice. Investigators said three suspects wearing gloves and facial coverings broke the store's exterior windows and were seen driving a white sedan. ketv.com

Logan, UT: Theft suspect arrested after Logan police find stolen items posted on his online sale site
A man was booked into the Cache County jail after police say he burglarized a vehicle then listed items taken on an online sale site under his name. Levi Scott Peiffer, 25, faces charges of: Theft, a third-degree felony, Burglary of a vehicle, a class A misdemeanor. The theft was reported on March 10 of this year to Utah State University police, say Peiffer’s charging documents, filed by an officer of the Logan City Police Department. “Several items were stolen from a vehicle, many of these items were found pictured for sale on Levi Peiffer’s Mercari.com store front page,” arrest documents say. “The total value of the items stolen on this Criminal Episode is $2,480. Levi Peiffer was also found in possession of these items when he was arrested at the Super 8 Motel in Logan on April 7th 2023.” The statement adds that Peiffer “has a documented pattern of unlawful activity involving multiple vehicle burglaries, thefts and unlawful use/possession of credit cards with several Cache Valley Law Enforcement Agencies. Levi Peiffer has been captured on video during the commission of the crimes.” gephardtdaily.com

Blue Ash, OH: Target Loss Prevention punches customer in the face after she demanded ‘reparations’
A Target security guard punched a customer during a confrontation that was sparked when she asked for “reparations” while at a checkout line with more than $1,000 in groceries, according to a police report. The ugly incident happened in October at the megastore in Blue Ash, Ohio, and began when Karen Ivery asked a cashier for their manager regarding the bill and reparations, according to the police report reviewed by The Post. The cashier alleged to authorities that Ivery brought up reparations several times during their brief encounter before the manager arrived, the report states. When speaking with the manager, the customer first asked for reparations and grew angry as she walked “aggressively” toward the manager, according to the report. “Ivery kept berating her about reparations and her privileged life,” the report alleges as the patron kept walking toward the manager. That’s when Zach Cotter, a loss prevention officer, intervened and asked Ivery to calm down and leave the store, the report states. But she allegedly began screaming at Cotter and followed him to his office. When he tried to shut the door, Ivery allegedly forced her way in and Cotter threw a punch, according to the report. After reviewing footage of the incident, authorities wrote that they determined Ivery was the “aggressor” and she was placed under arrest. “Ivery was confrontational with officers on the scene and didn’t want to explain her actions,” the report states. nypost.com

Puget Sound, WA: Bail Set at $750,000 for Suspects in String of Centralia, Thurston County ATM Burglaries

Las Vegas, NV: Woman accused of brazen ‘drug store burglaries’ across southwest Las Vegas

Britt, IA: Dollar General employee accused of stealing over $3,000 in cash and merchandise

None to report.

Submit Your New Hires/Promotions
or New Position
See all the Industry Movement

Feature Your Job Here For 30 Days -
70% Aren't On The Boards
Post your job listing

Featured Job Spotlights

An Industry Obligation - Staffing
'Best in Class' Teams

Every one has a role to play in building an industry.
Filled your job? Any good candidates left over?
Help your colleagues - your industry - Build 'Best in Class' teams.

Refer the Best & Build the Best
Quality - Diversity - Industry Obligation

Director of Retail Solutions - North America
Denver, CO - posted April 5

This role will be focused on selling our SaaS retail crime intelligence platform by developing new prospects, and progressing Enterprise level prospects through our sales process. You will report directly to the VP of Retail Solutions - North America, and work alongside our Marketing, Partnerships and Customer Success team to grow our customer base...

Manager, Regional Loss Prevention
Minneapolis, MN - posted April 4

This position is responsible for managing all aspects of loss prevention for a geographic area to reduce and control shortage and other financial losses in 124+ company stores. The coverage areas average $850+ million in sales revenue...

Field Loss Prevention Manager
Atlanta, GA - posted March 21

As a Field Loss Prevention Manager (FLPM) you will coordinate Loss Prevention and Safety Programs intended to protect Staples assets and ensure a safe work environment within Staples Retail locations. FLPM’s are depended on to be an expert in auditing, investigating, and training...

Regional Distribution Asset Protection Specialist
Landover, MD - posted February 24

This role is responsible for leading asset protection initiatives and investigating matters pertaining to inventory shrink, policy violations, unauthorized access, fraud, and theft within assigned distribution center(s) - Landover MD, Severn MD, Bluefield VA, Norfolk VA, Lumberton NC...

Corporate Risk Manager
Charlotte or Raleigh, NC - posted February 14

Summary of Role and Responsibilities: Proactive approach to preventing losses/injuries whether they are to our employees, third parties or customers valuables. They include cash in transit, auto losses or injuries; Report all incidents, claims and losses which may expose the company to financial losses whether they are covered by insurance or not...

Director of Asset Protection & Safety
Mount Horeb, WI - posted January 27

The Director of Asset Protection and Safety is responsible for developing strategies, supporting initiatives, and creating a vibrant culture relating to all aspects of asset protection and safety throughout the organization. As the expert strategist and leader of asset protection and safety, this role applies broad knowledge and seasoned experience to address risks...

Loss Prevention Analyst
Ashburn, VA - posted February 21

This position pays $67,725 - $75,000 per year: The LP Analyst protects the company’s assets from internal theft by using investigative resources (i.e., exception-based reporting (EBR), micros reporting, inventory reporting, CCTV, etc.). The primary responsibility of the LP Analyst is to identify potential loss prevention issues such as employee theft in SSP America’s operation across North America...

Manager of Asset Protection (Corporate and DC)
North Kingstown, RI - posted February 17

The Manager of Asset Protection - Corporate and Distribution Center (“DC”) role at Ocean State Job Lot (“OSJL” and “Company”) will have overall responsibility for the ongoing safety and security of all operations throughout the corporate office and supply chain...

Business Continuity Planning Manager
Jacksonville, FL - posted January 26

Responsible for developing, implementing and managing the company's Business Continuity (BCP) and Life Safety Programs to include but not limited to emergency response, disaster recovery and site preparedness plans for critical business functions across the organization. In addition, the position will develop and lead testing requirements to ensure these programs are effective and can be executed in the event of a disaster/crisis...

Region Asset Protection Manager-St Augustine and Daytona Beach Market
Jacksonville, FL - posted January 18

Responsible for managing asset protection programs designed to minimize shrink, associate and customer liability accidents, bad check and cash loss, and safety incidents for stores within assigned region. This position will develop the framework for the groups' response to critical incidents, investigative needs, safety concerns and regulatory agency visits...

Region Asset Protection Manager: Fresco y Mas Banner
Hialeah, FL - posted January 18

Featured Jobs

To apply to any of today's Featured Jobs, Click Here

View Featured Jobs | Post Your Job

When anyone goes for an interview you've got to play to win. You should not allow: any outside variable, any future promotion thoughts or promises, your guilt feelings towards your current employer or boss, your preconceived opinions of the possible future employer, or any miss-step in the process on the part of the future employer disrupt or impact your performance

All interviews have long range implications on your career. The executives interviewing you are part of a community and you'll run into them again at another company. So if you do get involved and go for an interview, commit yourself all the way and play to win. It doesn't mean you've got to take the job. It just means you have to perform at 100%.

Just a Thought,
Gus

Post Your Tip or Advice!
(content subject to approval)

2023 ISCPO Conference
April 11-13

RILA AP Conference
April 30-May 3

NRF PROTECT 2023
June 5-7

GROC 13th Annual Retail Crime Conference
August 2

Black Hat USA 2023
August 5-10

GSX 2023
September 11-13

APEX Conference
September 13-15

LPRC IMPACT
October 2-4

See More Events

Recruiting?
Get your job e-mailed to everyone... everyday
Post on our Featured Jobs Board!

Not getting the Daily?
Is it ending up in your spam folder?
Please make sure to add d-ddaily@downing-downing.com to your contact list, address book, trusted sender list, and/or company whitelist to ensure you receive our newsletter.
Want to know how? Read Here

SUBSCRIBE

FEEDBACK

www.downing-downing.com

Advertise With The D&D Daily