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10/13/21

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Shant Wartanian promoted to Associate Manager Special Projects, AP & Comprehensive Loss for Walgreens

Shant has been with Walgreens for more than seven years, starting with the company in 2014 as Specialist, Security Operations Center. Before his promotion to Associate Manager Special Projects, AP & Comprehensive Loss, he spent nearly two years as AP Manager and more than four years as AP Partner. Earlier in his career, he held roles with Securitas Security Services and Monterrey Security. Congratulations, Shant!

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The U.S. Crime Surge
The Retail Impact

More ORC Closures Hit San Francisco
Walgreens plans to close 5 San Francisco stores, citing rampant shoplifting and 'organized retail crime'

The company has struggled with shoplifting for years and has closed 10 stores in the city since 2019.

Walgreens will close five more of its San Francisco locations due to rampant shoplifting and "organized retail crime," a Walgreens spokesperson told SFGate on Tuesday.

"Organized retail crime continues to be a challenge facing retailers across San Francisco, and we are not immune to that," Walgreens spokesperson Phil Caruso said. "Retail theft across our San Francisco stores has continued to increase in the past few months to five times our chain average."

Walgreens locations in San Francisco have struggled with shoplifting for years, and ten Walgreens locations have been closed in the city since 2019. Community members said one closure left seniors, disabled residents, and low-income residents without a convenient local drugstore to go to, with the next closest location not being accessible to those with disabilities, according to a Change.org petition.

"During this time to help combat this issue, we increased our investments in security measures in stores across the city to 46 times our chain average in an effort to provide a safe environment," Caruso said.

Caruso also said patients' prescriptions will be transferred to nearby stores. In October, 2020, one Walgreens location closed after saying it lost $1,000 in stolen merchandise every day.

"I am completely devastated by this news - this Walgreens is less than a mile from seven schools and has been a staple for seniors, families and children for decades. This closure will significantly impact this community," Ahsha Safaí, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, wrote on Twitter about the upcoming closures. businessinsider.com

NYC's Shoplifting Surge Continues to Make Headlines
Drug Store Managers In NYC Say Shoplifting Skyrocketing, Which Is Why More Items Are Under Lock And Key
Drug stores have been locking up items for years, but if you’ve been shopping recently you may have noticed more and more products being locked up, including bars of soap, deodorant, and even toothbrushes.

CBS2 has spoken to several managers at various drug stores around the city. Though none would go on camera, they all told Gainer they’ve seen an increase in thefts.

The NYPD says as of Sept. 12 there have been 26,385 complaints for shoplifting retail theft in the city, compared to 20,024 over the same time period last year.

The National Retail Federation says most retailers blame the increase on the pandemic, with New York ranking fourth for organized retail crime in the past year. Many point to changes in sentencing guidelines and the growth of online marketplaces.

The National Association of Shoplifting Prevention’s Barbara Staib spoke with CBS2 back in July after several big steals on Long Island. “Shoplifting steals from all of us. It steals tax dollars. Every piece of merchandise that’s stolen is a lost tax dollar,” Staib said.

And it’s not just a New York City issue. San Francisco increased its police department’s Retail Crime Unit. As for New York, some stores have security guards. Employees are told not to engage shoplifters and customers don’t blame them.

Until something changes, many say allow extra time when shopping to allow for the unlocking of all your items. newyork.cbslocal.com

Guns, Rage & Murder
America’s ‘tsunami of lethal violence’ explained
To say that America had a crime wave last year is not quite accurate, said David A. Graham in The Atlantic (Washington). Annual data released last week by the FBI shows that the country had what one expert calls “a tsunami of lethal violence”.

With more people at home in 2020 owing to the pandemic, property crimes fell 8%. Robberies also decreased, and rape reports fell marginally. Aggravated assault, on the other hand, rose 12%. The big shock, though, was the murder rate: it jumped by almost 30%, shattering the record for the largest ever annual increase, set back in 1968. Some 5,000 more Americans were murdered last year than in 2019, bringing the total body count to 21,570.

What is striking, said an editorial in the same paper, is “the undeniable role played by guns”, sales of which also shot up last year in the US. Guns are typically responsible for two-thirds of US homicides; in 2020, it was 77%. And every part of the country – rural as well as urban – was affected. In 1990, New York City and Los Angeles accounted for 13.8% of US murders; in 2020, it was 3.8%.

Americans not only have more guns, they’re also using them “in situations where weaponry once would have been unimaginable”, said Will Bunch in The Philadelphia Inquirer. At a baby shower last month in a suburb of Pittsburgh, a row over who would transport the gifts ended with a father-to-be whipping out his 9mm handgun and firing at his guests, injuring three. There are shootings over high school football games, over parking spaces, over petrol queues. A supermarket clerk in Georgia who asked a customer to put on a mask was recently shot dead.

The US doesn’t have a broader problem with rising crime, “but when people are turning baby showers into firing ranges, we definitely have a gun-violence problem”. theweek.co.uk

'Hot Spot Policing' Driving Down Crime?
Dallas violent crime numbers declining
Dallas crime numbers are declining slightly, which police officials say is linked to the chief’s violent crime reduction plan that has focused on hot spot policing.

Why it matters: Violent crimes increased in Dallas and nationwide in 2020, but police officials locally believe that numbers this year show the increase won’t continue.

Context: Since the crime reduction plan was implemented in May, police say there are 300 fewer robbery victims compared to 2020. Violent crime has dropped nearly 6% compared to last year.

By the numbers:

● There have been 158 murders and non-negligent homicides through September this year, compared to 168 during the same time period in 2020.

● Dallas police have seized 3,785 weapons this year compared to 2,690 in 2020.

● Officers have made 607 more arrests this year compared to last year.

What they’re saying: “We’re seeing better trends in Dallas than we are in other big cities across the country,” councilmember Adam McGough, chair of the public safety committee, said during a crime briefing Tuesday. “We’re just getting started going the right direction. Let’s keep it up."

The bottom line: The latest city budget calls for hiring 250 police officers in each of the next two years to improve response times. The police department only hired 169 officers in the last fiscal year and lost 204 officers during that same time. axios.com

900% Murder Increase in Las Vegas
‘Unprecedented crime’: Metro Police ramping up efforts to reduce murder rate near Las Vegas Strip
Cutting down on crime near the Las Vegas Strip — that is a major focus for Metro Police, as they see more murders in the area. Metro says most of the issues this year happened between April and August, but they are implementing big changes to cut down on crime.

“We’ve been dealing with some unprecedented crime,” said Metro Police Captain Dori Koren.

Capt. Koren heads up Metro Police’s Convention Center Area Command, which oversees the Las Vegas Strip. And he knows it has been a deadly year in part of town. We saw this massive increase,” Capt. Koren said.

The latest numbers from Metro Police show there have been ten murders in the resort corridor through October 8, 2021. In comparison, there was one murder through that same point last year. That is a 900% jump.

Captain Koren says more out-of-state criminals coming to town during the pandemic as resorts reopened has played a role. But he adds the legal system’s handling of repeat offenders is also to blame.

“We can arrest all day long, but if they’re released by the rest of the criminal justice system or process too soon and they commit another aggravated assault, and another aggravated assault, eventually they commit a homicide, which is what draws our numbers up.” 8newsnow.com

NYC's Crime-Fighting Approach Under Fire
Mother who lost son to NYC shooting blasts city's soft-on-crime approach, calls for more cops on streets
A mother is pleading with New York City officials to put more police officers on the street after her son was shot and killed last year. Eve Hendricks made an appearance on "Fox & Friends First" saying, "gun violence should not be the end of a child's life."

"Before my son Brendan was murdered, gun violence did not affect me," Hendricks stated. "Now that I'm living it, I just don't see and think it is right for any other parent to live this way, to feel this way, to feel such pain."

New York City and other large metropolitan areas have seen a crime surge in recent months following the 2020 push to defund police departments. There have been 21 children killed in New York City street violence in 2021 so far.

Hendricks also mentioned she does believe her voice is heard by those in charge, and suggested jail time for those involved in similar incidents is important.

"We demand more police officers … to arrest kids, to put them in jail," Hendricks stated. "If you are big enough to pull the trigger, you are big enough to serve the time." foxnews.com

Kansas City plan to reallocate police funds violated state law, judge rules

Violent crimes rise in Mexico; 94.8% go unpunished

COVID Update

403.5M Vaccinations Given

US: 45.4M Cases - 737.5K Dead - 34.9M Recovered
Worldwide: 239.5M Cases - 4.8M Dead - 216.9M Recovered

Former Senior Loss Prevention Executive
Know of any fallen LP exec? Let's remember & recognize.

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 320
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 469
*Red indicates change in total deaths

The End of the Delta Surge?
COVID-19 Cases Are Dropping. Is the Surge Over?

COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are declining in the U.S. and worldwide.

After reaching a peak at the beginning of September, the number of new daily cases in the U.S. has fallen 35%. This is the first sustained drop since the summer, when hospitals in some states reached critical capacity and death toll in the U.S. officially surpassed that of the 1918 flu pandemic.

Other countries are also seeing a slight reprieve. The World Health Organization recorded 9% fewer cases globally compared to last week. All regions of the world saw a decline in cases except for Europe.

While the trends seem positive, the true course of the pandemic is unpredictable and people must be realistic about what “the end” of the pandemic looks like, says Laith Abu-Raddad, PhD, professor of population health sciences at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar.

“If the end is eliminating the virus altogether from circulation, like smallpox, I don't think we are getting there,” Abu-Raddad tells Verywell. “We will go back to our normal life, but we will have this annoyance that will continue with us, but at lower risk.” verywellhealth.com

Here Comes OSHA
Biden’s Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate Moves Closer to Approval

Labor Department takes next step to implement plan to require private-sector workers get Covid-19 vaccinations or be regularly tested

The Labor Department took the next step Tuesday to implement President Biden’s plan to require private-sector workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 or be regularly tested, a move that has drawn a mixed reaction from larger and smaller companies.

The proposed mandate would apply to businesses with 100 or more employees, the Labor Department said, confirming early statements. It would be implemented under a federal rule-making known as an emergency temporary standard and affect roughly 80 million workers nationwide, according to Biden administration estimates, or more than half the total U.S. workforce.

The Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration submitted on Tuesday the initial text of the proposed standard to the White House for approval, signaling its release could soon follow. The details could change during the White House review.

The Department’s announcement comes a day after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, issued an executive order banning businesses and other private entities in his state from requiring Covid-19 vaccinations for employees.

Opposing mandates from the White House and the governor of the second-most populous state is causing confusion for businesses, especially those such as airlines, retailers and oil companies that operate in multiple states. wsj.com

OSHA's Vaccine Mandate Webinar - Oct. 14 @ 2:00 p.m. ET
OSHA's Announced COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate - What Employers Should Know
The Biden administration just announced that OSHA will soon issue a rule that will require all employers with 100 or more employees to either ensure their workers are vaccinated or require unvaccinated employees to produce a weekly negative test result before coming to work. There are many moving parts with such a significant development, and employers have questions.

This webinar will explore what we know about OSHA’s announced rule and what employers can do now to prepare. Click here to register

Rite Aid's Remote-First Corporate Staff
With HQ buildings in ‘great distress,’ Rite Aid CEO tells 2,800 employees to work from home

The COVID-19 office closures spurred Heyward Donigan’s thinking to move in this direction — a remote-first corporate staff.

As part of her plan to transform Rite Aid into a “hyperlocal” chain and cut costs, Rite Aid Corp. president and chief executive officer Heyward Donigan announced last month that 2,800 employees at the Rite Aid headquarters in the Camp Hill, Pa., area and those who work in operations in other states won’t return to their offices. They’ll stay remote.

Rite Aid’s Camp Hill headquarters also will relocate to Philadelphia’s Navy Yard for employees, executives, the board, merchandisers, and others to meet and collaborate — not to sit and bang away daily on a distant laptop over Zoom.

“I was inclined to never go back to the office, you know, and I was inclined to never have our corporate associates go back to these offices that really weren’t reflective of our brand,” Donigan, the drugstore chain’s CEO, said in a recent interview.

Rite Aid’s survey of employees seemed to agree. Donigan said that 80% of employees said they “never wanted to return to the office,” while 16% said they would go back but didn’t want to do it every day. Only 4% wanted the traditional go-to-the-office daily. inquirer.com

COVID-19 Product Shortages
Nationwide Liquor Shortage Affects Stores, Bars, Restaurants
Some states along the East Coast have started to limit purchases due to alcohol shortages related to the pandemic, which saw a marked uptick in the number of people staying home and enjoying a drink or two after a long day of working remotely.

According to the Alcohol and Beverage Commission, some states have started rationing their liquor sales amid supply chain issues, though there is no clear timetable for when the supply will match the demand after the pandemic wreaked havoc on some businesses.

Issues cited up by alcohol producers for the limited supply include product shortages brought about by the pandemic, as well as shipping and delivery issues due to a lack of staff or capable drivers.

“Take a labor shortage involving a lack of truck drivers, dock workers, and warehouse employees, then shake that up with backed up docks, slower manufacturing processes, and more expensive raw materials, and you get a quick lesson in how supply chain economics is having a direct impact on small businesses all over the US,” according to a Forbes report. dailyvoice.com

New Store Hours to Keep Up with COVID Safety
Kroger stores changing operating hours due to COVID
Kroger stores across the Southeast are changing their hours of operation. The changes are being made to help employees keep up with COVID safety.

“The new hours will provide additional time for our associates to clean and sanitize stores in keeping with our COVID-19 protocols, as well as to organize and replenish shelves,” said Felix Turner, manager of corporate affairs for Kroger’s Atlanta Division.

For Kroger stores in Georgia, South Carolina, and Eastern Alabama, operating hours will now be 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., starting Sunday, October 10. fox28media.com

Biden Administration to Ease Covid-19 Travel Restrictions at Canada and Mexico Land-Border Crossings

Fully Vaccinated and Had Covid-19? No Rush for a Booster Shot, Experts Say

Doctors Say Trick-Or-Treating Is Safe For Children This Halloween

Retail's Nightmare Before Christmas Continues
Warehouse jobs — recently thought of as jobs of the future — are suddenly jobs few workers want
Warehouse jobs were supposed to be the future of the retail industry, offering opportunities for displaced employees and reshaping the American workforce. Amazon, Target, Walmart and other companies pledged to create hundreds of thousands of these positions at competitive wages — and increasingly with perks like free college thrown in — so they could fill the deluge of online orders that began with the coronavirus pandemic and continues unabated.

But the industry is facing an unexpected problem: Far too few people are willing to take on the often-grueling work, according to industry officials and economic data. It is the latest sign that the job market is being buffeted by unexpected trends that are leading workers to reconsider the types of positions they want — and upending industries across the economy.

The warehouse industry has already cycled through millions of workers, some of whom say they’ve sworn off warehouse jobs altogether. That, labor economists say, is creating new challenges for retailers scrambling to fill crucial jobs unloading trucks, picking orders and delivering packages.

The warehouse and transportation industry had a record 490,000 openings in July, a gap that experts predict will widen in coming months.

The dearth of willing workers is hitting companies just as they’re preparing for a fraught holiday season. Supply chain hiccups, shipping delays and out-of-stock products are expected to cut into retailers’ sales and profits, and analysts say staffing shortages make the outlook even more uncertain. washingtonpost.com

Retailers Chartering Ships & Planes
Home Depot executive says chartering ships to sidestep the supply-chain crisis is a critical lifeline for decorations, plumbing supplies, heaters, and more
Major companies are scrambling to find ways to overcome historic shipping delays. For Home Depot, an idea that started as a sort of joke has helped the company meet consumer demand.

By June, Home Depot was not only chartering its own ships but also flying in items like power tools and snatching up goods on the spot market - a buying option that can cost as much as four times pre-established contract rates.

While the chartered ships only make up a small portion of Home Depot's imported goods, Galica told the Journal the practice has helped the company prioritize goods and keep in-demand products in stock. The chartered ships help move plumbing supplies, power tools, holiday decorations, and heaters, as well as several other items, according to Galica.

Home Depot is one of many major retailers to turn toward chartering ships. Walmart, Costco, Target, and Ikea have also taken up the practice. More recently, Coca-Cola revealed it has begun chartering bulk containers that are usually reserved for hauling raw materials like coal, iron, and grain.

Ultimately, supply-chain snags are likely to add dominance to big-box retailers, while cutting out smaller companies that don't have the extra funds to charter their own vessels or ship via cargo planes.

"Whenever we have a constrained supply like this it's always the big dogs that win," the Association for Supply Chain Management's Douglas Kent told Insider last month. "The smaller businesses just don't have the capital to keep up. They're already in survival mode. They're going to have to pass these costs on to customers and risk losing out to big-box retailers that can absorb the costs themselves. As a result, we will likely see the shuttering of more companies due to these ongoing issues." yahoo.com

White House Addresses Supply Chain Crisis
White House: Walmart, FedEx, UPS to go 24/7 to address supply bottlenecks
Major goods carriers Walmart, FedEx and UPS will move to working 24 hours a day, seven days a week in order to address the global supply chain bottlenecks, the White House announced on Wednesday.

The White House announced the update ahead of President Biden’s meeting with stakeholders, including Walmart CEO John Furner, FedEx Logistics CEO Udo Lange and UPS President of U.S. Operations Nando Cesarone, to discuss collective efforts to address global transportation supply chain bottlenecks on Wednesday.

“The supply chain is essentially in the hands of the private sector, so we need the private sector to step up to help solve these problems. Three of the largest goods carriers in the country, Walmart, FedEx and UPS, will make commitments towards moving to 24/7, working during off peak hours,” a senior administration official said.

UPS and FedEx combined shipped 40 percent of American packages by volume in 2020, according to the White House.

“By taking these steps, they’re saying to the rest of the supply chain, you need to move too, let’s step it up,” the official said, adding that Target, Samsung and Home Depot are also moving in the 24/7 direction.

Additionally, the Port of Los Angeles will move into 24/7 service. The port of Long Beach has been working 24/7 for the past three weeks, the official said. thehill.com

Retail & Food Associates Quitting in Droves
Record 4.3M workers quit their jobs in August, led by food & retail industries

Quits hit a new series high going back to December 2000, as 4.3 million workers left their jobs.

Workers left their jobs at a record pace in August, with bar and restaurant employees as well as retail staff quitting in droves, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.

Quits hit a new series high going back to December 2000, as 4.3 million workers left their jobs. The quits rate rose to 2.9%, an increase of 242,000 from the previous month, which saw a rate of 2.7%, according to the department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The rate, which is measured against total employment, is the highest in a data series that goes back to December 2000.

Quits have been seen historically as a level of confidence from workers who feel they are secure in finding employment elsewhere, though labor dynamics have changed during Covid-19 crisis. Workers have left their jobs because of health concerns and child care issues unique to the pandemic’s circumstances.

A total of 892,000 workers in the food service and accommodation industries left their jobs, while 721,000 retail workers departed along with 534,000 in health care and social assistance. cnbc.com

The global supply chain nightmare is about to get worse

Retailers tell customers to buy now or buy gift cards

Signet snaps up Diamonds Direct for $490M in cash

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In Case You Missed It

Retail & Hospitality ISAC and Security Innovation to Host Inaugural Security Awareness Symposium

The virtual event on Oct. 26 will offer multiple sessions, hands-on training exercises for both technical and non-technical audiences, and speakers from leading corporations.

Vienna, VA - The Retail & Hospitality Information Sharing and Analysis Center (RH-ISAC) announced today it is partnering with Security Innovation to provide in-depth cybersecurity training for employees across the retail and hospitality sector during Cybersecurity Awareness Month this October.

The inaugural Security Awareness Symposium is a virtual, full-day event that will take place on Tuesday, October 26, and is ideal for general employees, IT personnel, and security partners across the organization. The morning program includes different sessions on "The Future of Secure Work" and "Phishing & Social Engineering" while the afternoon program provides hands-on training for technical and non-technical staff.

For the technical track, Security Innovation will provide a hands-on hacking challenge leveraging Shred Skateboards, one of their CMD+CTRL Web Application Cyber Ranges. Shred is a fully functional eCommerce platform that represents the threats and attacks commonly seen in Retail & Hospitality IT systems. With over 35 different vulnerabilities, players try to buy items in an unintended way, crack passwords, tamper with other users' functionality, and conduct other nefarious acts. This hands-on experience builds an attack mentality and reinforces the implications of insecure software development practices.

The closing keynote will feature a panel discussion about the growing risk that third-party and supply chain vendors can create for organizations. Ed Adams, CEO of Security Innovation, will moderate and the panelists will be Kara Gunderson, Director of Payment Card Operations at CITGO Petroleum, Mark Carl, Chief Security Officer of PDI Software, and Devon Bryan, Global Chief Information Security Officer of Carnival Cruise Line.

"The retail and hospitality industry continues to be a target of cybersecurity attacks. RH-ISAC is doing outstanding work sharing valuable cybersecurity practices across its membership," said Ed Adams, President, and CEO of Security Innovation. "We are thrilled to be a part of this event that is addressing software security awareness at both the business and technical level."

Registration is open to all companies that are currently RH-ISAC members as well as non-member organizations in the retail, hospitality, and travel sector, including retailers, restaurants, hotels, gaming casinos, food retailers, consumer products, and other consumer-facing companies. Visit rhisac.org/SecurityAwareness for more event information and to register.

Retail Sector is a Top Target for Cyberattacks
Now Is The Time To Button Up Your Direct-To-Consumer Brand Data Security
In today’s retail world, if you have not suffered a data breach or security compromise, consider yourself lucky. More and more, e-commerce brands across categories fall victim to cyberattacks. In fact, over the past three years, retail has been one of the most targeted sectors for virtual sieges.

As online merchants, consumers entrust you with their personal information, making a strong data protection strategy a cornerstone of any successful e-commerce business. But, when even the Apples and Nikes of the world have difficulty fending off these attacks, it can seem hopelessly difficult for smaller direct-to-consumer (DTC) players to protect themselves and their customers. With the threat of breaches only continuing to rise, retailers of all sizes should not be deterred from shoring up their defenses.

Greater Security, No Matter What

Regardless of a retailer’s size, the e-commerce storefront is really the only offering your consumer truly interacts with. Beyond a vehicle for sales and personalization, the storefront serves as the front line for the intake of customer data. When building this site, DTC brands and retailers should look for a platform that combines security and expert advice to protect themselves from a potential breach and ensure consumer trust is maintained.

Decrease Your Liability With Proper Payment Partners

For hackers, nothing is more important than customer payment data. After all, what they are ultimately after is money, right? One way to mitigate risk and safeguard your customers’ data is by removing the temptation all together and keeping sensitive, personal information in a completely different place — with a payment gateway partner. Payment gateways not only encrypt all consumer data but work across international borders to operate smoothly with any privacy policy.

What’s To Come

Data security is a must for brands and retailers. It is important, not only from a brand reputation perspective but also from a consumer confidence perspective, that consumer data is protected at all costs. Key decision makers at retailers big and small should ensure they have these processes nailed down to build success and keep their customers secure. forbes.com

Cybersecurity Budgets Set to Increase in 2022
Overly Complex IT Infrastructures Pose Security Risk

Cybersecurity budgets are set to increase in 2022, but companies worry that complex IT networks and data infrastructure are wasting money, new PwC survey finds.

More than two-thirds of companies plan to increase their cyber budget in 2022 to better protect their systems and data, with more than half of executives fearing an increase in reportable attacks, new data from consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers shows.

Yet the major threat to companies is an avoidable level of unnecessary complexity that has led to increased risk, with three-quarters (75%) of executives agreeing that their organization's infrastructure has become too complex and nearly the same number agreeing that complexity has led to concerning levels of risk, according to the report. Overall, executives worry that complexity will primarily lead to breaches and financial losses but also hamper innovation and undermine operational resilience.

Organizations need to focus on simplifying their operations and infrastructure and determine whether complexity is necessary, according to PwC's new "2022 Global Digital Trends Insights" report.

"The consequences for an attack rise as our systems’ interdependencies grow more and more complex," the report states. "Critical infrastructures are especially vulnerable. And yet, many of the breaches we're seeing are still preventable with sound cyber practices and strong controls."

The Global Digital Trust Insights Survey annually polls more than 3,600 business, technology, and security executives, focusing on primarily (62%) large companies with at least $1 billion in revenue. While 69% of companies expect to increase their cyber budgets in 2022, and 26% expect an increase of 11% or more, many organization are not yet seeing a payoff from their investments in security.

More than half of companies have invested in cloud security, security awareness training, or endpoint security, but only roughly a third of those companies are achieving the benefits of those implementations, according to the "2022 Global Digital Trust Insights" report. darkreading.com

Google Cybersecurity Action Team
Google Launches Security Advisory Service, Security to Workspaces

Internet giant aims to help companies use the cloud securely and adds more security features to its productivity workspaces to better compete with Microsoft.

Google has launched a new service group — the Google Cybersecurity Action Team — to provide strategic advisory, compliance, threat intelligence, and incident response services aimed at helping government and corporate clients tackle complex cybersecurity efforts, the company announced today at its Next '21 conference.

The Cybersecurity Action Team will also work with clients to engineer a combination of services and systems to meet regulatory and corporate requirements. In addition to its advisory services, Google announced its Work Safer program, which will focus on hybrid work environments with a combination of the company's productivity and security products, along with third parties, such as Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike.

The aim is to help organizations create a security strategy and implement that strategy across hybrid environments crossing on-premises, data center, and cloud infrastructure, Phil Venables, CISO of Google Cloud, said in a press briefing. darkreading.com

List of IT assets an attacker is most likely to target for exploitation

E-commerce's Biggest Problem: Returns
Free Returns Are Complicated, Laborious, and Gross

What happens to the stuff you order online after you send it back?

This explosive growth in online sales has also magnified one of e-commerce’s biggest problems: returns. When people can’t touch things before buying them—and when they don’t have to stand in front of another human and insist that a pair of high heels they clearly wore actually never left their living room—they send a lot of stuff back. The average brick-and-mortar store has a return rate in the single digits, but online, the average rate is somewhere between 15 and 30 percent.

For clothing, it can be even higher, thanks in part to bracketing—the common practice of ordering a size up and a size down from the size you think you need. Some retailers actively encourage the practice in order to help customers feel confident in their purchases. At the very least, many retailers now offer free shipping, free returns, and frequent discount codes, all of which promote more buying—and more returns. Last year, U.S. retailers took back more than $100 billion in merchandise sold online.

All of that unwanted stuff piles up. Some of it will be diverted into a global shadow industry of bulk resellers, some of it will be stripped for valuable parts, and some of it will go directly into an incinerator or a landfill.

It sounds harmful and inefficient—all the box trucks and tractor trailers and cargo planes and container ships set in motion to deal with changed minds or misleading product descriptions, to say nothing of the physical waste of the products themselves, and the waste created to manufacture things that will never be used. That’s because it is harmful and inefficient.

Retailers of all kinds have always had to deal with returns, but processing this much miscellaneous, maybe-used, maybe-useless stuff is an invention of the past 15 years of American consumerism. In a race to acquire new customers and retain them at any cost, retailers have taught shoppers to behave in ways that are bad for virtually all involved. theatlantic.com

Online Shopping Scams
How to tell real products from scams when shopping online

It’s hard to tell what’s good or bad quality online. Use these research skills to avoid getting duped.

Here’s how to spot red flags that a brand isn’t what it says it is, whether it’s on Amazon, Walmart, Google, Facebook or Instagram.

Look for a website, social media presence and contact information

Look for any evidence that the company exists outside of the first ad or listing you see. A dedicated website is a good start, but these can also be created on the cheap with tools like Shopify and WordPress. Scroll to the bottom of the front page to look for the contact details in the footer and see if it’s a template. Look for an “About us” page. If it sounds original and names any founders or employees, that’s a good sign. Most will have an email address, but look for more ways to contact the company, including an address and a phone number. The more reachable they are, the better.

Look up the company’s age and what else it sells

Tech companies, including Google and Facebook, have started providing more information to help shoppers identify a suspicious brand, like how long it has been around. If you see a brand has only had its URL or social media pages for two years or less, keep researching.

Know when cheap is too cheap

It’s possible to buy a plastic salad spinner online for under $5. While there’s a chance it could be perfectly adequate at drying lettuce for years to come, if the price is significantly lower compared with brand-name spinners (around $30) it is likely to fall apart sooner. This matters more for some products than it does for others. While a cheap spinner probably still goes in circles, anything you consume, like supplements or any devices that could injure you like a treadmill, shouldn’t go for drastically lower than standard pricing. washingtonpost.com

Walmart in exclusive merchandise deal with Netflix

DOJ: 'Retail theft on a massive scale’: father-daughter duo sentenced in multi-million dollar shoplifting scheme
Call it a five-million finger discount. A father-daughter duo from Atlanta have been sentenced to more than five years in prison for deploying an army of professional shoplifters to steal millions of dollars of merchandise from retailers such as CVS and Target and then selling the goods online. Robert Whitley, 70, and his daughter, Noni Whitley, 47, were accused of running the scheme for nearly a decade and organizing the theft of $6.1 million worth of merchandise before being busted in 2019, prosecutors said. The pair pleaded guilty in April to interstate transportation of stolen property. Prosecutors at the time described the Whitleys’ operation as a “well-organized criminal enterprise disguised as an apparently legitimate small business.” “This is retail theft on a massive scale,” said Kurt Erskine, the acting U.S. attorney for the northern district of Georgia. Robert Whitley was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison and Noni Whitely was sentenced to five years. They were also ordered to pay $4.35 million in restitution. Messages left with attorneys for the Whitleys weren’t immediately returned. Prosecutors say Robert Whitley — who also went by Mr. Bob — and his daughter would give shoplifters lists of items they were looking for, like razor blades, toothpaste, cosmetics and over-the-counter drugs such as Prilosec, Rogaine and Claritin. marketwatch.com

Staten Island, NY: Five charged in Million Dollar Gift Card Scheme
District Attorney Michael E. McMahon on Wednesday announced that a multi-month investigation into an alleged gift card scheme resulted in the arrest of five individuals and the seizure of more than $1 million worth of unused Apple gift cards, products, and cash. The long-term probe found a group of individuals between July and September of this year illegally obtained gift cards by using information previously stolen from American Express account holders before using those cards to purchase legitimate Apple gift cards. The individuals then allegedly used those cards to purchase Apple products from the Apple store at the Staten Island Mall, according to a release by the district attorney’s office.

The raid netted $118,000 in cash, around $787,000 in unused Apple gift cards, over 180 assorted gift cards and more than six dozen new, unopened Apple products, according to McMahon’s office, which thanked Apple and American Express for cooperating with the investigation. “My office will always remain vigilant against scams and other schemes and we encourage anyone who thinks they have been a victim of a scam to contact my office,” said McMahon. silive.com

Mount Pleasant, WI: Woman allegedly tried to steal over $1,100 worth of items from Menards, had illegal drugs in purse

Glen Rock, NJ: Man arrested at CVS attempting to steal $761.00 worth of merchandise

Columbus, OH: Reward offered for information in theft from North Side Lowe's

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Shootings & Deaths

Memphis, TN: WORKPLACE VIOLENCE: 3 USPS workers, including suspect, dead after shooting at Memphis facility
Two U.S. Postal Service employees are dead after a shooting at a Memphis postal facility, authorities said. The identities of two of the three people who died Tuesday after a shooting at a U.S. Postal Service facility in Orange Mound have been confirmed. The National Association of Postal Supervisors said the victims were James Wilson, a manager and Demetria Dortch, a supervisor. The name of the employee who shot and killed Wilson and Dortch, then turned the gun on themself, has not been released. The USPS said in a news conference Tuesday that all three of those who died were USPS employees. The FBI went on to confirm that one of those employees was the suspected shooter, who died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. localmemphis.com

Richmond, VA: Shooting victim found dead outside convenience store on Carolina Avenue
The Richmond Police Department began investigating a deadly shooting on Tuesday evening after a body was found at the corner of Carolina Avenue and Meadowbridge Road, just blocks away from where two other people were killed on Monday. According to police, a man was found dead outside of the Carolina Express convenience store but he was not shot at the store. There were no shell casings found at the convenience store. wric.com

Phoenix, AZ: Woman accused of shooting alleged Shoplifter at Circle K
A woman could be facing charges after she shot a man she claims was trying to shoplift from a convenience store. It happened Saturday afternoon at the Circle K in the area of 34th and Dunlap avenues. According to court documents, Miriam Shekhmoos, 41, was sitting in her car after making a purchase and saw the man put on a black mask as he was about to walk into the store. She told detectives she recognized the man from her complex and knew he had been involved in "many incidents" where the police were called.

Shekhmoos then said she walked into the store after him and told the clerk, who allegedly said they assumed "he was going to steal beer again." Shekhmoos told the clerk she wasn't going to allow the man to leave with the beer. As the man approached the door with a case of beer, police paperwork says Shekhmoos put her arm out and told the man he couldn't leave with the beer and warned him not to touch her and that she had a gun. The man pushed into her with his chest and case of beer, eventually pushing past her, nearly knocking her down.

Shekhmoos pulled out her gun and shot the man as he was leaving the store, still carrying the beer. Shekhmoos admitted the man was walking away when she decided to shoot, but she did it because "he had assaulted her when he pushed past her," according to court documents. Shekhmoos told detectives she shot the victim "so the police could get him and he would not get away," and explained she was trying to aim for the man's legs but believed she shot him in the back. Police said the wounded man was not at the store when officers arrived. He was eventually found and taken to the hospital. Police said his injuries were serious, but they have not released any information about him. Shekhmoos was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault. azfamily.com

Modesto, CA: Donut Shop Clerk Shot In The Face During Armed Robbery
Modesto police say the incident happened around 7 a.m. at the We Donut Shop along Scenic Drive.. The clerk was shot in the face during a robbery, police confirmed. Officers say the clerk was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive. It’s unclear if the suspect got away with any money, police say. sacramento.cbslocal.com

Robberies, Incidents & Thefts

Philadelphia, PA: Man Blows Up C-Store ATM, Runs Away Without Taking Any Cash
Authorities are looking for a suspect who blew up an ATM in Philadelphia. Police said that the suspect walked into a 24-hour convenience store around 2:45 a.m. ET on Monday (October 11) and placed an explosive device on the ATM. The suspect then ran outside as the machine blew up, sending debris raining across the store. The suspect fled the scene before police arrived and did not take any money. The store clerk was behind bullet-proof glass and was not injured in the blast. The explosion did not cause any damage to the building. Officials did not say what type of explosive was used and have not provided any information about the suspect. Last week, a member of a Dutch gang was killed while making a tutorial on how to bomb ATM machines. The explosion happened at a "training center" where the videos were made. The gang was responsible for 15 ATM bombings across Germany, making off with $2.5 million. totally939.iheart.com

Cincinnati, OH: First of four Restaurant Robbery suspects sentenced to 10 years on federal charges
One of four men accused of robbing a Springfield Township restaurant was sentenced to more than ten years on federal charges. Jammell Johnson, 28, learned his sentence Tuesday for the 2019 robbery. Johnson, Martez Brown and Michael Jointer all faced federal charges for the Wingstop robbery on Galbraith Road. Jointer was the restaurant's manager at the time. The three plotted the robbery. They'd place a carryout order around closing time that would be picked up after closing. Johnson and Brown would rob the restaurant and Jointer would lead them to the safe. Jointer chose the date for when there would be the most money in the safe. Another man, Dwayne Palmore, acted as a lookout and bought clothes and gloves. local12.com

New Britain, CT: Man sentenced in assault, robbery of pizza delivery driver
A Massachusetts man will spend seven years behind bars in connection with the robbery and assault of a pizza delivery driver in 2018, according to officials. westport-news.com

Albuquerque, NM: Man sentenced to seven years in federal prison for Armed Robbery

● Auto – Wilmette, IL – Burglary
● C-Store – Banning, CA – Robbery
● C-Store – Philadelphia, PA – Burglary
● C-Store – Phoenix, AZ – Robbery
● Cellphone – Northbrook, IL – Robbery
● Gas Station – Kennewick, WA – Armed Robbery
● Jewelry – Aurora, CO – Robbery
● Jewelry – West Palm Beach, FL – Robbery
● Jewelry – Orlando, FL – Robbery
● Jewelry – Victorville, CA – Robbery
● Jewelry – Culver City, CA – Robbery
● Jewelry – Colorado Springs, CO – Robbery
● Jewelry – Burlington, VT – Robbery
● Jewelry – Portland, OR = Robbery
● Jewelry – Whiteville, NC – Armed Robbery
● Rite Aid – Erie, PA - Robbery
● Restaurant – Modesto, CA – Armed Robbery

Daily Totals:
• 15 robberies
• 2 burglaries
• 1 shooting
• 0 killed

Click to enlarge map

None to report.

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Environmental Health, and Safety Manager
Eden Prairie, MN - posted October 7

The Environmental Health, and Safety Manager will implement policies to ensure a safe and healthy work environment. Inspects the facility to identify safety, health, and environmental risks. Develops and implements inspection policies and procedures, and a schedule of routine inspections. Prepares and schedules training to cover emergency procedures, workplace safety, and other relevant topics. Read more here.

Field Loss Prevention Manager
Seattle, WA - posted October 7

Staples is focused on our customer and our community. As a Field Loss Prevention Manager for Staples, you will manage and coordinate Loss Prevention and Safety Programs intended to protect Staples assets and ensure a safe work environment within Staples Retail locations...

Corporate Risk Manager
Central (Denver, Kansas City, Oklahoma, Little Rock & California)
- posted October 5

Summary of Role and Responsibilities: A proactive approach to preventing losses/injuries, whether to our employees, third parties, or customer's valuables. They include but are not limited to cash in transit, auto losses, or injuries...

Director, Loss Prevention & Safety
Goleta, CA - posted September 24

The Director of Loss Prevention & Environmental, Health and Safety plans, organizes, implements, and directs HERBL’s programs, procedures, and practices to ensure the safety and security of company employees and property...

Asset Protection Lead
Hudson Valley, NY - posted September 13

Responsible for protecting the assets of the company and ensuring a safe environment for our employees and customers. Utilizes the tools and resources available to initiate and follow through on internal investigations. Work closely with store management to increase LP awareness...

District Loss Prevention Manager
Macedonia, OH - posted September 9

The District Loss Prevention Manager develops and implements the Loss Prevention program for their market. The DLPM is responsible for driving results through achievement of goals related to inventory shortage, budget lines, cash variance and operational compliance...

District Asset Protection Manager
Burlington, MA - posted September 1

The District Asset Protection Manager is responsible for mitigating safety and security related risks for the organization through the implementation of programs, procedures, policies and training. This role promotes a safe store environment while addressing and minimizing loss caused by shrink, theft and fraud in assigned stores, across multiple locations...

Area Loss Prevention Manager
Pittsburgh, PA and/or Cleveland, OH - posted July 30

Our Area Loss Prevention Managers ensure safe and secure stores through the objective identification of loss and risk opportunities. Our Area Loss Prevention Managers plan and prioritize to provide an optimal customer experience to their portfolio of stores. They thrive on supporting and building high performance teams that execute with excellence...

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VP, Risk Management	YRC Worldwide	Overland Park, KS	August 9
Director
LP Dir.	2nd Ave LLC	Bensalem, PA	August 30
Dir. LP	Ashley Furniture	Advance, NC	September 7
Associate Dir. LP	Chewy	Wilkes-Barre, PA	July 28
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AP Future Ops Director	CVS Health	Cumberland, RI	September 24
Sr. Dir. Global Security	eBay	San Jose, CA	July 19
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Dir. Safety/Risk Mgmt.	Goodwill of SE Louisiana	New Orleans, LA	April 2
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Dir. AP Operations Execution	Walgreens	Nashville, TN	September 20
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Corporate/Senior Manager
Security Ops Manager, Corp. Security	CVS Health	Scottsdale, AZ	September 24
Divisional AP Mgr	David's Bridal	West Coast, USA	September 24
Sr. AP Manager	Home Depot	Atlanta, GA	October 6
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Sr. Mgr Environmental Health Safety	Home Depot	Atlanta, GA	May 14
Mgr. Global Security & Resilience	Levi Strauss	Remote	September 23
Sr. Mgr Global Fulfillment AP	lululemon	Columbus, OH	September 20
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Mgr, Corp. Security Life & Safety	Ross Stores	New York, NY	September 13

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Everyday you've got to work and you've got to ask yourself what value are you adding to the company, to the industry and to your career. While this may seem rather ominous at first, try reducing it to your daily tasks and just make sure that with every effort you make there is value you deliver to someone, to some store or to some project. If you can merely focus on the word "value" and ask yourself am I delivering it everyday, you're then one step closer to advancing your career. Because if you can build the field they will come and play.

Just a Thought,
Gus

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