COVID Update

TV Report Tackles ORC and the proposed Inform Consumers Act
Stolen goods bought online fund human trafficking and drugs, investigation finds
Online buying is soaring because of the pandemic. That’s thrown the door wide open to criminals re-selling vast amounts of stolen goods on popular online marketplaces. Channel 2′s Tom Regan learned Georgia is in the top ten of a multibillion-dollar criminal enterprise, that often has links to drug and human trafficking.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said more than 90% of stores, big and small, are targeted by retail criminals. Many are brazen beyond belief.

“Organized retail crime, it is very simple, people that are organized gangs of individuals who are stealing from brick and mortar stores to sell online,” Carr said. “They will have folks come, take shopping cart loads full of merchandise and run out of the store.”

The stolen goods soon show up on popular online marketplaces, where you may shop. Carr warns some of the thieves aren’t always acting on their own.

“Interpol, the international law enforcement agency, will tell you that organized retail crime actually has ties to a number of criminal elements, human trafficking, drug trafficking, corruption bribery, you name it,” Carr said. “It’s incredibly frustrating to the business, and it’s frustrating to law enforcement because again this is how a lot of other criminal actives are funded by online sales.”

To crackdown on retail theft, Congress is considering a law that would make online marketplaces, like Amazon and Facebook Marketplace, require a government ID and other information for large resellers. It’s called the INFORM Consumers Act.

“The legislation will also help law enforcement be able to track down and hopefully prosecute those are selling illicit goods to unsuspecting consumers,” explained Michael Hanson with the Buy Safe America Coalition. Buy Safe represents retail and manufacturer groups. “I think the majority of consumers, over 90 percent, don’t want to buy stolen or counterfeit goods.”

In a statement, Amazon said it opposes the INFORM Act:
“Amazon is committed to protecting our customers and our store, and while we appreciate AG Carr’s sentiment, we don’t believe the INFORM Act will effectively curb organized crime because it doesn’t address the root of the issue and risks creating unnecessary red tape for honest entrepreneurs. Amazon already has robust practices to vet prospective sellers and stop bad actors and in 2019, our proactive efforts stopped 2.5 million suspected bad actor accounts. wsbtv.com

ASIS International Announces 2021 Global Board of Directors

Representatives from four continents bring global perspectives to Global Board

ASIS International, the world’s largest association for security management professionals, today announced the full slate of directors for its 2021 Global Board. The Global Board of Directors, first installed in 2020, is a major step in the association’s transition to a new global governance structure that allows ASIS to better provide service to its members at the local, regional, and global levels.

Global Board director Timothy M. McCreight, CPP, of Canada, was selected by the board to serve as Secretary-Treasurer in 2021. McCreight joins President John A. Petruzzi Jr., CPP, of the United States; President-Elect Malcolm C. Smith, CPP, of Qatar; and ASIS Chief Executive Officer Peter J. O’Neil on the 2021 Global Board Executive Committee.

The security leaders selected for three-year At Large Director terms beginning in 2021 include Pablo Colombres, CPP, of Brazil; Joe M. Olivarez, Jr., of the United States; Axel Petri of Germany; and Eddie Sorrells, CPP, PCI, PSP, of the United States. Chiko Scozzafava, of the United States, was selected to serve the remaining year of McCreight’s At Large term on the Global Board. asisonline.org

October Retail Sales Up 10.6% YoY
NRF: October retail sales grew as consumers started holiday shopping early
Retail sales grew for the sixth month in a row in October, with sales significantly better than the same time a year ago as the economy continued to recover and consumers began their holiday shopping early, the National Retail Federation said today.

“We are encouraged by another positive retail sales number for October — the sixth consecutive positive monthly gain — as early holiday shopping provided a strong boost to the data,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Overall, retail sales were up 10.6 percent in October 2020 versus October 2019, and for the first 10 months of this year, retail sales were up 6.4 percent versus the first 10 months of 2019.” nrf.com

Philly: 6-week shutdown could mean a ‘year without Christmas’ for businesses
The City of Philadelphia imposed new business restrictions on Monday that will go into effect at the end of the week. Sectors of the local economy will be required to shut down or severely curtail operations until at least Jan. 1. The shutdown order comes at a critical time. It’s only with the holiday shopping season that many retailers begin to generate their best sales of the year. The order also puts a kibosh on Christmas parties and the peak of tourism in Philadelphia. inquirer.com

Security firm G4S settles discrimination lawsuit
Facebook’s security contractor will pay $595K in racial discrimination settlement
G4S Secure Solutions, a contractor that provides security at Facebook’s Prineville, Oregon data center, will pay $595,000 to settle allegations of racial discrimination by five employees.

The complaints allege that G4S supervisors reduced the hours of Hispanic workers, gave them unfavorable shifts, used racist and derogatory terms to describe them, and that the company’s human resources personnel did not respond to employees' complaints.

The workers will receive between $80,000 and $175,000 apiece under terms of the agreement. oregonlive.com

PayPal Inks Deal Letting U.S. Workers Get Paid Before Payday
PayPal has become one of the first major companies to pay its workers as soon as it's earned, rather than wait every two weeks. The move comes after the company looked at the compensation and spending habits of its lowest-paid workers, many of whom were living paycheck-to-paycheck and relying on expensive borrowing. PayPal also boosted salaries after the research, according to Bloomberg.

The idea of getting paid daily rather than weekly has grown in popularity in recent years, with some startups promising to make it a reality. PayPal workers say it helps them "stay ahead." bloomberg.com

Home Depot is spending $1 billion to give thousands of its workers a raise
Sitting on bumper profits and cash as consumers remodel their homes during the pandemic, Home Depot is joining a growing list of big box retailers giving its workers a raise after a busy and challenging year during the COVID-19 pandemic. The home improvement retailer said Tuesday it will invest $1 billion in what it calls ‘incremental compensation’ annually for its workers. yahoo.com

Dollar General Amps Bonus Pay as Pandemic Intensifies
Dollar General said it anticipated awarding another $50 million in bonuses to eligible front line employees during its fiscal fourth quarter - a higher payout than previously anticipated that would bring the retailer’s total “appreciation pay” to $173 million in its fiscal year. winsightgrocerybusiness.com

Only in NYC - You Gotta Watch This!
Wild video shows man blast flamethrower from atop MTA bus in Brooklyn
A hot head with a flamethrower hopped on top of a city bus in Brooklyn and torched the air above as onlookers filmed and cheered — sparking outrage at the MTA and among police unions who say the bizarre display is the latest sign of urban decay.

Videos posted to social media show an unknown man on top of an ice cream truck before leaping to the roof of the B26 bus that had stopped at the intersection. The man then fires off the flamethrower — as a crowd cheers, the videos show. As the flammable liquid from the fire gun falls onto the bus, it briefly ignites on top of the roof, the video shows. nypost.com

Lakewood, NY: City denies Walmart's request for on duty police officers and patrol cars during holiday season

Walmart experiences inventory shortages in cleaning supplies, toilet paper

Wedding apparel retailer Brideside abruptly shuts down

12 million Americans could lose unemployment aid after Christmas


Quarterly Results
Target Q3 comp's up 9.9%, digital up 155%, sales up 21.3%

Suffolk, VA: 3 women caught on camera stealing over $11,000 worth of products from Ulta Beauty
Suffolk Police are asking for the community’s help to identify 3 women caught on video stealing more than $11,000 worth of beauty supplies from an Ulta Beauty location. Police say the incident occurred Monday just after 3 p.m. at the Ulta Beauty location on University Boulevard. Security cameras at the store caught the women working with one another during the grand larceny incident. In the video, one of the women could be seen walking around the store appearing to grab several items from shelves before meeting up with the others. The other two could be seen concealing the items inside their clothing before the group left the store without paying. wric.com

Wyandotte, MI: Two shoplifters work together to steal items at CVS
Alcohol and body wash were the preferred items for two two men who shoplifted them at a Wyandotte drug store. The incidents occurred shortly after 7 a.m. Nov. 7 at CVS/pharmacy. An employee told officers the two men walked in the store at 7:07 a.m., but not together. The first man grabbed a hand basket and walked to the liquor aisle, where he grabbed bottles of Seagram’s, Tito’s and New Amsterdam. The second man placed 10 bottles of Dove body wash and three bottles of Axe body wash into a push cart. As the first man was walking toward the exit, the employee told him he needed to pay for the alcohol. “No I don’t,” he said, then walked out the store with the three bottles of liquor in the handbasket and ran. While the employee was calling 911, the second man put all the items in the cart down his pants and walked out of the store. He took off in an unknown direction. thenewsherald.com

New Haven, CT: Indictment Alleges Rhode Island Man Stole and Then Sold Luxury Car Tires and Rims
As alleged in the indictment, between May 2015 and August 2018, Farias and others stole tires and rims from numerous luxury vehicles at car dealerships in Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and Maine. The co-conspirators then sold the stolen goods to others around the U.S. justice.gov

Menomonee Falls, WI: Police seeking suspect in $400 Tool theft from Ace Hardware