Utah Organized Retail Crime Conference yesterday  Businesses and law enforcement are working together to fight retail crime in Utah. The Utah organized retail crime association held its annual conference Wednesday. Comprised of 800 members, the group is comprised of police, security agencies and private businesses. The association has a website where retailers post about crimes at their businesses to help police identify and arrest suspects.  kutv.com


Asian Fraud Gang - Casper, WY stores being targeted with fraudulent credit cards buying gift cards - Asian males and Asian male & female  In one case, about $20,000 was obtained from Casper Wal-Mart and in another more than $10,000 from Target in about 10 minutes. They are well dressed in what appear to be designer clothing and make no attempt to hide their faces. They swipe fake credit cards with applied stolen data from unsuspecting victims and then place the amounts on in-store debit or gift cards. Recently, the same tactics have been used at Wal-Mart, Target, Macy's, and Game Stop all by Asian suspects. The same suspects will then utilize I-25 and then hit Douglas and Cheyenne within 3-4 hours. Over multiple days, the same suspects are never seen on video, repeating the tactics. Within 24 hours the fraudulent gift cards are used by other Asian suspects (usually females) in California, New York, and Tennessee. One suspect, in Cali. using fraudulently obtained gift cards on her Sam's Club account has billed more than $500,000 this year alone. Obviously this is a professional and well organized group and are seeking the stores assistance in identifying these folks prior to the victim getting their bank statement. These Asian customers will be swiping between five to 20 different credit cards in less than three minutes. In several surveillance videos store employees stand and watch the suspects swipe more than 10 different credit cards and apply $1000 each swipe to a gift card. The suspects have appeared to speak no or little English which may be a gimmick. oilcitywyo.com

Three men ORC ring buying iPads, Xboxes & gift cards with fake cards in Louisiana - Multi-state ring? - Selling them in Florida  Three men from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, are accused of using phony credit cards to buy iPads, Xboxes and gift cards in Louisiana with plans to sell them at half-price in Florida, Slidell police said. More arrests are likely and investigators are looking into whether the cards also were used in Mississippi and Alabama, Police Sgt. Daniel Seuzeneau said Wednesday. He said a Wal-Mart worker alerted an off-duty police officer working as a store guard on April 22 because the men were using several credit cards, and some were being rejected. He said Brad Flowers, 24, Tacaveon Carson, 22, and Marquis Lloyd-Dawson, 21, were booked on charges of identity theft, theft by fraud over $1,000, access device fraud, bank fraud, forgery, monetary instrument abuse, computer fraud, and money laundering. ap.org

Female fraudster hits Home Depots across the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) gets busted over $100,000  Halton police was called to the Home Depot in Burlington on Tuesday (April 28) where investigators with the Home Depot told the officers they had been monitoring similar alleged fraudulent activity across the GTA over the past several months. The alleged offences all occurred since last Christmas at numerous Home Depots across the GTA including Oakville, Milton, London, Richmond Hill and Toronto. Once she had a store credit card she would buy items from the store, say police. Underwood said Home Depot's fraud investigators determined there was a pattern to the purchases at their stores. They allege the same person was seen in surveillance video making the credit card purchases in question, but under a different name each time. An internal advisory was sent to Home Depot employees with an image of a suspect. Underwood said a worker at the Burlington store on Tuesday recognized a customer from the internal memo and police were called. Nicole Rouse, 35, of Toronto is charged with 11 counts of fraud over $5,000, 11 counts of personation, one count of possession of a counterfeit mark (driver's licence) and one count of breach of probation. insidehalton.com

Wilkes-Barre, PA., Victoria's Secret getting hit by two females - bra bandits - four times $7,800  This video depicts the most recent of four thefts that occurred in the same store at the Wyoming Valley Mall since early February. In total, the store has lost upwards of 170 bras, worth nearly $7,800. All but one of the thefts occurred during weekdays and in the early afternoon, when the mall is expected to be quieter and there may be fewer employees working in the stores. thetimes-tribune.com

Two men being sought - stealing $1,700 in merchandise & attacking Abercrombie employee who tried to stop them in Pleasanton - Stoneridge Mall  A store employee told police that she watched two men take items from the store and that when she confronted them, one pulled out a can of pepper spray to intimidate her, Stocking said. Seconds later, the other man punched the employee in the face, and the two men ran out of the store with more than $1,700 in merchandise, he said. The employee was not seriously injured.  mercurynews.com

Six indicted in Albuquerque, NM Pharmacy crime wave; hitting Smith's, CVS and Walgreens  It has been open season on Albuquerque-area pharmacies for the past year and a half, with armed robbers in some cases jumping over the counters to get their hands on prescription painkillers - terrorizing staff and endangering customers. In all, authorities say there have been 26 pharmacy robberies since the start of 2014, netting 68,000 pills worth $1.4 million. On Wednesday, federal authorities and local law enforcement officials announced a major break in their efforts to take down what they describe as a criminal network behind the pharmacy crime wave. They said six people suspected of being part of that network have been indicted on charges tied to four of those crimes. U.S. Attorney Damon Martinez said the 26 robberies contrasted with five in 2013, seven in 2012 and just one in 2011. Martinez also said the robberies are becoming more violent. abqjournal.com

Chicago woman arrested, charged with stealing nine iPhones
A Chicago woman is facing felony theft charges for stealing nine iPhone 6 cell phones from a local store. Cassandra Hankerson, 26, went to T-Mobile on April 25, where she told employees she had authorization by a construction company to purchase 10 cell phones. The company sold her nine phones, saying they didn't have a 10th in stock, charging the construction company's account with the $5,850 purchase. The store's employees checked with the construction company and found that Hankerson is not authorized to make the purchase. The employee then called Hankerson on Tuesday and told her the 10th cell phone was ready. The employee also called police. Police put the store under surveillance and eventually pulled a car containing Hankerson and a Chicago man over. Inside the car were two additional iPhones, which were traced back to being purchased from a Chicago store and also charged to the construction company's account. Hankerson allegedly told police the nine iPhones she took from the Portage store on April 25 were given to a "friend of a friend's friend" who she didn't know. nwitimes.com

Bristol, CT man charged with stealing from Norwalk Home Depot
Police say a Bristol man has been charged with a string of alleged larcenies from Home Depot stores in Norwalk and Bridgeport. Joshua Hogberg, 26, of 210 Falls Brook Road, was charged with two counts of fourth-degree larceny and second-degree failure to appear. According to a police report, a loss prevention employee at Home Depot reported in March that a suspect allegedly stole three power tools from the store valued at more than $1,300. Police say Bridgeport police had contacted them in regards to a similar theft at a Home Depot, which in turn prompted the Norwalk Detective Bureau to take over the case. thehour.com

2 Prescott Valley, AZ men facing charges of Organized Retail Theft and Felony Eluding  Two men are facing numerous felony charges after allegedly shoplifting from a Prescott Valley smoke shop and trying to elude police officers. Police were called to the X-Hale smoke shop shortly before 9:30 a.m. Sunday for a report of a theft. While responding, officers were notified that the suspects, described as two males and one female, fled. Police said the suspects refused to comply with officers' attempts to stop the vehicle and were seen throwing items out of the windows. According to police, the items included 14 grams of heroin and miscellaneous pills. azfamily.com

Trio robs Gander Mountain in Fayetteville; Store Manager assaulted
Fayetteville police need the public's help identifying three people who robbed the Gander Mountain and attacked the store manager. Officers said it happened on Monday at the store located on Skibo Road. Investigators said two men and a woman stole several items from the store and fled to the parking lot. A manager followed the suspects to the parking lot to confront them. One of the male suspects sprayed the manager in the face with pepper spray. The trio escaped in a gold Chevrolet Suburban. Detectives have released surveillance footage from the crime and need the public's help identifying the suspects. abc11.com



Osage Beach, MO Police seek Serial Shoplifters hitting Walmart and Target  Police seek help identifying two women who make a habit of shoplifting at two stores. Police say the women have stolen items multiple times from the Target and Walmart stores since last December. Police say the women enter the stores with empty purses and leave with their purses full of stolen clothing items. myinforms.com



Wilkes-Barre, PA Police seeking Crest White Stripes thief hitting Kmart  Police are searching for a man who reportedly stole merchandise worth about $125 from the Kmart in the Blackman Plaza on Friday afternoon. Store security reported to police that a man took two boxes of Crest White Strips and a bottle of cologne, valued at $124.97. The man threw the merchandise at a security officer who approached him and fled into the parking lot, where he was picked up in a gold sedan. citizensvoice.com