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2012 Archives
Identity theft ring busted in Rancho Cucamonga, CA,
hotel room. Where 3 suspects were
arrested after finding credit card readers, fake credit
cards and identification cards, computers, printers,
small cameras, and software used to make false
identification. The group allegedly started in Northern
California and "have been working their way around,"
said San Bernardino County Sheriff's Deputy Randy Rouse.
(Source
redlandsdailyfacts.com)
Denver police are seeking public help to capture
"prolific thief" who's hitting stores all over the city
including Victoria's Secret and Macy's. A
light skinned Hispanic man in his late 20's with short
black hair and tattoos on both arms with a possible
"cauliflower" ear. Driving a green 1998 Volvo V70 wagon
with Colorado license plate 928EDH.
(Source
denverpost.com)
Woman hitting 4 Sam's Clubs just rolls 55" flat-screen
tvs out the door with the store manager's name on
post-it notes on the boxes. Hitting
Daphne, Ala, Mobile, Ala, Fort Walton Beach and
Pensacola, FL the woman strikes up a friendly
conversation at the customer service desk and says she
knows the store manager and had already paid for the
two-thousand dollar television. (Source
wkrg.com)
Excerpts from
GAO-11-675: Efforts to Combat Organized Retail
Crime
The U.S. Government Accountability Office ORC report
June 2011
Stakeholders Identified Additional Federal Actions
Intended to Deter e-Fencing and Mitigate Potential
Health and Safety Concerns but Potential Impacts Are
Unknown
Selected Product Restrictions
Given the potential health and
safety concerns related to ORC cited by three major
retail associations and three law enforcement
stakeholders, the second option for legislative
action they identified relates to the potential
restriction of selected products from online
marketplaces or other identified fencing locations,
such as flea markets. These restrictions would
likely target the most common products of concern
identified by stakeholders, including infant
formula, over-the-counter (OTC) medications, and
other applicable health and beauty products.
However, it is not currently known if the
second-hand sale of these goods has actually
resulted in a public health problem. For example, an
investigator with the U.S. Department of Agriculture
stated that although there are routinely major cases
involving the sale and redistribution of stolen
infant formula, he was not aware of specific health
impacts resulting from these products. Further, any
potential ban on the sale of specific products would
also impact the legitimate sellers conducting
business in online marketplaces or other venues.
Four of the ten law enforcement officials we
interviewed indicated that OTC medications and other
health and beauty products are commonly fenced via
swap meets and flea markets, as well as through
privately owned convenience stores and online
marketplaces. As a result, there is limited
assurance that these products were lawfully acquired
and are stored and handled according to the
manufacturer’s recommendations. Two of the four
retail associations we interviewed noted that their
members routinely work directly with manufacturers
of these products, which provides the retailers with
increased assurance that products are stored and
handled properly and that they would be informed in
a timely manner in the event of a recall. At least
one state has already passed legislation restricting
a targeted list of high-theft health and beauty
products from being sold at flea markets and similar
public venues without proof of ownership.
If additional sales restrictions for these venues
were implemented at the federal level, a range of
potential actions could be considered, including a
complete restriction on the sale of specified
products through select sales channels, or
requirements to provide additional information in
product listings in online marketplaces, such as the
manufacturing lot number and any applicable
expiration dates. Such information may provide
additional assurance to buyers and allow them to
determine if any of the products may be subject to
recall. For example, eBay has instituted a
requirement that sellers clearly list the expiration
dates for all infant formula within the product
description. Yet, lacking any identifiable public
health impacts to date, it is unclear whether or not
any such actions to restrict specified healthy and
beauty products are warranted.
(Source
gao.gov)
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