'Make Shopping Safe Again'
The Time To Make Retail Shopping Safe Again Is Now
For tens of millions of Americans, shopping or filling a prescription at their local pharmacy has changed dramatically this decade. Organized retail crime and opportunistic shoplifting have reached unprecedented levels, forcing retailers to adopt measures like locking up products or hiring private security. While intended to deter theft, these practices create barriers for customers and degrade the shopping experience. The result: reduced sales, limited access to essential goods, and overburdened employees.

In response, affected retailers have instituted theft prevention measures like locking up products, body cameras, and private security. The National Retail Federation reported that 98 percent of small retail business owners have adopted anti-theft measures, with the most common being price increases and the second security cameras. Aisles full of locked plexiglass cases have become common at many CVS and Walgreens stores, where consumers must wait for an employee to unlock them. These remedies deter sales, degrade customer experiences, and fail to tackle the root cause of retail crime.

Weak laws on retail crime embolden organized theft networks, disrupt trust and safety, and damage local economies. This increase of retail crime is concentrated in large cities controlled by progressives with lenient prosecutorial policies, where prosecutors have neglected their duty to hold criminals accountable and the local population has little confidence in the police. In some of our largest cities, liberal prosecutors have used their prosecutorial discretion to decline charging shoplifters and organized retail crime participants.

What has followed are retail store closures in high-crime and low-population areas, creating retail and pharmacy deserts disproportionately impacting low-income and minority communities. In these communities, pharmacies are often the first point of care for individuals managing chronic illnesses, seeking vaccinations, or accessing everyday health needs. As pharmacies and retailers vanish, public safety erodes, local economies weaken, and public health systems strain under the pressure.

Addressing this issue requires a coordinated effort to empower law enforcement, enforce stricter penalties, implement harsher policies, support retailers in securing operations, and foster collaboration between the public and private sectors.

Law and order are the foundation of a thriving society. The surge in retail theft is a challenge for businesses, and a serious threat to public safety and community stability. Stronger protections for pharmacies and other retailers, combined with firm accountability and intensified law enforcement, are required to safeguard communities, support public health, and ensure the success of local businesses. For the millions of Americans who depend on these vital institutions, the time for decisive action is now. realclearmarkets.com


Counterfeits Flooding the Sports World & Funding Violent Crime
Inside the underground world of fake football shirts

One area is so flooded with shops selling fakes that it's known as 'Counterfeit Street'

The Athletic surveyed nearly 300 fans across all 20 Premier League teams, in person and via social media, this season and 52 per cent admitted to knowingly purchasing one. Of those, more than 80 per cent said they would do it again. Why? Because the real thing costs so much more money.

A nine-month investigation by The Athletic has taken us inside the fake football shirt industry; from a police raid in north London to Malta, where officials try to intercept large shipments from Asia, and also online, where apparently counterfeit goods are sold in plain sight.

"Buying that fake is far from a victimless crime," says Dr Ulrika Bonnier, an international expert on corruption, illicit trade and human trafficking.

"Wearing that product, you were actually poisoning yourself," says Steve Lamar, president and CEO of the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA). "Dupes (as they're known in the U.S.) are not cool. You're buying product-safety violations and pollution of the environment. You can't be a good steward of the economy, environment and planet and wear counterfeits. Those are contradictory ideas."

The Premier League told The Athletic it takes the issue "extremely seriously" to try to protect supporters from fakes. The league's anti-counterfeiting programme helped seize 400,000 fakes worth £28milllion last season and removed 180,000 online listings worth another £4m.

North of Manchester United's Old Trafford and neighbours City's Etihad Stadium is Cheetham Hill, a district which once had the unfortunate moniker of counterfeit capital of Europe. The Athletic toured the area with Chief Inspector Andrew Torkington of Greater Manchester Police in October, starting on Bury New Road, which was known as 'Counterfeit Street'.

He estimates shops were making "£30,000 to £40,000 per week in cash" and adds: "That money was going back into serious and violent crime." nytimes.com


Gift Card Fraud Linked to Organized Crime
The gift card industry is booming - and so is related fraud and organized crime

Gift card fraud in Canada and U.S. linked to organized crime in China, U.S. officials say

The gift card industry in Canada is booming and is expected to balloon from about $11 billion in 2023 to nearly $14 billion by 2028, according to a 2024 report by Research and Markets. But where there's big business, there's also a big opportunity for theft, warns one expert, noting that consumers need to be aware of possible scams.

Experts say there are numerous ways fraudsters can steal gift card balances before the intended recipients can use them. The cards are often displayed in kiosks on sales floors, allowing scammers to steal them and copy their barcode numbers and PINs or security codes before returning the tampered cards to the store.

The thieves then wait for the cards to be purchased and loaded with money by unsuspecting customers before they use the stolen codes and pins to drain the funds from the cards.

Jeffrey Horncastle, with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), says carefully inspecting gift cards is important because some fraudsters surreptitiously cover a card's real barcode with a secondary one, which funnels the money elsewhere when the card is loaded.

According to the Retail Council of Canada (RCC) in 2021, $3.8 million in losses were reported due to gift card fraud, although some experts say the actual figure could be much higher because many do not report it.

Law enforcement officials in the United States have linked some of their country's gift card fraud - and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars - to Chinese criminal groups. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched a task force called Project Red Hook to bring together law enforcement agencies and retailers to investigate and dismantle these networks.

HSI officials say some of that money then goes to funding illicit activity like fentanyl production and smuggling, illegal immigration and human trafficking. cbc.ca


Is Trump's 2nd Presidency the Final Nail in Police Reform's Coffin?
Trump DOJ's Shift Threatens To Upend Police Reform
Legal experts, civil rights attorneys, and former law enforcement officials disagree on the effectiveness of consent decrees, with some saying they have helped reduce excessive force and racial profiling, and others arguing they are costly and slow-moving.

This debate over consent decrees is at the heart of a dramatic policy change. As the Trump administration has made clear through a pair of January memos that it is abandoning consent decrees altogether, experts say a key tool for holding law enforcement accountable will now be missing, and some say the responsibility will shift to the states and civil rights plaintiffs. law360.com
 

Video: Is shoplifting becoming a threat to the retail industry? Retailers have long had to deal with petty theft, but the rise of organised crime means shoplifting may now be costing the retail industry billions. The FT's Laura Onita explores just how big a problem this might be, the initiatives being implemented to combat the issue and the effect it may have on both retailers and consumers.  ft.com

1 In 15 Americans Have Survived A Mass Shooting, Survey Says

San Mateo County Sheriff's Office launches new crime data portal
 

Did Trump's Tariffs Push Hudson's Bay into Bankruptcy?
Hudson's Bay Co. cites Trump tariffs in bankruptcy filing

The department store company, which also runs Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks Off 5th stores in Canada, will exit the process with a smaller footprint.

Hudson's Bay Co., a Canadian department store whose history stretches to the fur trading days of the 17th century, filed for the equivalent of bankruptcy protection Friday. The Trump administration's tariff policy and a tough post-pandemic consumer environment have contributed to its struggles, the company said.

The retailer, which operates 80 Hudson's Bay, three Saks Fifth Avenue and 13 Saks Off 5th stores in Canada, faces "an urgent liquidity crisis," with liabilities above the threshold for protection, according to filings with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. It's unable to pay suppliers and "will be unable to fund payroll within a matter of days." About 9,400 people work at the three banners, per court filings.

Hudson's Bay Co. will emerge from this process a smaller retailer. The company told the court last week that its DIP financing will go toward "conducting an orderly liquidation of certain retail stores" and restructuring the business to operate "a core number of locations."

In a press release Friday, Hudson's Bay said the Canadian Saks Fifth Avenue and Canadian Saks Off 5th stores will continue to operate. retaildive.com


The Changing Political, Regulatory & Economic Climates
EHS and ESG: Navigating the Changing Landscape in 2025

EHS professionals own numerous ESG-linked issues, and will navigate volatile political, policy and economic impacts in 2025.

The new federal administration is reversing positions on certain ESG (environmental, social and governance) initiatives, including DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) and federal leadership of the transition to renewable energy. With the political, regulatory and economic climates in flux, it's more crucial than ever for EHS professionals to be aware of changing dynamics and potential impacts on compliance.

This article clarifies the evolving EHS and ESG interface, offering insights on how EHS professionals can proactively manage risks and seize opportunities in the face of uncertainty. First, a quick reference guide shows the relationship between traditional EHS functions and an ever-growing list of management and disclosure topics that fall under the broad umbrella of ESG or corporate sustainability. ehstoday.com


Retail Boycotts Continue
A week of the Target boycott in response to DEI rollbacks
For the past week, Target has been at the center of a recent boycott started by a Baptist church near Atlanta. Since then, people all across the country are speaking out either in support of the boycott, or in opposition.

In January, Target announced it would be scaling back on its diversity, equity and inclusion programs and initiatives. Now, some people have stopped shopping at the retail store. Others are showing their support agreeing that DEI should go.

Spillman says she's against the Target boycott, adding that since she's the mother of biracial children, she wants them to qualify for a job based solely on their skills. Meanwhile, experts say time will tell on how this boycott will impact Target.  wtvq.com


Ross Stores opens 19 new stores in 14 states

In the battle of Saks vs. customers, vendors and Dallas - Nordstrom wins
 

Did a Massive Cyberattack Hit Elon Musk's X?
Elon Musk blames 'massive cyberattack' as X crashes for thousands
Thousands of social media users reported outages on Elon Musk's X throughout the day on Monday, which the billionaire attributed to a "massive cyberattack." More than 40,000 users reported a crash on the app by 10 a.m., after reports had started pouring in at 6 a.m., according to DownDetector.com.

The complaints died down for an hour or so, but jumped again Monday afternoon, when more than 25,000 users said their app was down, according to the crash-tracking site. "There was (still is) a massive cyberattack against X," Musk wrote in a post on the social media platform.

"We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved," he continued, adding that X was tracing the source. The app continuously buffered as it tried to load news and memes, and displayed an error message: "Posts aren't loading right now."

"Being under attack is run of the mill for all brands on the Internet," Laurence Minsky, professor at Columbia College Chicago's school of business, told The Post, "but going down repeatedly in one day is unusual."

Sites are under attack all the time - but larger, more sophisticated firms like X are usually prepared for them. The length and ongoing nature of the alleged cyberattack is unusual, Minsky said. nypost.com


Mass Layoffs Impacting Cyber Workers
Former NSA cyber director warns drastic job cuts threaten national security

Rob Joyce told lawmakers mass layoffs of federal workers will hurt the ability of the U.S. to combat malicious cyber activity from China and other adversaries.

A retired top cybersecurity official from the National Security Agency warned a key House panel that widespread cuts to federal probationary workers could severely harm the U.S.'s ability to counter threats from China and other cyber adversaries.

"I want to raise my grave concerns that the aggressive threats to cut U.S. government probationary employees will have a devastating effect on the cybersecurity and our national security," Rob Joyce, former director of cybersecurity at the NSA, said in testimony Wednesday before the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

Joyce warned that even if certain positions are not formally eliminated, the uncertainty created by such a work environment will lead to critical talent leaving federal agencies for the private sector. cybersecuritydive.com
 

How to safely dispose of old tech without leaving a security risk
Every year, millions of old tech are thrown away due to age, malfunctions, or to make way for new ones, which creates security risks related to the data on these devices.

Businesses and individuals keep sensitive information computers, USB drives, and smartphones, so improper disposal of these devices can result in:

- Business data leaks (customer records, confidential documents)
- Unauthorized access to corporate networks (if a device was used for work)
- Exploitation of stored login credentials for further cyberattacks

In recent years, some studies have highlighted the risks of improperly disposing of old technology. One found that a great deal of used HDDs sold on eBay still contain important data. In one instance, several Department of Defense units failed to properly sanitize hard drives, leaving private data, including Social Security numbers of military personnel, before shipping the IT equipment to other organizations. helpnetsecurity.com


Who's in your digital house? The truth about third-party access

Critical PHP vulnerability under widespread cyberattack