ORC Prosecution Referrals Surge CA
Gov. Newsom announces 14,000 prosecution case referrals following investment in retail crime prevention
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday announced 14,133 referrals for prosecution in the first year of the state’s organized retail theft and vertical prosecution grants.

Proposed by Newsom and distributed by the Board of State and Community Corrections from October 2023 to December 2024, the grant funding of $267 million to 55 communities has enabled cities and counties to hire more police and secure more felony charges against suspects, according to the governor's office.

According to program participants, of the 14,133 case referrals for prosecution:

• 10,932 were for organized retail theft

• 3,161 were for motor vehicle theft

• 40 were for cargo theft

Of the 1,150 people convicted of theft-related property crimes, 373 of those related to organized retail theft. Of those organized retail theft convictions, 88% were felonies.

The organized retail theft grant program is made up of two separate, competitive three-year grants: prevention and vertical prosecution. The prevention grant provided 38 law enforcement agencies with more than $242 million in funding for purchasing new equipment, launching enhanced enforcement operations, hiring new staff and establishing partnerships with the retail community.

Vertical prosecution refers to a model that allows a prosecutor to focus on a case from beginning to end.

Newsom recently announced that the state's Organized Retail Crime Task Force has been involved in more than 3,700 investigations, leading to the arrest of approximately 4,200 suspects and the recovery of over 1.3 million stolen goods valued at more than $56 million. spectrumnews1.com

   Read the governor's press release here


How Ohio is Fighting ORC & Other Crime
Ohio's FORCE Act takes aim at mail thieves with stricter penalties

Ohio's new FORCE Act targets mail theft, escalating penalties to deter porch pirates, while also aiding businesses hit by organized retail crime.

Lawmakers passed the Fight Organized Retail Crime and Empower Law Enforcement Act, also known as the "Force Act," which creates the crime of theft of mail. It is generally a fifth-degree felony, but can escalate as high as a first-degree felony depending on the value of the mail stolen and other specified circumstances, according to the bill analysis.

The FORCE Act also provides resources for a statewide real-time information sharing platform so law enforcement can communicate and take steps to be proactive or connect crimes together.

The FORCE Act was introduced in the Ohio House by State Rep. Haraz Ghanbari (R-Perrysburg). It was signed into law by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine earlier this year and officially went into effect on April 9.

"It will be a deterrent if the courts actually enforce this action,” Whitehall Deputy Chief Dan Kelso said.

The law not only helps residents from getting their mail or packages stolen, but also businesses.

The Ohio Council of Retail Merchants estimates that organized retail theft costs businesses in the state $2 billion to $3 billion annually. The crime typically involves groups stealing large amounts of merchandise from multiple stores and selling the items for profit.

To offset the losses, some retailers have little choice but to raise prices. 10tv.com


Barricading the Butcher Aisle?!
Walmart shoppers stunned to discover elaborate new anti-theft measure on meats: ‘It’s come to this’
Is this a mis-steak? A dismayed Walmart shopper has gone viral after sharing a video online depicting the store’s butcher aisle barricaded by tiny wire cages. Viewers of the video with over 1.9 million views have expressed their shock to learn the extreme lengths the grocery store goes through to protect their products.

But this isn’t a new tactic. The clip is similar to one that went viral back in 2022 — showing how long the store has clamped down on security.

Major retailers across the country began testing new measures, such as locked display cases and electronic tags, to combat rising shoplifting rates in recent years, with mostly negative reviews from both shoppers and top executives.

In 2022, stores in NYC locked even cheap meat like Spam in anti-theft cases. The top executive at Walgreens lamented the loss of sales from putting items like toothpaste behind lock and key to crack down on rampant shoplifting that has plagued pharmacy chains around the country.

“When you lock things up…you don’t sell as many of them. We’ve kind of proven that pretty conclusively,” Tim Wentworth, CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, told investors during an earnings call. yahoo.com


Oklahoma Pushes ORC Bill Forward
Bill targeting organized retail crimes moves through Oklahoma legislation
A bill that aims to designate “organized retail crime” as a formal charge is advancing through the legislature. The bill’s author says he wanted to combat what he called the threat posed by organized theft rings toward Oklahoma’s retailers and economy.

The measure expands the definition of “pattern of criminal offenses” within state law to include circumstances where individuals commit the same crime across multiple municipalities.

In addition, it would extend the work of the Organized Retail Crime Task Force through the first of June next year staffing for the task force would be provided by the Office of the Attorney General.

The bill will be discussed by the full Senate. kswo.com


Baltimore City crime: View tables, maps of citywide, neighborhood data

Sonoma Police report shows decrease in calls for service
 

33% Increase in Internet Crime Losses
FBI Releases Annual Internet Crime Report
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has released its latest annual report. The 2024 Internet Crime Report combines information from 859,532 complaints of suspected internet crime and details reported losses exceeding $16 billion—a 33% increase in losses from 2023.

The top three cyber crimes, by number of complaints reported by victims in 2024, were phishing/spoofing, extortion, and personal data breaches. Victims of investment fraud, specifically those involving cryptocurrency, reported the most losses—totaling over $6.5 billion.

According to the 2024 report, the most complaints were received from California, Texas, and Florida. As a group, people over the age of 60 suffered the most losses at nearly $5 billion and submitted the greatest number of complaints.

“Reporting is one of the first and most important steps in fighting crime so law enforcement can use this information to combat a variety of frauds and scams,” said FBI Director, Kash Patel. “The IC3, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, is only as successful as the reports it receives; that’s why it’s imperative that the public immediately report suspected cyber-enabled criminal activity to the FBI.”

To promote public awareness, the IC3 produces an annual report to aggregate and highlight the data provided by the general public. The quality of the data is a direct reflection of the information the public provides through the IC3 website. The IC3 standardizes the data by categorizing each complaint and analyzes the data to identify and forecast trends in internet crime. The annual report helps the FBI develop effective relationships with industry partners and share information for investigative and intelligence purposes for law enforcement and public awareness.

The FBI recommends that everyone frequently review consumer and industry alerts published by the IC3. If you or your business are a victim of an internet crime, immediately notify all financial institutions involved in the relevant transactions, submit a complaint to www.ic3.gov, contact your nearest FBI field office, and contact local law enforcement. fbi.gov


Credential Theft Rising
Financial gain still drives majority of cyber threat activity

Stolen credentials are becoming a more prevalent form of initial access, a report from Mandiant shows.

Threat actors motivated by financial gain continue to rise in prominence, representing 55% of all cyber actors during 2024, according to a report by Mandiant. The figures show a steady increase from 52% in 2023 and 48% in 2022.

Exploits remained the most common initial access vector for the fifth consecutive year, representing 33% of exploits overall, according to the Mandiant M-Trends 2025 report. However, stolen credentials become the second most common initial access point for the first time, indicating a rising trend.

Cyber threat groups are increasingly targeting unsecured data repositories as poor security hygiene continues to leave organizations at risk.

The rise in credential theft was among the most surprising developments in the report, as underground criminals have become increasingly focused on harvesting and abusing user credentials.

Mandiant researchers said that infostealers have been a concern for many years and there has recently been a resurgence in the use of such tools.  cybersecuritydive.com


Despite AI, Cybersecurity Status Quo is 'Unchanged'
AI impact on data breach outcomes remains ‘limited’: Verizon

While AI-generated text in malicious emails has doubled, the rate of successful phishing breaches is stable.

Despite fears, the recent waves of AI uptake have yet to require a cybersecurity overhaul, according to Verizon’s 18th edition of its Data Breach Investigations Report published Wednesday.

AI-generated text in malicious emails has doubled in the past year, but the rate of successful phishing breaches stayed stable, the report found after analyzing more than 22,000 security incidents.

“While we’ve observed gradual adoption of these technologies, their impact on breach outcomes remains limited,” Chris Novak, VP of Verizon Global Cybersecurity Solutions, said in an email. “We are actively tracking AI developments but, currently, no breakthroughs necessitate major shifts in defensive strategies.”

Cybersecurity risks are a top concern for business leaders globally, especially as ongoing AI additions expand the attack surface and make techniques like phishing more accessible for novice bad actors.

For now, however, the cybersecurity status quo remains relatively unchanged, but that could shift. cybersecuritydive.com


State Department reorganization could imperil cyber diplomacy

Los Angeles, CA: Nearly $4M in stolen goods recovered in major LAPD cargo theft bust; 2 arrests made
Nearly $4 million in stolen goods was recovered in a major cargo theft bust in Los Angeles, police said. The LAPD said its Commercial Crimes Division - Cargo Theft Unit arrested two South American theft group members allegedly involved in the theft, movement and sale of stolen cargo the L.A. area. Oscar David Borrero-Manchola, 41, and Yonaiker Rafael Martinez-Ramos, 25, were taken into custody Tuesday after various search warrants at storage unit facilities in the San Fernando Valley in California, according to police. Detectives said they recovered over $1.2 million worth of stolen tequila, speakers, coffee, clothing, shoes, body wash and pet food. Authorities also found a stolen shipment of bitcoin mining computers worth $2.7 million at LAX as a shipment was about to be loaded onto a plane to Hong Kong.  abc7chicago.com


Perris, CA: 4 RivCo Shoplifters Caught With Stolen Goods Amid Retail Theft Opps
Four alleged shoplifters are behind bars after a Tuesday Burglary Robbery suppression operation, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department shared. This week, officers focused on a retail shopping center located in the 3100 block of Case Road in Perris, according to the department. Within that retail outlet are Perris' high-traffic stores, including Home Depot, WinCo Foods, Buddiez Smoke and Vape, and others.  patch.com


Houston, TX: 7 teen suspects wanted in north Houston smoke shop robbery; threw fire extinguisher at employee

Berry Hill, TN: Man arrested after $1,200 worth of products stolen from Berry Hill vape shop

UK: London, England: South London streets where 100-strong police raided shops 'selling stolen goods at discount prices'