Jeff Teator (LPC , CFI) promoted to Senior Regional Loss Prevention Manager for URBN Inc.
(URBN Inc. owes Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, Vetri, Terrain and BHLDN brands.) Jeff started his LP career in 1982 in the food/drug field and later transitioned into specialty retail. He re-joined URBN in 2011 and will oversee all URBN company investigations including his assignment of all NYC store locations. Jeff previously was Regional Director at Aeropostale and has worked at several other brands throughout his LP career. Congratulations Jeff!  

H-E-B uses K-9 dogs to increase safety & security in parking lots
Several H-E-B stores are taking a big step to improve safety and security by placing K-9 security teams at locations across San Antonio.

"There have been a lot of problems and issues in the parking lots, even with police patrol," said Littwitz. "There have been break-ins, and it's a concern."

The store is partnering with Seal Security, a company based in Houston, to bring K-9 units to seven H-E-B's across the city.

Julie Bedingfield with H-E-B public affairs said the response from customers has been positive. "I think H-E-B's goal is to provide a safe experience, and I think our customers realize that," said Bedingfield.

The patrol officer and K-9 are on duty to stop the crime before it happens, but they also search the parking lots for any broken windows, signs of forced entries, or anyone trying to commit any crime.

Bedingfield said the K-9s are meant to be visual crime deterrents, and she said the use of these dogs are not in response to a particular uptick in crime.

"It's just something new that we saw. It's not a reactive measure at all. It's a proactive measure," she said. khou.com
 
Ahold Consolidating Stop & Shop Divisions
Outsourcing Shared Services - Internally
Ahold USA said Monday that it will consolidate its Stop & Shop New York Metro and Stop & Shop New England divisions "'into one brand organization."' Offices will be in Quincy, Massachusetts. This follows the merger of Ahold and Delhaize Group in July 2016, which created the largest grocery retailer group on the U.S. East Coast.

As part of this strategy, Ahold USA and Delhaize America in December announced the creation of Retail Business Services LLC that will leverage its scale to drive synergies and best practices as well as provide industry-leading expertise, insights and analytics to the Ahold USA brands and Delhaize America brands to support their respective strategies, according to the company. Services provided by Retail Business Services, in addition to commercial support, will include financial services, not-for-resale procurement, legal services, information technology, and people systems and services.

Editor's Note: A new approach to a shared services model with creating Retail Business Services. One that can scale quickly either way and isn't tied to the individual brands. In essence creating an outsource model internally. It also allows them to completely eliminate entire brands support structures, reduce operating and payroll costs, drive services based on individual brand ability to afford, and charge variable rates depending on the brand. Then build a less expensive model to service all of them.  theshelbyreport.com

Costco Workers Seek Rehearing In 9th Circ. Decertification - Unpaid Security Lockdown Procedure
Costco workers on Friday asked the Ninth Circuit to reconsider decertifying a class in an unpaid, off-the-clock overtime action. The underlying suit filed in 2009 accused Costco of requiring its hourly workers to remain locked inside store warehouses after clocking out while supervisors emptied cash registers and performed closing activities.

Plaintiffs pointed to a Costco manual distributed by the company's corporate office to all U.S. warehouses, which allegedly said no employees should be allowed to exit the building while register tills are collected and secured in store vaults. law360.com

TJX stands to gain big-time from planned Macy's, Kmart closures
A new study by Foursquare suggests that the retail chains T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stand to gain the most from the planned closures of Kmart and Macy's stores this year.

"'T.J. Maxx saw a 47 percent gain in its market share following the closures (of nearby Kmart stores) and Walmart had an 8 percent gain."' "'These two brands walked away from the Kmart closures in the strongest position to further conquest Kmart shoppers."

Likewise, Marshall's seemed to gain foot traffic after Macy's (NYSE: M) stores shuttered. "'In the Macy's post-closures study, Marshalls' market share was up 29 percent relative to its starting point, Kohl's market share was up by 20 percent and J.C. Penney's market share was up by 10 percent,"' she wrote.  bizjournals.com

Belk appears to drop Ivanka Trump brand from website
The move comes days after Nordstrom, citing declining sales, announced that it would phase out Trump's brand. On Friday, Neiman Marcus removed its Ivanka Trump line. Shoes.com has also removed her brand. Belk's removal of Trump's products this past weekend also comes amid growing pressure from an activist campaign called #GrabYourWallet, the retail site Racked first reported.  charlotteobserver.com

RLPSA CONNECT Comes to Los Angeles on Feb. 21
Location - Dave & Busters, 6081 Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90045

Attend RLPSA CONNECT on Tuesday, February 21, 2017 in sunny Los Angeles, California. RLPSA CONNECT is a one-day power workshop for LP, Security & Safety teams focused on crime activity against Quick Service Restaurants (QSR), casual dining restaurants and other food service providers.

The workshop is designed to not only connect restaurant security practitioners and local law enforcement professionals, but is also designed to develop awareness on trending issues and foster open discussion and solutions among the attendees. This workshop will have an emphasis on the greater Los Angeles area. Certified Forensic Interviewers (CFI) will receive CEU's toward re-certification.

Register today by emailing your name, title, company and email address to Executive Director, Amber Bradley, at amber.bradley@rlpsa.com.

See the full program schedule here.

Macy's is under pressure to drop Ivanka Trump

Keeping Our Food Safe is No Easy Feat - Follow Your Salad Here

January Comp's
Gap Inc. comp's up 1%, sales up 2%
  Gap comp's up 3%
  Banana Republic comp's down 4%
  Old Navy comp's up 2%
 
 
Quarterly Same Store Sales Results
Gap Inc. Q4 comp's up 2%, sales up 1%
  Gap comp's up flat
   Banana Republic comp's down 4%
   Old Navy comp's up 5%
Michael Kors Q3 comp's down 6.4%, revenue down 3.2%

Ransomware Skyrockets 167X in One Year
The top threat of 2016, ransomware, increased by more than 167 times year-over-year-from 4 million attack attempts in 2015 to a whopping 638 million.

There are a few reasons for this: For one, the rise of ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) made the code significantly easier to obtain and deploy. The unprecedented growth also was likely driven by easier access in the underground market, the low cost of conducting a ransomware attack, the ease of distributing it and the low risk of being caught or punished. infosecurity-magazine.com

Talking Cybersecurity From A Risk Management Point of View
Today's CISOs are increasingly reporting to the chief risk officer (CRO) as cybersecurity has transformed into a risk management issue, viewed alongside, if not above, other operational risks to the business.

The CISO profession started in the IT department when cybersecurity was emerging as a core competency. CISOs were mainly called IT security professionals. Over time, as more high profile data breaches came to surface, CISOs increasingly interacted with other C-level executives who were outside of technology such as chief privacy officers and chief legal officers. The cybersecurity ecosystem transformed, going from a primarily technical to a risk management discipline.

Our role as CSOs, which essentially carries the same responsibilities as CROs, is to enable strategic objectives and risk posture as approved by the board of directors. When a CSO signs off on a project, it's not about the technology; it's about what the project will do for the business. CSOs manage all security and risk functions for the company, which oftentimes blend together, to achieve the risk posture established by the board. darkreading.com
 
Friends or enemies? Security vendors tiptoe towards collaboration
Vendors take baby steps toward working together for the greater good
There are hundreds of security vendors across the security stack. You have providers for cloud, email, network and endpoint security, as well as threat, malware and DDoS protection, among phishing and whaling protection, insider threat detection and a whole lot more.

The trouble is, a huge number of these solutions don't 'play' well with one another, with this often making life difficult for security teams adopting these technologies. At the same time, these same teams are expected to keep up with an ever-changing landscape and criminals who innovate faster than most Fortune 500 companies.

"Simply put, the threats of today are larger than any one vendor, meaning that the isolation of security technology must become a thing of the past."'

Security professionals, however, believe that vendors are largely moving in the right direction with collaboration, primarily because it is the 'right thing to do'.

"'At a technical level, this is seen where many vendors have opened up their platforms with APIs to allow transfer of data. On the research side, many vendors have collaborated to investigate, identify, and even disrupt threat actors.

There have been unprecedented levels of collaboration,"' said Samani, pointing to US law enforcement working groups and Europe's European Cybercrime Center (EC3), which have worked with private sector firms to launch operations again criminal groups.

"'It's certainly moving in that direction whereby we're seeing vertical alignment, product interoperability, and better collaboration [between] the public and private sector."' csoonline.com
 
62% of security pros don't know where their sensitive data is
One of the key findings of the Forrester survey of 150 data security professionals in the U.S. and Canada is that while 76% of respondents claim a mature security strategy, the vast majority report facing technical challenges (93%) and organizational challenges (90%) with data security. And, Forrester says, they "'are focused on threats rather than their data, and do not have a good handle on understanding and controlling sensitive data."'

For example, just 31 percent of respondents say they classify corporate data in the cloud based on its sensitivity.

Only forty-five percent of respondents said they audit all use of employee data and analyze it for abuse, compared to 36% for customer data and 39% for sensitive structured data. csoonline.com

Two Arrested For Pre-Inauguration CCTV Camera Hack On Washington, DC
Britain's National Crime Agency has arrested two people in relation to the ransomware attack on police surveillance cameras in Washington DC, reports The Washington Post. The two were identified by the British media as a British man and Swedish woman. Both are currently out on bail while officials continue to investigate the hack.

The attack came through ransomware and targeted DC's surveillance camera system between Jan. 12 and Jan. 15. As a result, 123 of 187 network video recorders were rendered non-functional. darkreading.com

Platt Retail Institute Finds RFID-Based Inventory Accuracy, Sales and Satisfaction Gains at Macy's - Part 5
Finally, case four examined the accuracy of inventory in back-room to store-front replenishment. Macy's has reported to researchers that 13 to 20 percent of its merchandise is kept in store stock-rooms. Of that product, prior to the RFID system's implementation, 5.5 percent of merchandise that should be on the sales floor was not. The study further found a strong correlation between sales and units brought to the store front for customers to view. Not surprisingly, the research determined that products not sold during the year, once picked from the back-room and put on display, sell at a higher rate than those not displayed. rfidjournal.com

Sekura's new Global Sales VP returns to the States

Carina Lewis, award-winning sales specialist in the field of retail security, joined the UK HQ of Sekura Global in July 2016. Now she is returning to the US, where she previously worked for 15 years, to head up the US Team and coordinate closely with the European Sales Operations of this growing security solutions provider.

"I'm very excited to be part of Sekura's global expansion." said Carina, who has been spearheading Sekura Global's sales in the UK.

"My focus is to expand Sekura's presence, particularly in the US where we are already working with major retailers, and I'm so looking forward to reconnecting with my business partners in the States!"

Carina's pedigree speaks for itself: with almost 25 years working with some of the biggest Loss Prevention providers in the business, Carina already has a wealth of experience delivering great customer-focused service to major retailers around the world.

"I was drawn to Sekura's total commitment to improving retail Loss Prevention by providing high quality time and money saving solutions; particularly the patented Self-Retracting Box Grip, and the Sekura-exclusive Eyewear Tag." Carina said.

"We are delighted to have Carina on board." said Russell Napthine, Director of Sales & Marketing for Sekura Global. "Carina's extensive experience in the LP industry and her excellent reputation has ensured that she is already making a major impact within our business.

"Sekura's consultative approach to solving our customers' Loss Prevention and Supply Chain issues is a great fit for Carina. With Carina's enthusiastic and straightforward approach to her customer partnerships, she is already proving to be a key member of the Sekura team."

You can visit Sekura Global at booth 466 at RILA, New Orleans, and at booth 1301 at NRF Protect in Washington DC.

Find out more about Sekura Global and their great range of innovative retail security solutions at www.sekura-global.com.

About Sekura Global

● Retail Security & Loss Prevention Division of Clipper Retail Ltd.
● Clipper Retail was founded in 1977, supplying retail security products to businesses around the world, before going on to establish the Sekura Global brand
● Sekura Global delivers innovative security solutions in the fields of Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
● Sekura Global works closely with some of the world's biggest retailers to develop market-leading security solutions, helping businesses minimise shrinkage and prevent loss wherever possible

Solution Providers: Have a video or commercial you want to publish? Contact us

How Amazon is Preparing to Take Over Even More of Retail
If you think e-commerce has already changed retail, think again. The party is only getting started, say analysts at Cowen & Co. The firm sees e-commerce sales growing even faster in 2017 than they did last year. And by 2022, Cowen thinks e-commerce could comprise 14% of all retail sales, up from an estimated 9% this year.

Blackledge said that the U.S. remains "'over-retailed,"' despite a wave of brick-and-mortar closures. There are roughly 48 retail square feet per person in the U.S., according to Blackledge, versus 22 square feet per person in the U.K. and 13 in Canada.

He expects more retailers to shut their doors, and the obvious beneficiary is Amazon.com. Blackledge points out that the e-commerce giant is preparing for the opportunity by expanding its warehouses and its "'fulfillment"' capability. The company increased its fulfillment operation by 30% last year, he estimates, faster than in recent years.

"'Net-net: We think the runway is clear for Amazon to continue to win in large retail markets for the foreseeable future,"' Blackledge wrote. He also sees e-commerce trends boosting digital advertising -- good news for Facebook and Google-parent Alphabet. barrons.com

Fake FBI and Secret Service Badges Continue to Be Sold at Amazon
While the big e-commerce websites downplay both the numbers and significance of sales of fake products, there is one area where the sellers might want to put more attention.

It remains possible to purchase fake badges and identification credentials on Amazon.com Inc. that purchasers could use to pass themselves off as FBI or Secret Service agents. Amazon has a stated policy against the sale of fake or counterfeit items, but according to The Counterfeit Report website, despite the fact that Amazon has been notified many times that it is selling fake items, the company's claim is "'illusory."'

According the website:

Terrorism is in the forefront of public safety concerns daily, yet Amazon allows current style replica FBI and U.S. Secret Service badges on its website, which were easily purchased by The Counterfeit Report. Reports to Amazon went unaddressed, and the listings remain. 247wallst.com

RETAIL FORECAST: U.S. consumers will spend $632 billion online by 2020
The number of online shoppers has grown by nearly 20 million from 2015 to 2016. And these 224 million shoppers are spending more, as the total amount spent online grew from $61 billion in the first quarter of 2015 to $68 billion in Q1 2016. businessinsider.com

E-commerce sends UPS package volume and spending higher

Web ads could shoot up 80% of online & offline retail sales

New Study: Nearly Half of Online Retailers Want a New E-Commerce Platform

Thieves Use Moving Truck in $100,000 Burglary at Sunbelt Rental Store
Miami Police are investigating an early morning break-in at a Wynwood construction equipment company - where the thieves gained access thanks to a moving truck. Officers say six men were involved in the early morning heist at Sunbelt Rentals, located off Miami Avenue around 2 AM. They say the crooks used a U-Haul truck to take three separate loads of items - everything from generators to other equipment. nbcmiami.com


Colorado Springs, CO: 12 indicted for burglarizing 25 cell phone stores in CO, NM
An El Paso County Grand Jury has indicted 12 people, most of Colorado Springs, for their connection with the burglary of 25 cell phone stores throughout Colorado and New Mexico. The 12 are facing charges of violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act (COCCA), burglary, theft, criminal mischief, money laundering and computer crimes for their involvement in a multi-state cell phone theft ring and fencing operation. Authorities believe the group worked together to primarily steal cell phones and then sell them to people through E-bay, CT Electronics, and GT Electronics. All of the burglaries took place between June 29 and August 10, 2015. The value of the items they stole is over $325,000. krdo.com

Santa Ana, CA: Serial Shoplifter's Stealing Spree Comes To An End
A 29 year old man, the suspect of a yearlong shoplifting spree, was arrested at his Santa Ana home on Tuesday after police served a search warrant and found thousands of dollars' worth of merchandise. The suspect repeatedly terrorized retailers and their employees in several Orange County cities while using a replica gun to steal high end merchandise. At his home police found what they believe to be stolen merchandise, including: Gucci and Michael Kors handbags, children's clothes, and perfumes. They were all stolen Cpl. Anthony Bertagna of the Santa Ana police department said. The suspect has a long criminal record including felonies. He is suspected in 18 shoplifting cases since March of last year, Bertagna said. In some instances he would use his kids to assist him with shoplifting. irvinecriminallawyer.com



Cahaba Heights, AL: 2 suspects shoplift nearly $1,500 of merchandise from CVS
According to the Vestavia Hills Police Department, two suspects shoplifted almost $1,500 worth of merchandise from the CVS in Cahaba Heights. The theft happened on January 31. It is believed that the suspects could be responsible for similar thefts at other CVS locations. wiat.com



Terrebonne Parish, LA: Repeat Offender charged with 3 Felony thefts; stealing to support his crystal meth and crack habit
Terrebonne Sheriff's Office arrested Jerome Louis Leblanc on multiple counts of felony theft after shoplifting from a Sam's Club and Walmart Neighborhood Market. Leblanc stole multiple cases of beer, bottles of liquor, cartons of cigarettes, bath towels and paper towels from the Sam's Club on Feb. 3 and Feb. 2. Leblanc's photo was posted to the Sheriff's Office Facebook page, where he was identified shortly afterwards. Leblanc allegedly told authorities during an interview that he stole to support his crack cocaine and crystal meth habit, police said. houmatoday.com

Shootings & Deaths

Canada: Teenager shot in the parking lot of Yorkgate Mall
A teenager is recovering in hospital after he was shot in the stomach in broad daylight on Monday. Emergency crews were called to Yorkgate Mall, near Jane Street and Finch Avenue West, just before 4 p.m. The 17-year-old boy was shot in the parking lot and then ran into the mall. He was rushed to hospital in critical condition but is expected to survive. 680news.com

Paragould, AR: Suspected driver in Grocery store manager slaying pleads guilty The suspected getaway driver for a Leachville woman who pleaded guilty to killing a rural grocery store manager in northeast Arkansas has also pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. Prosecutor Scott Ellington said 53-year-old Darrel Eugene Swan pleaded guilty Monday. He is expected to receive 30 years in prison.

In January, 31-year-old Stacey Keplinger pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and attempted murder. She was charged in the Dec. 23, 2015, shooting death of Stacy Quintana and the attempted shooting of a delivery truck driver at Lorado Grocery. Charles Quintana, who is the ex-husband of the victim, also faces charges in the case. Quintana is suspected to be the mastermind behind his ex-wife's shooting. washingtontimes.com

Robberies & Thefts

Flint, MI: Man pleads to role in ring responsible for at least 20 Armed Robberies
A man has admitted in federal court to his role in an armed robbery ring that struck Flint-area businesses more than 20 times. Khevin Jones pleaded guilty Feb. 1 to using or carrying a firearm during a crime of violence. Investigators said Jones drove Sision Naranjo and Pedro Garcia to steal a car that was to be used in the armed robbery of a Burger King on April 26. The crew also hit Speedway, Auto Zone, Meijer, Family Dollar and others. mlive.com

West Whiteland, PA: Police arrest man for theft/ robbery after a Boscov's Loss Prevention officer was injured
Police said Louie Burton, 26, was charged with robbery, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, harassment, retail theft ($145 of merchandise) and receiving stolen property. The Loss Prevention officer identified himself and attempted to detain Burton. Burton allegedly pushed the LP officer to the ground as he entered his vehicle. He then reportedly began to drive off as the loss prevention officer still held on to him. The LP officer was drug through the parking lot until he was able to free himself. The loss prevention officer suffered injuries to his elbow, knee and torso. dailylocal.com

Beaumont, TX: Man arrested in Academy Sports burglary; gun theft
A Beaumont man is charged with burglarizing the Academy Sports and Outdoors store on Eastex Freeway after officers found him leaving the building Sunday night with several firearms stolen from the business. fox4beaumont.com

Beaumont, TX: Walmart TV shoplifter goes to trail; claims of Police brutality sent the story viral
A Beaumont man who received national attention after a photo of him went viral, will be back in court today. That picture shows DeMarcus Brown bloodied and on the ground outside the Dowlen Rd Walmart. Brown claims officers beat him up, but police say Brown resisted arrest after they caught him stealing a television. Brown is on trial for the theft charge, and jury selection for that case have been selected. Brown believes he's the victim. Shortly after his arrests, his father said his son suffered several injuries at the hands of Beaumont police officers, including a broke eye socket. The Jefferson County District Attorney's office asked the Texas Rangers to investigate. fox4beaumont.com

Anchorage, AK: Business break-ins on the rise, some Stores hit Multiple times Anchorage Police Department. There were 264 commercial robberies in 2016, compared to 193 in 2015. Commercial burglaries jumped from 407 to 676 during the same period. Several businesses have been hit multiple times. ktva.com



Fort Smith, AR: Pic N Tote C-Store employee busted for Lottery fraud

Columbus, OH: Man suspected of Shoplifting at Kroger bites Officer

Texas Rangers Called In to Help Find Tom Brady's Missing Super Bowl Jersey; estimated value $500,000

Gordon's Jewelers in the Cielo Vista Mall, El Paso, TX reported a Grab & Run on 2/6, item valued at $4,000

Credit Card Fraud & ID Theft

Pittsburgh, PA: Woman using fake identity triggers widespread investigation at area malls
Simon Mall Properties has launched a widespread search after an Ohio woman was caught trying to purchase a $3,000 gift card with a fake identity. Ross Township police said Keana Hornbuckle, of Youngstown, OH, was arrested Thursday after she tried to buy a $3,000 mall gift card using a Maryland woman's identity. Officials said when customer service asked for her ID, Hornbuckle "'became nervous...grabbed her ID...and walked away."'

Ross Park Mall security officers followed Hornbuckle and asked for her ID. Police said she gave it willingly, but it was forged. Officials said she then ran and after a brief chase, she was caught. Hornbuckle had several forged ID cards and credit cards, all with her photo on them. The names and birth dates were of several other women. Simon Mall Properties is looking into other locations throughout the area to see if she struck anywhere else. Hornbuckle is a convicted felon out of Ohio. wpxi.com

Lock Haven, PA: A man faces 750 new charges; $12,151 in transactions made with dead woman's cards
Rodney L. Heaton stole just over $12,150 from a woman whose death he concealed for 17 months, city police allege. Heaton illegally used Teresa Hannah Hill's medical access and bank cards dozens of times to pay her rent, buy food and other items for himself between Aug. 1, 2015, and this past Dec. 22, while keeping Hill's mysterious death a secret. As a result, 750 criminal counts have been filed against Heaton, two of them felonies, in connection with the unauthorized transactions. The case erupted on Dec. 22, when a woman's badly decomposed body, later identified as Hill was rolled up in a carpet behind a building. lockhaven.com

Darien, CT: New York man surrenders to Police on charges of credit card fraud
A New York man accused of reproducing credit cards with stolen information turned himself in to police on Feb. 2. Shamar Adams, 27, of Albans, NY surrendered to Darien police on an arrest warrant for the unlawful reproduction of credit cards, stemming from a June 2015 traffic stop. During a search, police also found more than a dozen Vanilla gift cards, which are often purchased and re-embossed with different credit card information for the purpose of fraud. Police allowed Adams to leave the scene but confiscated the gift cards for further investigation. It was eventually determined that 12 of the gift cards had been altered to carry credit information for existing customer bank accounts. darientimes.com

Fredericksburg, VA: Panera Bread Purse snatcher indicted on Larceny, Credit Card Fraud, ID Theft; using stolen credit cards at Target within minutes of the thefts

Orange County, TX: Woman from GA busted in Texas with 28 Fraudulent Credit cards and ID's

Skimming Thefts

Hattiesburg, MS: Possible card skimmers found at Hub City gas station 

Charlotte County, FL: Skimmers found at Shell, Marathon gas stations

Murfreesboro, TN: 2 skimmers found at gas station on busy road

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