Zappos warehouse employees file federal lawsuit seeking pay for time spent filing through anti-theft screenings  The lawsuit aims to get class-action status to cover all Kentucky employees of Zappos and its parent company, Amazon, for the past five years. Employees have had to spend at least 10 minutes off the clock and on occasion 30 minutes or more each day going through metal detectors and searches before they leave, the lawsuit claims. The defendants do not request a specific amount of money. (Source courier-journal.com)

Global Credit, Debit, and Prepaid Card Fraud Losses Reach $11.27 Billion in 2012 - Up 14.6% Over 2011  Of that $11.27 billion, card issuers lost 63% and merchants and acquirers lost the other 37%. Gross fraud losses equaled 5.22¢ per $100 in total volume, up from 5.07¢ per $100 in 2011. Fraud as percentage of total volume was lowest for PIN-based debit networks worldwide at 1.10¢ per $100 in total volume. The global brand cards — Visa, MasterCard, American Express, UnionPay, Diners Club, and JCB — averaged fraud losses of 6.13¢ for every $100 in total volume. Fraud losses on all general purpose and private label, signature and PIN payment cards reached $5.33 billion in the U.S. last year, up 14.5%. Issuers lost 64% or $3.41 billion and merchants lost the other 36% or $1.92 billion. The U.S. accounted for 47.3% of global card fraud losses but generated only 23.5% of total volume. The U.S. is the only region where counterfeit card fraud continues to grow consistently. U.S. issuer losses due to counterfeiting accounted for 26.5% of global fraud losses last year. The U.S. also has high CNP fraud losses because it leads the world in online sales. Smaller merchants who do not invest in fraud-fighting tools are particularly vulnerable. "Adoption of EMV at the point of sale is the strongest defense against counterfeit cards,” said David Robertson, publisher of The Nilson Report. Also helping issuers, merchants, and acquirers fight fraud are Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, steadily improving neural network-based scoring tools within payment networks, and out-of-band alerts such as text messages that ask cardholders to confirm transactions. (Source businesswire.com)

Federal case could impact employers' rights to look at emails on employer owned devices  Even though the company owned the device, the court said the supervisor didn’t have authorization to read all of the former employee’s emails, Mr. Vagle said. It also ruled that Verizon’s policy on corporate access to personal emails on company devices wasn’t accessible enough. Mr. Vagle said the court ruled the policy can’t be some fine point buried in the employee handbook “not to be read by anybody. It has to be out in front, in plain language, with clear expectations set.” And even though the law only applies to emails that were unopened by the woman before her supervisor read them, the court said it’s possible she could take legal action on the messages that were opened under privacy tort claims, Mr. Vagle said. Regardless of the outcome of the case, should it go to trial, the first thing employers can do is set expectations for what exactly the employer can do on employer-owned devices and BYOD, Mr. Vagle said. “If the employer-employee relationship does not have a clear plain language definition of what reasonable expectations of privacy are, there could be trouble,” he said. (Source wsj.com)

Half of all departing employees retain confidential company files following their termination  Having access to confidential files obviously increases the odds that, when that employee finds a new job, they will access, disclose, or use such information. Here are some recent trends in litigation involving mobile employees and some suggestions for both employers and employees to help minimize the cost and distraction that stem from IP theft by the departing employee. (Source cio.com)

Hudson Bay's Richard Baker Plots Strategy as Saks Loss Widens
It’s not a done deal yet but an eager Richard Baker has been touring Saks Fifth Avenue locations, eyeing potential closings as well as capital improvements, and locations that could be converted to Lord & Taylor units. Industry executives see at least $100 million in annual savings through consolidations and layoffs, and some top management changes at Saks are likely. Baker has already said he plans to invest substantial sums renovating Saks stores, that he will re-brand certain Hudson’s Bay stores as Saks, or Saks stores as Lord & Taylor, and may even insert Saks into certain larger Hudson’s Bay boxes to beef up productivity. He foresees up to seven full-line Saks stores and 25 Off 5th outlets in Canada, and furthering Saks’ Internet business by establishing a Canadian saks.com. Canada is already saks.com’s largest international ship-to market. (Source wwd.com)

J.C. Penney's Loss Widens
For the quarter ended Aug. 3, J.C. Penney posted a loss of $586 million. Sales decreased 12% to $2.66 billion. Online sales slipped 2.2% to $215 million. Analysts at Sterne Agee have said that they see J.C. Penney's second quarter as a "transition quarter" as adjustments to promotions and advertising take time to develop. They noted that Mr. Ullman will likely adjust inventory, leading to weak same-store sales and margin pressure. However, they also see positives in light of the elimination of the boardroom struggles and signs that the back-to-school selling season is off to a good start. J.C. Penney said sales at stores open more than a year declined 11.9% for the quarter, compared with a decline of 22% a year ago. J.C. Penney said the sales were hurt by its failed prior merchandising and promotional strategies, which resulted in unusually high markdowns and clearance levels. (Source wsj.com)

Barnes & Noble founder suspends his efforts to bid for company amid deepening losses  "While I reserve the right to pursue an offer in the future, I believe it is in the company’s best interests to focus on the business at hand,” Riggio said today. The net loss in the quarter ended July 27 was $87 million. Riggio, who’s also the company’s chairman and largest shareholder, said in February that he planned to make an offer to buy the company’s retail assets, which include its almost 680 stores and website. (Source bloomberg.com)

U.S. Retailers to Implement Bangladesh Factory Plan
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Gap Inc., and other major U.S. retailers plan to meet Tuesday in Chicago to start implementing a Bangladesh factory-safety plan announced last month. The group, made up of 20 companies known as the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, will also announce its board of directors, reveal new signatories like Costco Wholesale Corp. COST +0.16% and finalize common fire- and building-safety standards it pledged to put in place by Sept. 10. The group said it has already begun to disburse $45 million in funds by members but plans to hire an executive director and management firm to oversee funds and programs. (Source wsj.com)

Forever 21 reducing work hours due to ObamaCare
Policymic.com reported Forever 21 will limit non-management workers' hours to 29.5 a week, which is a hair below the 30-hour minimum ObamaCare considers full-time employment. (Source 11alive.com)

Mobile Commerce Leader Conductiv Software Announces Customized Mobile POS for Retail Pop-up Stores  Conductiv, the mobile software commerce company specializing in innovative handheld sales apps for the retail industry, announced today the availability of its Interact Mobile POS Solution, customized for retail pop-up stores. "Our Pop-Up POS solution is designed specifically for retailers looking to extend their reach,” says Jeff Saunders, Conductiv’s Chief Operating Officer. “Speed, simplicity and security are at the core of our Mobile Pop-Up POS.” (Source businesswire.com)



Cargo Theft Trends - $400M a year stolen in the LA basin alone  In 2012 it's estimated that there was an average of two and a half reported cargo thefts each day in the U.S. and although the number of thefts have declined in 2013, the monetary loss has grown higher. The video features guest speaker Keith Lewis, vice president from CargoNet. (Source insurancejournal.tv)



FBI Promotes Standardized Strategies in Active Shooter Training  Tactical drills and conferences through field offices help prepare local agencies. Acting on a White House directive after last December's Connecticut school massacre, and partnering with a Texas-based training center, the FBI has been teaching best practices for responding to mass shootings. The goal is to promote a standardized strategy as local police departments — invariably the first officers to arrive — respond to such shootings. Besides the tactical drills, conferences run by FBI field offices are intended to prepare local agencies for the challenges of an active shooter emergency and to let them know federal help, including extra manpower to interview witnesses and collect evidence, is available to them. (Source lawofficer.com)

Armenian organized cargo theft gang operating in Los Angeles using fictitious pickup documents - identity theft  Detectives say millions of dollars and goods are lost due to this crime, which occurs when a truck driver presents counterfeit documentation in order to pick up cargo. "This is a big problem in Los Angeles and is expanding across the United States,” said Detective Marc Zavala of the LAPD Commercial Crimes Division, Cargo-Hijack Unit. “They steal everything from TVs to pounds of walnuts and almonds to cucumbers.” Detectives discovered a cold-storage warehouse last week in the 12900 block of Saticoy Street in North Hollywood, where they found steaks, shrimp, energy drinks and ice cream among other frozen foods. The vast majority of the recovered frozen foods were reported stolen by means of fictitious pickups, Zavala said. Detectives say the suspects are believed to be from an Armenian organized theft group that targets cargo shipping companies across the United States. “It’s big in the Van Nuys area, Ontario, Inland Empire, Rancho Cucamonga, and in the Midwest,” Zavala said. (Source dailynews.com)

Romanian national pleads guilty to ATM-skimming thefts in Conn.
All it took was a pinhole camera and a magnetic-tape recorder, and Ionut-Iulian Vlad and his band of conspirators were able to steal $150,470 from Bank of America customers using ATMs in lower Fairfield County. Skimming devices were placed in December of 2012 and operated until March 2013 leading to the theft of $150,470 in ATMs at Bank of America branches in Stamford, Greenwich, Norwalk and Wallingford. The defendant will face up to 41 months in prison when he is sentenced in November. Once he completes his sentence, he will be deported. (Source stamfordadvocate.com)

NYPD makes largest gun bust in city history
Some 254 illegal firearms were removed from city streets and 19 individuals involved in gun trafficking from North and South Carolina into New York City were indicted as a result of a 10-month undercover investigation. (Source crainsnewyork.com)

Facebook Tests Tool to Simplify Mobile Payments  Facebook is reportedly planning to test its own payments processing product. It would allow Facebook users to purchase via mobile apps using just their login information in the social network. That would be a simplified process as it would be comparable to how consumers currently use PayPal. The pilot of the program is expected to be launched in September. The trial would involve JackThreads, a male-oriented shopping site for the youth. Aside from having a strong relationship with the Website, the company has a good demographic overlap with gamers, who usually provide the social network with their own credit card information. If the new product would be eventually launched, it would surely pit Facebook against PayPal especially on mobile transactions. At the same time, it would also compete with similar offerings from Amazon, Google, and even startups like Stripe, Klarna, and Braintree. (Source bloomberg.com)

Freehold Raceway Mall in N.J. installs license plate readers
License plate readers have been installed over the exits and entrances to the mall’s parking area as a counterterrorism measure. The Freehold Raceway Mall readers are not the first such installation in New Jersey – in 2011, a similar system was in place at the Monmouth Mall in Eatontown. The readers were bought with a $285,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and installed as a joint project between the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Department, Freehold Township, and the mall. (Source nj.com)

"Students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction”  According to U.S. Department of education. In the coming years online video is set to revolutionize the way organizations and employees approach training, leading to the most highly skilled and effective workforce in our history. As video proves to be a popular tool for learning, organizations will adapt their training programs as they recognize the benefits of online video. Indeed, we predict that over 90% of large organizations will use online video training by 2025. The rise of 4G and 5G enabled mobile devices and bite size training content will eventually lead to a culture of ‘on-the-go’ learning through web-based video. (Source yahoo.com)

Quarterly Same Store Sales Results

Home Depot Q2 up 10.7% with total sales up 9.5%
Urban Outfitter Q2 up 9% with net sales up 12%
Saks Q2 up 1.5% with revenue up 1% but posted a loss of $19.6M
Barnes & Noble Q2 flat with revenue down 3%
Dicks Sporting Goods Q2 down 0.4% with net sales up 6.6%
Best Buy Q2 domestic down 0.4% with domestic revenue up 0.1% and with online sales up 10.5%
Bob Evans Q1 down 0.6% with net sales up 1.9%
Hastings Entertainment Q2 down 6.2% with total revenue down 7.9%
JC Penney Q2 down 11.9% with sales down 12% and reported a loss of $586M

Smash and Grab crew operating in Lee County, FL.
Lt. Larry King, Lee County Sheriff's office, told us that over the weekend thieves hit four fast food restaurants around Lee County, including the Subway on Lee Boulevard in Lehigh Acres and the Taco Bell on Daniels Parkway in Fort Myers. We found out in both instances crooks smashed a window to get in then tried going after the safes. They got away with some petty cash, but what they really caused was hundreds in damages for the restaurants. King says while popular food chains have been the target so far, they're also warning small businesses to be on alert. (Source nbc-2.com)


El Paso Police searching for man who robbed Payless Shoe  El Paso Police are still searching for a man who robbed a Northeast El Paso business at gunpoint. It all happened the afternoon of Wednesday, July 31st at the Payless shoe store on Dyer. Police say a man walked into the store and over to the checkout, where he threatened a store clerk with a handgun and demanded cash from the register. The man then took off with an undisclosed amount of money. The man was captured on surveillance camera. (Source kfoxtv.com)

Ottawa County, Michigan Sheriffs investigating 30-40 break-in and smash-and-grab burglaries Since June, Ottawa County has been investigating a rash of burglaries. No arrests have been made in connection with the burglaries, which appear to be related, based on the type of entry into the buildings, usually by smashing in a window or glass door. Police say the suspects are only stealing cash. (Source mlive.com)

Valparaiso Best Buy associate busted with over $7k of stolen merchandise
Stolen Best Buy merchandise, worth $7,084.05, was recovered from employee John Deman’s vehicle and rural Valparaiso home on Saturday. An investigation began at the Valparaiso store, when employees taking inventory discovered an empty iPad Mini box. Then on Saturday, a custodian found two iPad Minis, wrapped with toilet paper, inside a trash can in the men’s restroom. One of the devices contained Deman’s personal information. (Source nwitimes.com)

Second COACH outlet store hit by burglars in a week  Smash-and-grab burglars struck the Coach Factory Outlet store at Tanger Outlets along the Route 30 strip early Monday, investigators are trying to determine if the same people burglarized a Coach outlet store in Hersey last week. Police responded within four minutes of the alarm at 2:11am and found the front door glass shattered. Merchandise was missing from displays and shelves. No suspects were found. The burglary was caught on store surveillance video. (Source abc27.com)

Ventura police make arrest after 2 straight nights of RadioShack burglaries
A homeless Ventura man was arrested Sunday night on suspicion of burglarizing a RadioShack store two days in a row. A witness reported a burglary about 11:30 p.m. Saturday at the RadioShack on West Main Street. The witness told police a man broke a window of the business, entered it and took property. Officers checked the store but did not find a burglar. On Sunday at 9:20pm the same suspect is believed to have smashed out the window again and stole merchandise from the store. Police found the man with stolen merchandise meeting the witness’ description a few blocks away. (Source vcstar.com)


Man Sought In Richmond Smash And Grab  Richmond, Virginia Police are asking for help to identify the man who broke into a wireless phone store by smashing a window and then stole multiple cell phones and cash. Police say the man gained entry into the Mega-Tel store by smashing a large rock through the window around 4:15 a.m. Sunday. The suspect then entered the store and stole phones, memory cards and cash. (Source nbc12.com)


Man Disguised as a Construction Worker Robs Upper West Side Antique Store at Gunpoint  A small antique store on Amsterdam Avenue was robbed Monday afternoon by a man disguised as a construction worker, according to police. The robbery began about 2:30 p.m. when the suspect, wearing a grey safety helmet and orange safety vest was buzzed through the security door at More and More Antiques on Amsterdam Avenue. The suspect drew a weapon, the staff complied and the suspect fled. The owner of the store then gave chase, following the man to a subway station where he lost sight of the suspect. (Source abclocal.com)

Macy's employee charged with the theft of $700 in gift cards
Marlow Webb, 19, was arrested Saturday evening at the Macy’s State Street store after investigators noticed that Webb had rung a $100 gift card for a friend and a $600 gift card for himself. Webb had a little trouble before with his employee account when he over charged it by $840.12 when he wrote a bad check to pay off his balance. (Source redeyechicago.com)

T-Mobile employee admits stealing from Montgomery Mall
Tyler Koshute, 19, will be under court supervision for five years after admitting he stole from his employer. Investigator of T-Mobile first started with a cash shortage investigation back in January. It was later determined that Koshute had stolen cash, a headset and 6 cell phones. As a condition of his probation, Koshute must pay $3,764 in restitution. (Source phillyburbs.com)

UK’s Rolex Smash and Grab thieves sentenced to 33 years
Four men all plead guilty to the robbery charges against them, all face 33 years and 4 months in prison. The three man team entered the Ernest Jones store in Exeter, the additional member of the team stood guard at the door with a loaded weapon. The female jewelry store supervisor was cut by broken glass as the suspects smashed out the cases and fled with 30 Rolex watches valued at over $300,000. (Source standard.co.uk)

 

West Haven Women Linked to Large-Scale Fencing Operation  Two West Haven women were arrested Sunday night in New Jersey after reportedly being linked to a large-scale fencing operation spanning several states. Police searched the car and found hypodermic needles, drug paraphernalia, a large amount of stolen property and ledger books containing the addresses of several PetSmart, Petco, A.C. Moore, Michaels Arts & Crafts, JoAnn Fabrics and Walgreens Stores in N.Y., Ohio, Conn., Mass. and N.J., authorities said. The stolen items were contained in 11 garbage bags and are valued at more than $10,000, police said. They were both held in lieu of bail at the Bergen County Jail. (Source nbconnecticut.com) (Source nj.com)

Man pleads guilty to role in multi-state, $300,000 retail fraud scheme that included Flint, MI., -area stores  An Auburn Hills man has pleaded guilty to his role in a retail fraud operation that authorities say bilked more than 100 Home Depot stores in 13 states, from Florida to Michigan, out of more than $300,000. Beginning in 2010 he and others used UPC codes of cheaper items that matched the general description of the more expensive item to allay possible concerns of HD cashiers. Federal investigators allege that the men, along with accomplices who have not been charged, would then return the purchased items without receipts in order to receive store credit for the more-expensive original price. The second man has not yet been indicted or arraigned on any charges associated with the fraud operation. He is free on a $50,000 unsecured bond, according to court records. The two men used more than 150 different forms of identification during the operation, according to the federal complaint. The plea agreement includes a sentencing guideline range of 41-51 months in prison. Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. (Source mlive.com)

Serial shoplifting suspects sought in Elsmere, Delaware  The latest incident happened on the morning of August 16th at the BJ's Wholesale Club located at 2131 Kirkwood Highway. The pair allegedly removed two cameras from a display and brought the items to the rear of the store, where they removed the items from their packaging. Police say they then left the store with the merchandise. According to police, when employees tried to stop the suspects, the pair fled to a red pickup truck with a silver tailgate and drove away. (Source abclocal.go.com)

ORC thief convicted on one count now faces more charges in three more counties - hitting Toys R Us for TVs in N.J.  Vincent Salerno, 33, of Jersey City, was found guilty of removing the 32-inch TV via a rear fire exit door at a Toys R Us store in Raritan. Salerno also is facing shoplifting and related charges for incidents in Warren, Morris and Hunterdon counties. His getaway driver testified against him. (Source nj.com)


LAPD Sting Operation Targets Cash for Gold Stores Buying Stolen Goods  Monday’s sting operation marked the eleventh store the LAPD has targeted this summer. Eight of the eleven stores knowingly bought the stolen goods Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander suggests that second-hand jewelry stores should have rules in place that regulate them the way they regulate pawn shops. The LAPD says that they will continue to target stores that they believe are knowingly buying stolen goods. (Source cbslocal.com)

ORC trio hits Wal-Mart in Chatham County, N.C. multiple times - Sheriff's need help identifying them  On June 23 and July 24 these individuals entered the store through the main entrance between 1:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. and stole more than $10,000 worth of property, according to a news release. The suspects are seen on surveillance footage leaving the store by disabling a locked door in the Garden Center. Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Investigative Division of the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office at 919-545-8133 or call the main office at 919-542-2811. (Source newsobserver.com)

“Protection 1 is proud to be sponsoring the D-D Daily ORC column to ensure the LP industry
gets the information, education and critical data they need to fight this national epidemic.” 
Rex Gillette, VP Retail Sales, Protection 1.
 

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The Truth about Sleep, Science, and Productivity  Who knows what the perfect amount of sleep will make you feel reenergized and keep you productive? Truth is, there is no set number of hours of sleep you should be getting; everyone can function on different amounts of sleep. The other trick is to use your bed for just sleep: no playing games or watching TV, (your brain should know bed and sleep are synonymous.)

How Using 15 Minutes of Downtime at Work can Realign Your Work-Life Balance  Learning how to use those fifteen minutes correctly can help you do work at work, and make the most while at home. Push yourself to stay productive right up to the end of your day, (and see what you can get done in 15 minutes.)