Michael Hagenbush, CFI recently promoted to Director of Audit and Loss Prevention Integration for Sherwin-Williams
Michael was previously the Director of Loss Prevention for the Mid-Western Division for the retailer, and has been on the Sherwin Williams loss prevention team since 2009. He started as a Regional Loss Prevention Manager for Eastern US and Canada, and quickly worked his way up the ladder to hold such titles as Divsional Loss Prevention Manager and Corporate Loss Prevention Manager. Michael was also in the loss prevention department at Dick's Sporting Goods as a District Loss Prevention Manager and at Target as a Loss Prevention Manager. Congratulations Michael!

December Robberies Up 66% as of 12-16 over LY
It's like the "Wild Wild West' Out There
Can't even begin to tell you how many times we've heard this expression used not just in our industry but throughout law enforcement and by a lot of those in the media that cover crime.

The Daily's own robbery reports show an increase of 48% over the last five months, with robberies up 66% this month alone compared to last December. An increase we tabulated today - after initially writing this article yesterday, of interesting note.

In virtually every conversation we have with senior LP leaders across the nation, regardless of location, we hear one big dramatic difference over all the years we've been in the industry. And that is:

'They're coming in with guns drawn'
&
'Everybody's got a gun'

Now that may not sound dramatic - but it is and it's the absolute truth - we've heard this exact comment from most of the senior LP leaders in the industry.

Coming in guns drawn takes the fear factor to a whole new level and sends the message we're ready to shoot and we want to scare the hell out of you. A huge and dramatic development in the over all scheme of things and in the eyes of the consumer as well.

This has only recently started happening in the last year and as we stated virtually every senior executive mentions it and it's a startling development. As it represents what the young men and women who are carrying out these crimes are willing to do and the message they want to send the second they enter the store.

Violence in the stores is increasing and store safeness is becoming a huge priority. One that just five years ago we didn't hear that often. Certainly it's always been a priority, but to have it take on such a significant role is a change in the overall scheme of things. And to see it as a priority at trade shows and meetings is a reflection of the times and it appears to be increasing still. Just a thought.

Let's keep them all safe out there, because if numbers prevail at least 5 to 10 people will be killed over the next 7 days in retail store crimes across North America.

December 2015 vs. December 2016: 66% jump in number of reported robberies; 48% spike over last 5 months
Comparing last December to this December reveals a stunning jump in the number of reported robberies and burglaries. Through the first half of December 2015, there were a total of 216 robberies reported in the Daily, while that same period for this year saw 359 robberies - a massive 66 percent jump, as depicted in Graph 1 below.

Breaking it down even further, we found that the average number of reported robberies per day in December of last year was just 18. In the first half of December this year, we've seen an average of nearly 30 robberies a day. This indicates that it's not just a fluke one or two days driving these increases; it's a consistent day-to-day spike in reported robberies.

Looking at the data from a longer-term perspective - from August to Dec. 16 of the past two years - it's also clear that the numbers are rising substantially. During those five months of 2015, there were a total of 1,789 robberies/burglaries. Through the same time period this year, there were 2,649 reported robbery incidents - a 48 percent jump, as shown in Graph 2 below.

Graph 1	Graph 2

While this is certainly a small snapshot in time, it's consistent with previous studies published in the Daily that show a rising number of reported robbery and burglary incidents.

From Russia With Love
In Today's Daily Alone - Russia sends us a message
From elections to retailers - banks - healthcare - consumers & virtually everything tech - Russia is impacting all of us
11 million malicious emails, 160,000 infected computers, 26% of the worlds ransomware, $9M in theft, Eastern seaboard skimming of ATM's, 4 Romanians, a network of 15 ATM MULES, and a separate gang of credit card/wire transfer money mules all run by the Russians and attacking virtually every American citizen in the U.S.

That's in today's Daily alone.
 
Wal-Mart facing more local pressure to deal with crime
Twin Cities legislators say Walmart is dumping its security costs on the public
Legislators from Minnesota's Twin Cities region are on record stating that Wal-Mart Stores is hurting the community's bottom line by overrelying on local law enforcement to deal with rising crime, according to local weekly City Pages.

"Legislators from St. Paul and Brooklyn Park say the discount giant has been gobbling up an unfair portion of their cities' public resources. Rather than hiring their own security to deal with petty crimes, they say, Walmart is forcing taxpayers to subsidize security for its stores."

In the past year, the St. Paul Walmart made 2,129 calls for service; Bloomington had 1,250; Brooklyn Center 1,099; and Brooklyn Park 480. The total cost to these cities is estimated to be a little more than $3 million.

A lot of times when Walmart comes into the cities, they ask for tax breaks, they ask for other incentives so that they can build there, and their thing is, 'Well, we can provide jobs,'" says Rep. Mike Nelson (DFL-Brooklyn Park). "Well, they're not providing that many jobs, they're not providing well-paying jobs, and then they're dumping their security problems back on the city resources."

The company can afford to reduce its number of police calls, Lesch says. He and Nelson have a bill in the works that will address the possibility of increasing private security in the stores, or modifying Walmart's rules on when to call 911. He hopes to have a hearing on this in the upcoming legislative session, where police chiefs will be invited to share their views on whether Walmart pulls resources away from other parts of their cities.

On Wednesday, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union debuted a TV commercial condemning Walmart and its CEO Doug McMillon, who made $20 million this year, for spending too little on security.

Meanwhile, the Oklahoma AFL-CIO says it's giving its dubious 2016 "Shoplifting Magnet of the Year" award to Wal-Mart's supercenter in Oklahoma City, noting that law enforcement has been called to that store more than 1,700 times this year, The Oklahoman reports.

Similar reports are coming out of other areas, including Tampa, FL, apparently inspired by an August investigation by Bloomberg Businessweek into the escalating crime problem at Wal-Mart Stores nationwide. In addition to shoplifting, there were more than 200 violent crimes (including attempted kidnappings, stabbings, shootings and murders) at U.S. Wal-Mart stores during the first eight months of 2016 - about one per day.

Wal-Mart says it's taking the crime issue seriously, shifting more employees and security monitors to sales floors, store doors and self-checkout areas to combat shoplifting and fraudulent returns. But the story of its struggles to combat violent crime is gaining traction as more local newspapers, lawmakers and law enforcement agencies pick it up.

This summer, Wal-Mart quietly launched Restorative Justice, an experimental program to fight crime in stores and reduce reliance on local law enforcement. Restorative Justice offers some accused shoplifters the option to pay an undisclosed sum to complete an online remedial program, thereby avoiding jail time. Wal-Mart said it aims to reduce the number of police coming to its stores and "hopefully [give] people a second chance." In addition, after ending its longstanding store greeter tradition in 2012, Wal-Mart brought them back to most of its U.S. stores this year in an effort to make those locations more customer-friendly and theft-proof: Thieves are responsible for about $300 million in Wal-Mart product losses each year.

But Wal-Mart could find itself under increased pressure to further boost its security and store personnel and to boost their wages, something that could add to its escalating labor costs. retaildive.com citypages.com
 
Tiffany & Co. Partners With NYPD on Branded Barricades Leading to Flagship
In the shadows of Trump Tower, Tiffany cleverly looks to salvage holiday-season sales at its Fifth Avenue flagship. WWD has learned that the jeweler has partnered with the New York City Police Department on mounting branded barricades that lead to its Fifth Avenue flagship - located on the same block as the cordoned-off Trump Tower.

Retailers in the tower's vicinity - which include, among others, Gucci, Armani, Tiffany and Ralph Lauren - have reported a steep drop in foot traffic, with commotion and police restrictions limiting entry into the stores. Gucci, located inside the tower, is understood to pay about $25 million a year in rent.

Tiffany representative reiterated an earlier statement: "Tiffany is in frequent communication with the New York Police Department and U.S. Secret Service regarding safety and security along the perimeter of our Fifth Avenue flagship. Tiffany executives have said the flagship accounts for less than 10 percent of the brand's global sales. wwd.com
 
Fitch Ratings: U.S. retail sales to grow 3% to 4% in 2017
Retailers on a positive trajectory will include Dollar Tree, Burlington Stores, Levi Strauss, Coach and J.C. Penney, according to Fitch. Sears, Claire's Stores, Gymboree, Abercrombie & Fitch, Vince and Bon-Ton will be challenged to maintain share, liquidity and positive same-store sales.

The full report, "2017 Outlook: U.S. Retail and Restaurants," is available at Fitchratings.com. chainstoreage.com

5 tech trends that transformed retail in 2016
Keeping up with the 'Joneses' - The Amazon Effect
Retailers investing in new technologies during 2016 did so in many cases to keep up with the competition, often represented most specifically by Amazon and now pushing them to innovations in the emerging area of conversational commerce.

The five most significant areas of retail technology innovation in 2016.

1. Artificial Intelligence It's very likely a lot of retail folks feel AI was the biggest and most broadly impactful innovation to shape the retail sector in 2016. And it's not just a single innovation, but a vast field on innovation, affecting everything from chatbots to other forms of virtual shopping assistants to mobile and visual search to mall directory services. The most familiar AI-powered solution is Amazon's Alexa.

2. Chatbots While chatbots are indeed one form of AI-based solution, they also represent their own vast area of innovation in how retailers are helping their customers interact with them.

3. Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality Virtual reality has to do with the creation of immersive virtual environments, while augmented reality is intended to indicate the mixing of virtual and real elements in a hybrid environment. 2016 was the start of a VR/AR boom with Pokemon Go leading that charge.

4. Payments 2016 certainly was a game-changing year of innovation and new releases.

This year featured the fizzling of retail's ambitions to have a unified payments app, as the Merchant Customer Exchange consortium's ill-fated CurrentC gave way to new apps from individual retailers, banks and tradition payment card networks. Among the new launches were Walmart Pay, CVS Pay, Citi Pay and others.

Likewise, payments apps from mobile sector players also made strides in 2016.  Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay also made moves to expand the availability and utility of their payment solutions.  Finally, 2016 is ending with forecasts of a mobile payments boom unfolding in the coming years.

5. Personalization AI is the technology platform they are using to enable it. But personalization in its own right was the concept often subject to innovation as retailers rolled out new customer service features in 2016. My Starbucks Barista, eBay's more personalization within its mobile app, IBM's acquisition of Fluid's personal shopper unit, and Bed Bath & Beyond to buy PersonalizationMall, a company which creates literally personalized products. retaildive.com

No Retirement for a Jewel Thief With a Seven-Decade Career
For Doris Payne, an international jewel thief whose criminal career spans seven decades, old habits are hard to kick, if police records are any indication.

Ms. Payne, 86, was arrested on Tuesday by the police in Dunwoody, an affluent suburb north of Atlanta, after she slipped a Lagos diamond necklace worth nearly $2,000 in her pocket and was stopped by a security guard. She'll be in court today in Atlanta.

A website for a 2013 documentary film, "The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne," estimates that she has stolen $2 million in jewels during her 70 or so years of crime. She has been tied to thefts in many states, including California, Colorado, New York and Ohio, and in cities including Paris, Milan, Tokyo and Monaco.

Despite Ms. Payne's crimes, some jewelers feel a degree of sympathy for her. Alfredo Molina, the chairman and owner of the Black, Starr and Frost, a luxury jeweler, appeared in the documentary, for which he met Ms. Payne several times. He found her to be charming, he said in a phone interview on Thursday.

Speaking to The Los Angeles Times in October 2013, John Kennedy, the president of the Jewelers' Security Alliance, which informs and alerts jewelers of major criminals, said that the organization had sent "innumerable bulletins" to business and law enforcement officials about Ms. Payne's behavior.

Editor's Note: We've been following her for years and have posted her at least a dozen times over the last 6 years.  nytimes.com

Sherwood Park, AB, Canada: 'The entire roof was engulfed in flames': Cause of Sherwood Park fire not yet determined - burned to the ground
Firefighters continued dousing hotspots on Sunday at a Sherwood Park equipment rental shop that burned down the day before. The building was fully engulfed by the time crews arrived. On Sunday, piles of charred rubble coated in thick ice was all that remained of the building.

Devin Capcara with Strathcona County Emergency Services said the firefighters first tried an interior attack but were pushed back. The fire soon broke through the roof, which meant Capcara and his crews turned to the defensive. "We ended up having to evacuate all the surrounding buildings," he said.

Witness Tracy Wildermuth was trying to go to the 7-Eleven adjacent to the All Season Equipment building. She wasn't able to get far. "The entire roof was engulfed in flames," she said. "That building is going to be completely gone. It was unbelievable how fast it went up." Wildermuth said workers in the 7-Eleven left the building and officials were moving propane tanks away from the fire. The cause of the fire has not been determined. cbc.ca

UK: Toys R Us investigates claim its staff are reselling sold-out Hatchimals toys
at a profit
Staff at Toys R Us have been accused of hoarding this year's must-have toy and reselling it at a profit. Hatchimals, which retail for $79 and are out of stock at major retailers, are being sold on eBay and Gumtree for up to $500 as desperate parents hunt for last-minute gifts. The furry creatures, which emerge from an egg and grow before your eyes, are the top-selling toy this Christmas around the world. Savvy - and some would claim exploitative - sellers have been making thousands in the grey market trade. Scores of Australian sellers have listed the items on eBay and Gumtree, to the disgust of parents left with no choice but to pay the inflated price. Toys R Us is investigating claims its staff are among the resellers, after a customer claimed to have knowledge of the practice. adelaidenow.com

Darknet Bust: Global Law Enforcement Raids Massive Euro Counterfeiting Organization
"NapoliGroup," sold counterfeit Euro notes & conducted investment scams
 
Secret Santa surprises 3 Walmart stores in PA., pays off $166K in layaways

Last week's #1 article --

CVS Health to close 70 stores

You Gotta See This! The D&D Daily team is down with the holidays! Watch as we prepare for Live in NYC! Join us at our live event in New York City on Jan. 16, where you can see special episodes featuring LP leaders, solution providers, academics, and special guests. For more information on this can't-miss event, click here.

MasterCard, Visa team up on tokenization
MasterCard and Visa forged an agreement to speed the adoption of secure payment tokens by allowing the card networks to request tokenized payment credentials across one another's digital wallet platforms.

This is a nice example of both big payment card networks acting in the best interests of their cardholders and merchants. Tokenization - essentially encryption - offers another layer of protection in transaction security.  retaildive.com

From Russia With Love - US Tops Ranks
26% of Worldwide Ransomware Attacks Hitting U.S. Targets, Study Finds
compared to less than 9 percent targeting German users and about 4 percent targeting people in France, the No. 2 and No. 3 most popular targets.

U.S. computer users are getting hit the most in the world. There are also signs that link several families of ransomware to Russia.

Malwarebytes also found that users in city of Las Vegas and nearby Henderson, NV, encountered the most ransomware, but that the Rust Belt had the greatest number of cities in the Top-10, including Memphis, TN, and Toledo, Cleveland and Columbus, OH.

2016 is undoubtedly the year when ransomware took off, becoming the most significant Internet threat. Hitting Kaspersky users once every 10 seconds up from every 20 seconds in Dec. '15. eweek.com
 
Business Email Compromise Fraud Schemes Continue To Gain Traction
One Ring Alone Drove $3.1B in Fraud
Online fraud is becoming the most popular development of the 21st century so far. A Nigerian individual is facing US charges for this involvement in multiple scams. By impersonating vendors and company executives, the managed to scam hundreds of victims. All victims made large wire transfers to fraudulent accounts, resulting in a total loss of close to US$3.1bn.

The FBI, together with other law enforcement agencies, identified Adindu's involvement in this global online fraud ring. Between October 2013 and November 2016, over 22,000 complaints were made. All of these cases relate to business email compromise scams, requesting a total of US$3.1bn in transfers.  newsbtc.com

Top 15 security predictions for 2017
So here are some of the best guesses about what we will see in 2017 from several dozen vendors and analysts.

Internet of malicious things have already been conscripted as zombie troops for cyber attackers, due to their limited computing power and the firmware running on them, which in many cases can't be patched or updated. This will get much worse in 2017, given that too many organizations still aren't inspecting their most commonly used apps for malware, enabling everything from DDoS attacks to Trojans to serving as entry points into enterprise networks for other attacks like ransomware and APTs.

Crimeware at your service Rookie hacktivists and hobby hackers, driven by pop-culture references and increased media attention, will increasingly get into the cybercrime game.

DDoS: Weapon of mass obstruction DDoS attack firepower in 2016 increased to frightening levels - rising from 400Gbps bandwidth to 1Tbps or more becoming the norm - thanks to millions of IoT devices lacking even basic security. That firepower will be used sometime in 2017 to take down critical infrastructure and even the internet infrastructure of whole countries in support of a physical military attack.

Increasing cloudiness With more regulations, compliance, and better security features in the cloud, more of these companies will no longer be able to ignore its benefits, will start testing the cloud on workloads and move some services beyond just the corporate data center.

Spy vs. Spy  Cyber espionage, already rampant with Chinese theft of US intellectual property and the OPM hack, plus Russia's suspected role in seeking to interfere with the US presidential election, will continue to expand across the globe. Drones will be used for espionage and attacks as well, with efforts beginning to hack into drone signals and allow "dronejacking" in a few more years.

Taking terror online Think takedowns of traffic lights, portions of the power grid, water systems, etc. - they might not cause catastrophic damage, but they will disrupt daily life. But in some cases, the damage could be significant, through the use of data forgery.

Open season on open source Exploits will increase in 2017 against sites, applications, and IoT devices.

Betting on insurance Insurers won't be handing out claims money easily. They will begin developing programs that drive better security hygiene, offering incentives for better detection and incident response capabilities. And, as attacks become more common and damages more widespread, some insurers will cut back their cyber liability offerings.

Catch the phish Workers are human, and therefore, will always be fallible. Organizations will reframe the way they approach cybersecurity accordingly.

Ransomware everywhere Ransomware will continue to increase, evolve, get stealthier and use automation to attack the cloud.  "Ransomworms" will also rise - malware that not only encrypts files but leaves code in place to guarantee some repeat business.

The long privacy goodbye Government surveillance will increase and become more intrusive, through use of the kind of tracking and targeting tools used in advertising to monitor alleged activists and dissidents.

 
 2017 will be a pivotal year in the 25-plus-year debate about information, privacy, and security.

Gentlemen, start your attack surfaces 100 million lines of code in every car with third party components a target rich environment for hackers will likely lead to a large-scale automobile hack, which could include cars held for ransom, self-driving cars being hacked to obtain their location for hijacking, unauthorized surveillance and intelligence gathering, or other threats. This will also lead to a legal battle over liability between the software vendor and auto manufacturer.

Faking it Fakers are already a problem - users who download your app, log in regularly and even make purchases might not be real. This will get worse in 2017 as advertisers and ad platforms adopt more sophisticated tracking technology and fraudsters become more experienced at mimicking the behavior of real users.

Skills gap? Use automation security skills gap approaching Grand Canyon dimensions, organizations will look to automation so skilled workers won't have to waste time on manual, mundane responsibilities and regularly performed duties.  csoonline.com

In 2014, retailers lost an estimated $44 billion to shoplifting, employee and vendor theft, and administrative error. How did they do in 2015? In this session, hear the latest findings from the 2016 National Retail Security Survey using 2015 data. Dr. Richard Hollinger, criminology professor at the University of Florida and lead author of the NRSS report for the past 24 years, outlines the results, reviews best practices, and shares some key emerging trends in retail loss prevention.

Episode Sponsored By:

LPNN Quick Take #15

Capt. John Romero of the LAPD's Commercial Crimes Division chats with Joe and Amber about public-private sector partnerships, ORC efforts, and retirement plans in this LPNN Quick Take.

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

Union for air pilots warns about last-minute Amazon holiday deliveries
 
Big shopping portals take on counterfeits
Amazon, Alibaba, others hope stricter controls bring better reliability

Amazon.com of the U.S., China's Alibaba Group Holding and other online sales portals are stepping up efforts to eliminate counterfeit products on their platforms.

Amazon has enlisted the help of makers who sell their products via its sites to identify counterfeits. It has started to sue malicious merchants. And in October, the company banned reviews from some writers who are enticed with free products.

The company plans to set up a new division dedicated to combating counterfeits. Already, it has worked with corporations like Nike to introduce a stricter process of inspecting its marketplace merchants and learning whether they are dealing in counterfeits. So far, it has filed two lawsuits against rogue sellers.

The anti-counterfeit campaigns come with a glut of fake goods already on the market. In 2014, $1.7 trillion worth of counterfeits were sold -- as much as 10% of all merchandise sold online around the world, according to estimates from the International Chamber of Commerce.

Amazon banned paid for reviews and is also taking advantage of its artificial intelligence technology to improve the reliability of its reviews, a company official said.

Meanwhile, the American Apparel & Footwear Association has blasted Alibaba for failing to control the counterfeit trade on its platforms.

For its part, Alibaba has introduced countermeasures, including the use of artificial intelligence to filter for suspicious merchandise, check on the reliability of each merchant and speed up the time it takes to suspend counterfeit sales after they are detected.

Japan's big portals are also stepping up the fight against counterfeits. Rakuten in September introduced a system to score merchants, taking into account violations of counterfeit regulations and false representation of merchandise. The scores are reflected in monetary penalties imposed on merchants and can result in their being kicked off Rakuten. nikkei.com

3 Romanian Nationals Extradited to Face US Charges in $4M
Cyber Fraud Scheme
They infected between 60,000 and 160,000 computers, sent out 11 million malicious emails and stole at least $4 million. "These defendants stole millions of dollars from people in the United States through a sophisticated fraud conspiracy they operated in Eastern Europe," said U.S. Attorney Rendon.

When victims with infected computers visited websites such as Facebook, PayPal or eBay, the co-conspirators would redirect the computers to a nearly identical website they had created to steal account credentials. Defendants also placed more than 1,000 fraudulent listings for automobiles, motorcycles and other high-priced goods on eBay and similar auction websites.

The defendants then used stolen credit card information to fund their criminal infrastructure while concealing their identities.

Photos of the items were allegedly infected with malware, which, when clicked, redirected victims to fictitious webpages designed by the co-conspirators to resemble legitimate eBay pages. The fictitious webpages prompted users to pay for their goods through a nonexistent "eBay Escrow Agent," and payments would then be funneled back to the co-conspirators.

This scheme allegedly resulted in at least $4 million - though the actual total may be tens of millions more - in losses to victims, which the defendants laundered through wire transfers under the names of fictitious companies and then collected and delivered to the co-conspirators by "money mules."  americansecuritytoday.com

Hingham, MA: Five charged in $14,000 theft of phones from Apple store
A Boston man and four teenagers have been charged in the second coordinated theft of iPhones from the Apple store in the Derby Street Shoppes in eight months. In the latest incident, a group of young people descended on the store at 7:45 p.m. Thursday, simultaneously pulled the security cables from 20 iPhones and ran out toward woods near Route 3. An Apple employee who chased them was injured when he fell. Officers found a portion of the fence cut along Route 3 behind the Derby Street Shoppes. A driver on Route 3 reported several people in dark clothing on the highway median near the Hingham Industrial Park. At least 20 iPhones were stolen with a total value of about $14,000. All five are charged with larceny over $250, conspiracy, disorderly conduct and interfering with a police officer. patriotledger.com

Kalamazoo, MI: Kohl's nabs 4 in Retail Fraud
On Thursday December 15, 2016 at approximately 1714 hours, Kalamazoo County's Oshtemo Twp Deputies were dispatched to Kohls, 5159 W Main St in reference to a Retail Fraud in progress. There were 4 individuals. wn.com

Seven Individuals Plead Guilty to Involvement in Large-Scale International Online Fraud Conspiracy
Seven individuals pleaded guilty to participating in a large-scale international online fraud conspiracy, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis of the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Raymond R. Parmer Jr. of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in New Orleans.

The seven suspects from South Africa or Nigeria have each pleaded guilty this week to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. In addition, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit identity theft, access device fraud and theft of government funds. According to the plea agreements, the defendants and their co-conspirators carried out numerous internet-based fraud schemes dating back at least to 2001. These schemes involved using unsuspecting victims to cash counterfeit checks and money orders, using stolen credit card numbers to purchase electronics and other merchandise and using stolen personal identification information to take over victims' bank accounts. As a whole, the conspiracy involved tens of millions of dollars in intended losses. justice.gov

Livingston County, MI: Shemonique S. Dailey, 24, of Toledo, Ohio, was sentenced to six months in the county jail for Organized Retail Crime. She was given credit for serving 51 days

Shootings, Stabbing & Bomb Threat

DeKalb County, GA: Police investigate shooting in Walmart parking lot
DeKalb Police say they're still looking for the person who opened fire Sunday afternoon near a very crowded Walmart store filled with holiday shoppers. Chaos erupted inside the DeKalb County Walmart on Fairington Road in the moments after the shooting in the parking lot. DeKalb County police first responded to an active shooter call at the Walmart about 3:30 p.m. While police tried to figure out what happened, shoppers either ran or hid. Police say the victim tried to get help after the shooting and that led to misinformation. Police surrounded the store and learned the shooting took place in the parking lot. Police say the gunman shot the victim in the back and then took off. wsbtv.com

Baltimore, MD: Shoplifting suspect charged after shooting at Mondawmin Mall
Baltimore police charged 42-year-old Santee Taylor into custody after he fired shots at store employees outside Mondawmin Mall, police said. Taylor was detained by employees around 5 p.m. Saturday inside the Rainbow clothing store. He ran out of the store and several employees chased him. Once outside, the suspect pulled out a handgun and fired at least one shot toward the store employees before running away, police said. A uniformed Baltimore police officer who was working overtime at another store in the mall and witnessed the shooting chased the suspect where the officer took the suspect into custody. abc2news.com

Greece, NY: Arrest Made After Shots Fired Outside Greece-Ridge Mall Friday Morning
A suspect is facing charges in connection with the shooting outside the mall at Greece-Ridge Friday morning. Greece police arrested 20-year-old Chad Cole on criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment charges. The shooting happened around 10:45 a.m. in the parking lot outside the mall. Police say someone fired a shot at another person in a car in the parking lot. It is believed no one was hit. Police say it was not a random shooting. twcnews.com



Eatontown, NJ: Boy Remains Hospitalized After Stabbing At Monmouth Mall
Authorities say a boy stabbed during a fight at a New Jersey mall has been hospitalized with a collapsed lung. It's not clear what sparked the scuffle that broke out Saturday night at the Monmouth Mall in Eatontown. Cellphone video showed a group of people scuffling near the Macy's store. cbslocal.com


Meridian, MS: Winn-Dixie evacuated after bomb threat call

Robberies & Thefts

Reno, NV: Police K9 track down Macy's Burglar
On December 19th around 12:30 a.m Reno Police responded to the Women's Macy's in the Meadowood Mall. Around 4 a.m the officers located a suspect hiding in a storage room, with the assistance of several outside agencies and a Canine Unit, the suspect was taken into custody without incident. Aaron Daniel Cleary, a 22-year-old Sparks resident, was arrested for Burglary, Possession of Burglary Tools, Destruction of Property and Obstructing and Resisting a Police Officer. ktvn.com

Raleigh, NC: Police arrest suspect in 5 armed robberies
The Raleigh Police Department said Monday it has arrested a suspect in five of seven recent armed robberies in the city. Alvin Marion Pickett, 26, faces five counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon and five counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Picket faces additional charges in an attempted robbery Sunday night at a Pizza Hut on Hillsborough Street. Witnesses said he showed a gun, but fled before completing the robbery. A Raleigh police officer spotted the car Picket was driving and he was arrested without incident. Prior to Picket's arrest, detectives had been circulating surveillance pictures of a masked suspect wanted in armed robberies in the city. abc11.com

Oakland County, MI: Family Dollar employee arrested after reporting False Armed Robbery
A Family Dollar employee and her friend are jailed after, officials say, she worked with the friend to steal cash from the Pontiac location and falsely report the theft as an armed robbery. Oakland County Sheriff's deputies at 6:20 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 17, were sent to the Family Dollar to investigate a reported armed robbery. The clerk, a 19-year-old woman from Pontiac, called dispatchers and told them she was walking to her car with the store's bank deposit bag when an unknown man wearing a black ski mask came up to her and demanded she hand the cash over. The woman said she gave the deposit bag to the suspect, and the man ran from the area. dailytribune.com

Lookout sentenced to prison in 2011 fatal Family Dollar robbery
The lookout in a 2011 robbery that resulted in the slaying of a Family Dollar assistant manager has been sentenced to 15 years, eight of them in prison. Quartez Dorez Carter, 30, of Macon, pleaded guilty to armed robbery Monday in Bibb County Superior Court. In November 2011, Bibb County jurors found 25-year-old Antonio Browner guilty of murder, armed robbery and other charges in the death of 38-year-old Gary Bennett Cole Jr. at Family Dollar on April 12, 2011. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Browner additionally was sentenced to a separate life term in connection with a Forsyth Road robbery. macon.com


Salt Lake City, UT: Man punches, headbutts Macy's Loss Prevention officers after stealing cologne at downtown SLC mall
The Christmas spirit has apparently bypassed one Utah man after he allegedly punched and headbutted loss prevention officers after stealing cologne from Macy's downtown. Police booked Edmund White, 32, into jail for robbery. When loss prevention officers attempted to stop White outside, he started punching and headbutting them. The suspect was restrained and held for police. gephardtdaily.com





Dartmouth, NH: Man Tries to Shoplift From Target During Police Toy Drive
Dartmouth police say the department had been holding its annual Christmas toy drive outside the store on Saturday when Target employees alerted officers to a man they say had shoplifted from the store. Detective Kyle Costa says 42-year-old Patrick Machado, of Acushnet, had several items valued at about $120. necn.com




Alcoa, TN: Walmart Armed Robbery
Alcoa Police Department is investigating an armed robbery, which occurred at Walmart in Alcoa Sunday morning. According to the preliminary investigation, an unknown man armed with a handgun committed an armed robbery and fled in a light blue Mercury Grand Marquise. wate.com



Austin, TX: Man shoplifts from Whole Foods, screams rape when caught

UK: Acklam, Middlesbrough: Raiders target G4S Security Van in daring daylight robbery

Kay Jewelers in the Marley Station Mall, Glen Burnie, MD reported a Grab & Run on 12/17, items valued at $29,998

Kay Jewelers in the Garden State Market Place, Cherry Hill, NJ reported a Grab & Run on 12/18, items valued at $10,299

Kay Jewelers in the Oxford Valley Mall, Langhorne, PA reported a Grab & Run on 12/17, item valued at $3,999

Kay Jewelers in the Serramonte Shopping Center, Daly City, CA, reported a Distraction Theft on 12/8, item valued at $2,849

Piercing Pagoda in the Smith Haven Mall, Lake Grove, NY reported a Grab & Run on 12/17, item valued at $1899

Piercing Pagoda in the Bayshore Mall, Eureka, CA reported a Burglary on 12/16, valued yet to be determined

Jared in the Westfield Plaza Bonita, National City, CA reported an Attempted Burglary on 12/18, no items were stolen

ZALE in the St. Claire Square Mall, Fairview Heights, IL reported a Grab & Run on 11/16, item valued at $9,339

Goodman in the River Hills Mall, Mankato, MN reported a Diamond Switch on 12/9, item valued at $3,199

Skimming Report

Romanian Gets 57-Months Jail For $5M 'ATM Skimming' Scheme
Robert Mate and 15 others copied bank account details of thousands of ATM users and stole $5 million. Mate, along with 15 others, was involved in a high level "ATM skimming" scheme involving several financial organizations and played across many US states including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Florida.  darkreading.com

Credit Card Fraud

Pelham, NH: Walgreens busts $450 Credit Card Fraud
Police in Pelham, N.H. arrested a New York man who allegedly tried to make a purchase with fraudulent credit cards and may be part of a larger credit-card fraud operation, according to a press release. Pelham police have received several reports in the past week of fraudulent credit card activity, including two reported incidents at the Walgreens on Bridge Street. On Dec. 9 at 4:51 p.m., police received a call that the male suspect from those two previous incidents was attempting to purchase $450 in gift cards "possibly using cloned or stolen credit cards," the press release stated. lowellsun.com

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