What’s Happening at OpenEye's Booth at ISC West?

OpenEye will be at ISC West in Las Vegas from March 25-27

ISC West is the leading security and public safety event in the U.S., and one of the best ways to see OpenEye’s surveillance solutions up close. Use code ISCW26CIP335 for a complimentary Exhibit Hall pass until March 12, or register for a discounted pass of $100 from March 13-24.

See OpenEye's latest AI-powered search and alert features that will help automate operations and security for businesses. Stop by for exciting giveaways and more—there’s lots to be seen at booth #14039.

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ORC Is Getting More Organized
Inside the Specialized Roles Driving Today’s Organized Retail Crime Rings

By the D&D Daily staff

Organized retail crime (ORC) is increasingly defined not by chaos or opportunism, but by structure. Across multiple retail sectors, loss prevention teams are observing theft crews operating with clear role separation — a shift that mirrors legitimate logistics and supply-chain models.

Rather than relying on a single individual to handle every stage of a theft, many ORC rings now divide responsibilities among specialized participants. These roles often include in-store scouts who assess staffing levels and security presence, lifters who remove merchandise, drivers who manage quick exits and store rotation, returners who convert stolen goods into refunds or store credit, and resellers who move product through online marketplaces or informal fencing channels.

This task specialization reduces risk for individual offenders. By limiting each participant’s exposure, groups are able to operate longer, avoid repeat identification, and complicate prosecution. In many cases, individuals involved in returns or resale may never physically steal merchandise, creating additional barriers for investigations that focus narrowly on in-store incidents.

For retailers, this structure presents new detection challenges. Traditional LP approaches often center on identifying theft behavior at the point of removal. However, when theft is only one link in a broader chain, isolating a single role may not disrupt the operation as a whole.

Loss prevention teams are increasingly responding by shifting focus from isolated incidents to behavioral patterns across roles. This includes monitoring return activity tied to high-theft SKUs, identifying drivers or accomplices appearing across multiple locations, and correlating in-store theft with downstream refund or resale behavior. Cross-functional collaboration — particularly between LP, e-commerce, fraud, and customer service teams — has become critical in building a complete picture of these networks.

The rise of role-based ORC also highlights the importance of enterprise-level data visibility. Groups that operate across banners, districts, or regions often exploit fragmented systems that prevent patterns from surfacing quickly.

As ORC continues to evolve, the trend toward specialization underscores a key reality for retailers: modern retail crime is less about impulsive theft and more about coordinated operations designed to exploit operational gaps. Addressing it requires not only stronger controls, but a broader, systems-level view of how organized groups adapt to retail environments themselves.


Feds Target Big City EBT Fraud & Skimming
U.S. Secret Service Kicks off 2026 EBT Fraud and ATM skimming Outreach Operations with Multi-city Effort
In late January, the U.S. Secret Service, alongside law enforcement and government agency partners, conducted a multi-city Electronic Benefit Transfer fraud and payment card skimming outreach operation in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Seattle and Denver.

Teams also distributed educational materials about Electronic Benefit Transfer fraud and skimming to businesses to help them better identify the warning signs of illegal skimming devices.

“This operation was an interagency win. The U.S. Secret Service, and our law enforcement and interagency partners, will not stand by idly while fraudsters prey on vulnerable communities using illegal card skimmers to commit EBT fraud,” U.S. Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn said. “This effort demonstrates why a proactive approach to cyber-enabled financial fraud is necessary. By educating businesses, identifying skimming devices, and removing them before valuable data falls into the hands of criminals, we deny their ability to steal benefits from those that need it most.”

This is part of a series of Secret Service-led outreach operations that have taken place across the country since April 2024. In 2025, law enforcement personnel removed more than 400 illegal skimming devices during these operations preventing an estimated potential fraud loss of more than $428 million.

Criminals often steal EBT and other payment card numbers by installing illegal skimming devices on ATMs, gas pumps and merchant point-of-sale terminals. Scammers use skimming technology to capture card information from EBT cards and encode that data onto another card with a magnetic strip.

Law enforcement agencies have seen a nationwide increase in skimming particularly targeting EBT cards. Each month, money is deposited into government assistance accounts intended to help families pay for food and other basic items. This enables criminals who steal card information to time their fraudulent withdrawals and purchases around the monthly deposits. secretservice.gov
 

'Cargo At Rest is Cargo At Risk'
Intermodal Pushes Back On Cargo Theft

According to the latest analysis by CargoNet, reported cargo theft incidents rose 27% between 2023 and 2024, across the U.S. and Canada. Dollar value estimates of loss are wide-ranging, typically between $15 billion and $30 billion annually, and this likely understates the problem. Under-reporting is common.

The intermodal industry is particularly exposed due to its modal transfers and handoffs. Cargo at rest is cargo at risk, and these risks include financial, reputational, insurance and human safety. IANA recently surveyed its membership and found that over 50% of respondents had been impacted, and this was not limited to freight. Thieves have also targeted chassis.

In response to theft, strategic fraud and double brokering, the supplier community is embracing a range of visibility solutions. Transportation management system-integrated tracking devices, an AI-enabled scanning platform, and a roadside camera network are among the products addressing the industry's vulnerabilities.

IANA’s Intermodal Safety and Security Committee recently established an Intermodal Cargo Theft Working Group. The aim of this collaborative effort is to break down silos and silence around cargo theft, creating a space to develop and highlight preventative solutions.

This community understands that each mode in the supply chain has an opportunity to assist, including improved training and strategic planning. Federal intervention is also crucial. Cargo theft is an interstate problem, yet prosecutorial responses vary by jurisdiction, often relegating it to a property crime and an insurance claim. Our members report a revolving door when enforcement does occur. Those bad actors who are caught do not remain long in custody. supplychainbrain.com


CORCA's Impact on Cargo Theft
NewsRoom Notes: Congress takes aim at organized cargo theft
Congressional action is advancing to tackle a sharp rise in organised cargo and retail theft. The House Judiciary Committee has approved H.R. 2853, the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025 (CORCA), a bipartisan bill designed to modernise federal enforcement for large‑scale theft operations that span jurisdictions and exploit both physical and online resale channels.

CORCA would expand federal authority under Title 18 to aggregate related theft cases, create a DHS‑led Crime Coordination Centre for better intelligence sharing, raise penalties for interstate/international cargo theft, and strengthen public–private cooperation among agencies, law enforcement, retailers and transport providers.

Cargo theft has evolved from opportunistic smash‑and‑grab incidents into coordinated, multi‑jurisdictional enterprises that harm carriers, retailers and consumers. With trucking moving about three‑quarters of US freight, the trucking sector and railways report rising losses and disruption. The legislation recognises theft as a national economic and public safety problem and aims to close enforcement gaps that allow organised rings to prosper.

For logistics and security teams, CORCA signals potential changes in enforcement, reporting expectations and collaboration opportunities with federal agencies — and could influence insurance, routing and security investments if passed. thegamingboardroom.com


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