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Royal Canadian Mint conducts crypto-currency trial
The Royal Canadian Mint is currently running an employee trial of its MintChip
crypto-currency. MintChip is linked to the Canadian dollar, and is designed for
low-value online, mobile and physical payments. A Canadian government-owned
crown corporation that produces Canada's coins and bank notes, the Mint has
issued MintChip accounts to 200 employees at its Ottawa and Winnipeg offices. It
has installed Ingenico's IWL220B contactless card readers in its cafeterias,
enabling pilot participants to pay for purchases using MintChip via NFC-enabled
BlackBerry 10 smartphones. And the Mint also is encouraging pilot participants
to exchange MintChip value with one another, both face-to-face using NFC and
remotely via email or SMS text messages. (Source
mobilepaymentstoday.com)
The growth of organized retail theft
Each year organized groups of professional shoplifters steal or fraudulently
obtain billions of dollars in retail merchandise to resell back into the
marketplace. This activity, known as organized retail theft, is a growing
concern for retailers across Canada. In addition to the direct financial losses
to retailers, those who engage in organized retail theft also pose a significant
threat to the safety of employees and the community during the commission of
their crimes. What’s more concerning, is the potential public health and safety
concerns involved – for example, some products commonly stolen for resale
include infant formula, over-the-counter medications and other health & beauty
items; which may be expired, repackaged, or improperly stored or handled before
reaching the consumer. Recognizing this and with employee and community safety
top of mind – the Retail Council of Canada, Building Owners and Managers
Association of Toronto (BOMA), Interac Association, FACECROOK and retailers like
TJX Canada, Loblaw Companies, Sobeys, Mac’s Convenience Stores and Building
Technologies have partnered with Toronto Crime Stoppers, Ontario Association of
Crime Stoppers and the creative team at DDB Canada to develop a proactive
campaign to bring awareness to the issue of Organized Retail Crime. The focus of
the initiative is straightforward – create awareness in the community on the
growing issue of retail theft, let the offenders know the retail industry is
taking action and lastly, provide the community with a conduit to relay
anonymous information of offenders to the police by calling Crime Stoppers. By
working together with aggressive campaigns like this, Toronto Crime Stoppers and
the Retail Industry will continue to make a difference in the prevention of
crime at their locations. For more information on Organized Retail Crime visit
itcostsusall.com. (Source
canadiangrocer.com)
 Vancouver
business owner duped in gift card scam Madalena Corsi has owned a
jewellery store in Vancouver for more than 20 years and she thought she’d seen
every scam in the book until she fell for a gift card scam. Corsi was duped
after trading around $100 cash for what she thought was $300 in grocery gift
cards. He placed an order for $300 in gift cards saying it was for his mother’s
birthday, but when it was time to pay he had no wallet, leaving and returning to
say it was locked up in his car along with his keys. Corsi says the man phoned
the tow company and carried out an elaborate conversation in front of her. “He
said I’ll leave you my Safeway gift cards that I got here for my birthday and
I’ll be back in a hour, and of course he never came. At the end of the day just
to satisfy my curiosity I went down to Safeway and of course they were not
activated with zero balances” says Corsi. Corsi is not alone, others are
complaining to the Better Business Bureau about a similar scheme.
(Source
globenews.ca)
 Kelowna
RCMP released surveillance photos of suspects in the armed robbery of a Mac's
Convenience Store Kelowna RCMP have released surveillance photos of
two male suspects involved in an armed robbery at the Mac's Convenience Store
early Saturday morning. The robbery took place shortly before 1 a.m., according
to police both men entered the store with their faces covered. "One man
threatened the clerk with a golf club while the other emptied various items from
a store display case into a garbage bag," says Cst. Kris Clark. Clark says the
clerk was unharmed and no cash was taken, but about $500 worth of product was
stolen. (Source
castanet.net)
Wal-Mart to invest $500 million in Canada, create 7,500 jobs
Home Depot Canada to hire 6,300 Associates for Spring Season - their Christmas
season
Loblaws Distribution Center security guard jailed for stealing from workers in
Kitchener, ON
Vancouver Rexall pharmacy robbed of strong methadone
Couple charged in Langley, BC store and spa robberies
Retail Fast Facts: January 2013
Highlights:
Total monthly retail sales changed by 3.9% over the comparable month last year.
Total sales excluding food, automotive and gasoline changed by 4.7% over the
comparable month last year.
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