Fredrik Nilsson, North American GM for Axis Communications appeared on New England Cable News (NECN) on Black Friday

What do Filene's Basement, Armani Exchange and 7-11 all have in common? They've all been victimized this year by "flash robs." Take a look at what happened in a 7-11 earlier this week in Silver Spring, Maryland. At least 70 young people connected via social media and then met at the 7-11 to simultaneously shoplift in the store. It's the evolution of the flash mob, and retailers are on alert this holiday season for this new and bothersome trend in retail crime.

Also watching this trend closely are the people in the surveillance business. Fredrik Nilsson, North American general manager for the Chelmsford, Massachusetts based Axis Communications, a major maker of surveillance cameras, joined us to talk about protecting against flash robs.

How big of an issue are flash robs from Nilsson’s communication with his clients? "Theft in retail has been an issue for a long time. It seems like the people who want to steal from stores just find new ways to do it in better ways. Unfortunately, they are using the latest technology," said Nilsson. "It’s pretty amazing. They gather 70 people in the store to do the robbery. That’s very difficult from retailers to protect themselves from." If you look at retail in general, three to five percent go toward loss, which is basically theft, internal or external theft, said Nilsson. "That means that you and I as shoppers have to pay more for the goods, so they want to do anything to prevent themselves from being hit by those kind of things."

One of the big advances in cameras is that they are better. New cameras feature HD TV and make identification easier. Watch the interview to learn more about flash robs and surveillance technology used against it. (source necn.com)