Daily Headers: May 5, 2009

Retail Survey Shows Crime Continues to Rise Amid Troubled Economy
PRNewswire

• Today, RILA released a survey conducted of America's largest retailers that indicates an increase in retail crime associated with an economy in distress over the past four months.
• Respondents included 32 of the largest and most successful retailers in the U.S., from all segments including grocery, mass merchant, specialty store, apparel, electronics and appliances, and fabric/craft retail.
• Of the reported statistics:
• 61% of retailers surveyed report having experienced an increase in amateur/opportunistic shoplifting in the last 4 months.
• 55% have experienced an increase in financial fraud.
• 72% of respondents report that they continue to see an increase in organized retail crime (ORC).
• No retailers reported a decrease at all in amateur/opportunistic shoplifting since last surveyed.
• Looks like the holiday trend I blogged about in December has kept its momentum into the late winter and early spring months.
  

Uproar over face scan for foreign students
WAToday.com
Cameron Houston

• Melbourne colleges are considering the introduction of facial recognition technology at classroom doors to curb abuse of international student visas.
• The proposal has angered civil libertarians and overseas student organizations, which said the new measure has discriminated against foreign students and could threaten Victoria's $3.9 billion international education industry.
• Three Melbourne colleges or TAFE schools said they would consider the software, which requires overseas students to have their faces scanned. Cameras would then identify students entering or leaving classrooms and automatically record attendance.
• Looks like Aussies are following in Mother England's footsteps in implementing biometrics for attendance-taking purposes?
  

Robot Animals Snare U.S. Poachers
National Geographic
Maryann Mott

• Researchers have designed turkeys that are actually robotic decoys designed to catch such outdoor outlaws. Other robots include a swimming moose, white-tailed deer and black bear.
• For nearly 20 years, the Oregon State Police Department's Fish and Wildlife Division has run a decoy operation targeting violators who hunt off-season from their cars and roadways or at night with the aid of a spotlight.
• Molded-fiberglass animals are wrapped in genuine hides obtained by government officers through donations or illegal kills.
• Inside the bodies are radio-controlled motors—the same type found in toy cars or planes—allowing wildlife officers to remotely move a decoy's head, ears, and tail. Special reflective eyes glow at night when light is shined on them.
• The robots don't come cheap: Prices range from $500 for turkey to $5,500 for a grizzly bear.
• Not sure which I'm more afraid of -- the actual mammals or the robotic version. Do know I won't be caught poaching either of them anytime soon.

Retail Fraud Gravy Train Could Be Derailed

With the new year of 2009 upon us, we're on the tail end of the holiday season and that means those customer service lines are packed with folks trying to return unwanted gifts for cash or store credit. However, what you may not know is that some of those customers are returning goods they never bought-- and cashiers may even be in on the tricks as well.

We blogged a few weeks ago about the growing trend of retail fraud in retail stores nationwide, and as we said, it's as simple as walking into a store, picking up an item and returning it for a full refund. Return fraud will cost retailers an estimated $11.8 billion in 2008 — $3.54 billion during the holiday season alone.

3VR was featured last week in a segment on CBS 5 San Francisco about our proactive approach to eliminating retail fraud with our surveillance software. The piece focused on our unique facial recognition and surveillance technology, which immediately sends alerts to security personnel the moment suspected fraudsters enter the store. Using the 3VR solution, retailers have access to everything they need to apprehend fraudsters before they can make their escape into a crowded mall or parking lot and before employees clock out for the night.

Research is showing that due in large part to the ailing economic conditions we're facing, retail thefts are no longer mostly limited to customers in urban areas. Both customer and employee hands are stickier this holiday season in more rural regions, demonstrated in the spike in crime in states such as Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. Coupled with smaller budgets that have forced stores to cut prevention costs, retailers are stuck with tremendous financial losses. Organized Retail Crime (ORC), or "sophisticated crime rings that steal and stockpile huge quantities of merchandise that is sold later to unwitting buyers" in flea markets, pawn shop and other outlets, has also increased in these tough times.

"It's not pure need, but times are tough and the economy triggers people making bad decisions," said Joseph LaRocca, vice president of loss prevention for the National Retail Federation (NRF). An October NRF survey revealed 79 percent of retailers polled have experienced an increase in employee theft compared with the same period in the previous year, and according to LaRocca, retailers lost $34.8 billion in 2007 from employee thefts and shoplifting combined.

Ranging from simple shoplifting tricks and cash siphoning from registers to colluding with customers in sweethearting (when the store cashier works with the customer and intentionally undercharges by skipping items when checking out), retailers are fighting an uphill battle against employee fraud this year. As recent statistics and coverage is showing, proactive solutions like 3VR will be ever more critical in 2009 for retailers looking to prevent these criminal acts from both sides of the transaction and survive the slower revenue streams expected in the year ahead.