The Evils of Modern Technology

Transcription

1 The Evils of Technology: A Loss Prevention Perspective Kevin M. Plante, LPC, Director of Loss Prevention Reporting and Analytics, CVS Caremark Robert Vranek, Vice President of Loss Prevention, Belk, Inc. Walter M. Stella, Miller Law Group, San Francisco, CA The Evils of Modern Technology How operating in a competitive retail environment can make loss prevention personnel crazy Omni Retailing Electronic Receipt But would you feel comfortable detaining someone if your company used Digital or E-receipts? THEN NOW Omni Retailing Smart Safes Omni Retailing Smart Safes THEN NOW 1

2 Omni Retailing Mobile Point of Sale Omni Retailing Self Checkout THEN NOW THEN NOW Social Media and the meaning to Loss Prevention Major Social Media Outlets Thought provoking statistics * Facebook has 1 billion users If Facebook was a country, it would be ranked third most populous in the world! 1. China 2. India 3. Facebook 4. United States of America In 10 years, 40% of today s Fortune 500 will be out of business! The amount of people that join Linked In EVERY DAY is equal to the number of students enrolled in all Ivy League schools. 93% of all Marketers use Social Media 90% of all consumers trust peer recommendations for products while only 14% of all consumers trust manufacturer advertising * Eric Qualman- Social Media video 2013 What does that mean? If it is on the Internet, it must be true! 2

3 Investigation tools Investigation tools Monitoring sites Alerts Blog Posts Discussion Boards Tweets Auction Sites Social Networking sites What are they saying about you? Common Monitoring Tools: Monitor your brand reputation but also hear if people are talking about defrauding your company! Google Alerts News 1new result for Organized Retail CrimeRetailers Applaud House Passage Of Organized Retail Theft Bill Retail Solutions Online (press release) Through passage of this legislation a critical first step has been taken toward combating organized retail crimeand we commend Congress for their... See all stories on this topic» Blogs 1new result for Organized Retail CrimeKeeping You Informed Federal Facts Update Lynchburg RMA By debbie Retailers applauded passage of legislation that will create a unit inside the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute Organized Retail Crime(ORC) and assist state and local law enforcement and prosecuting agencies.... Lynchburg RMA - Blog Posts Discussion Boards 3

4 Tweets Auction Sites Subject is suspected of stealing product from a local store and selling the product at flea markets and on line auctions. His Facebook profile showed the following: Grew up in FLA and currently lives there. His mothers name is Debbie and lives in Indianapolis. His wife s name is Andrea and they have a daughter named Alyssa. Andrea is from Portland, OR originally. This persons date of birth is 9/10/1974 One of this suspects 433 friends shows that their employer is a trucking company in FLA. A little research shows that this particular person also once worked for a retailer that our suspect used to work for. A little more research showed that this trucking company is the company that is contracted for DC shipments to the store our suspect works in. Further comparison shows 26 friends in common that the trucking company person and our suspect share. A reasonable assumption was made at that point to assume there could be collusion between our truck driver and our suspect and that could be how our suspect is stealing our product. 4

5 Associate admitted to $150K in theft over 4 years Associate implicated the truck driver as well as 7 other friends that work for other retailers that are working with the truck driver to steal merchandise Secret Service involved in prosecution And now for the rest of the story Grew up in FLA and currently lives there. His mothers name is Debbie and lives in Indianapolis. His wife s name is Andrea and they have a daughter named Alyssa. Andrea is from Portland, OR originally. This persons date of birth is 9/10/1974 Information was gleaned from a unsecured profile belonging to a Director of Loss Prevention at a very large retail organization. 5

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7 6/13/2013 Hey man check out the domestics area. Doesn t that look like that beat us He looks like he s gonna go with the stuff. He ll probably fight us, too. He s all gangsta looking! That is that rotten son of He won t get us again. Let s make sure we get him this time! That s all right, I m ready this time and in the mood for a good old fashioned butt kicking! Bring him on! Omni-Channel Theft 7

8 Your initial investigation shows: Newly received merchandise is being posted for sale The ebay seller is an associate in one of your stores The new merchandise is being offered on ebay at 60% of your retail A count of the merchandise shows that all units of that style are still in the store That store, and specifically that department, has high inventory shortage The answer may be. What we found: The associate used her smartphone and ebay's mobile app to run an ebay store With her smartphone, the associate took pictures of our new receipts in our stock room Uploaded the merchandise directly to ebay before it even hit the sales floor She took only the merchandise needed to fill her orders after a sale was made Some questions The loss: Over $100,000 At what point does the theft occur Posting? Sale? Taking? Who else is selling your merchandise? Associates? ORC groups? 8

9 Your Initial investigation shows: Mobile Banking Payroll Checks have been duplicated The images look like exact duplicates, including security features and watermarks The same check has been deposited several times One paper deposit through an ATM One electronic deposit through the smart phone mobile app The associate is no longer employed What we found: This has happened with three associates in the last six months Interestingly enough, it was always on the final paycheck Each associate explained it away as confusion over whether or not they had deposited the check Some questions: The loss: Over $5,000 Is this theft or just an error? Would a jury believe it was an error? What would stop a dishonest associate from scanning all of the customers checks in a register or deposit? 9

10 6/13/2013 The New Money: Rewards Coupons Our Finance controls include balancing ecomm dollars sold-to ecomm dollars shipped One of our IT associates noticed the number of ecomm sales transactions did not balance to the fulfillment center ship transactions. Your initial investigation shows: On select days, the number of shipments were greater than the orders The majority of the extra shipments went to one shipping address There was no connection to any associate that we could find Upon opening the cartons, we found high value cosmetics What we found: This person received over 100 shipments of merchandise All were all paid for with credit reward dollars The real dollar value of the merchandise zeroed out and the system stopped tracking the transactions with zero dollars The reward dollar validation process was written for a batch environment While the system updated each morning, a small number of transactions were not validated We picked, packed and shipped the merchandise to the thief s home As the original value of the merchandise exceeded our free shipping threshold, we shipped it for free 10

11 Other Issues The Loss: Over $70,000 Virtual Gift Cards Photographing checks and credit cards Credit card skimmers on smart phones Customer contact books Customer data Video Voyeurs New Challenges Old Issues Video Voyeurs Old School: Camcorders Hidden in boxes and bags Placed on escalators or under fitting room stalls Approach the subject and ask to look at the video Confiscate the video Call the police Video Voyeurs The new challenges: Smart phones, Cell phones & Tablets with high resolution recording How do you even know it s recording? Device may be password protected Files may be hidden Video may be streamed to the cloud Video may not be recorded, just streamed to a service like Facetime or Skype, etc. 11

12 Recording Interviews in the LP Office Old school: There are divided opinions on audio/video recording of shoplifting apprehensions and internal interviews Some companies- Do not record Record video only Record audio and video Record the statement Recording Interviews in the LP Office The new challenges: Almost everyone carries a smart phone with sophisticated audio and video recorders How do you know if someone has one? How do you know it s recording? Do you secure them? Can you tell them not to record the conversation? Shoplifting Apprehensions Old School: Observe the theft Make the apprehension Write the report Call the police Our evidence, video, statements, witnesses vs. the shoplifters statements Shoplifting Apprehensions The new challenges: Making the apprehension -Uninvolved people video recording your apprehension Writing the report your version of the incident may be called into question Calling the police the police may already be called Our evidence, video, statements & witnesses vs. the shoplifters, video, technology used to refute our evidence, & testimony etc. Shoplifting Apprehensions Apprehension Video The first action typically by the subject is missed-our response is recorded Do you allow uninvolved witnesses to record apprehensions? Do you try and block the cameras? What if its in the common area of the mall? Do your LP Associates realize what they say is being recorded? Are you prepared for edited video to show up in social media or in court? How many people are recording this apprehension? Shoplifting Apprehensions Loss Prevention: At 2:18 pm I observed the subject enter the store through the NE doors. The subject was carrying a large blue shopping bag The shoplifter: Produces a GPS map showing that she was on the highway in front of the store at 2:18 pm 12

13 Consider the Technology Your Own LP Associates use Concerns about Text messages Texts live forever Who has access to them? Casual comments Descriptive terms Abbreviations Picture and Video links Consider the Technology Your Own LP Associates use Grandstanding Videos of sensitive situations Video of off color situations Loss Prevention Associates Videos of your training Video rants about policy or Loss Prevention protocol Blogs/ newsgroups Loss Prevention Associates Questions? Kevin M. Plante, Director of Loss Prevention Reporting and Analytics, CVS Caremark Robert Vranek, Vice President of Loss Prevention, Belk, Inc. Walter M. Stella, Miller Law Group, San Francisco, CA 13