How Many Laptops Fit Your Pants? Not Your Problem with Anti-Shoplifting Strategies in Place

Just how many laptops will fit into one’s pants? That is a question that you don’t see on many trivia game shows but it was a question I and my staff became interested in not too many years ago. We were continuously losing laptop computers on our cycle counts for some time and it became clear that they were not just evaporating once we started doing some tape reviews. A man, who was actually pretty good at disguising himself from the camera was getting away with laptops on display, secreting them on his person and getting out the door without activating our anti-shoplifting devices.

He was finally caught when Checkpoint tags were inserted in the battery compartment of every display laptop as well as on the exterior. He was careful to remove the exterior tag of the four laptops he removed next but he didn’t even think about there being an interior tag. He managed to stuff the four laptops down his very baggy cargo pants and head for the exit where he promptly activated the Checkpoint security system and the chase was on! Our security staff chased him for over a block with him trying to hold his pants up as laptops were falling to the ground, finally cornering him with a patrol vehicle and a uniformed security officer. He tried resisting but was quickly talked out of it with the snap of a collapsible baton opening. After he was helped to his feet, handcuffed, and allowed to hold his pants up, he was taken back to the store and the police were called to take him into custody. The four laptops were scuffed up but not damaged but we did not recover the eight others he had stolen on other occasions.

There are many anti-shoplifting strategies that one can use to try to prevent serial shopliftings like these from occurring. The Checkpoint security system utilizing electronic article surveillance (EAS) was our saving grace. Closed-circuit television is instrumental in many a retail theft prevention incident; however, it requires someone to be watching the right thing at the right time; otherwise, the incident can only be investigated after it has already occurred. During busy store times when sales help is busy and security is tied up doing its customer service duties is the perfect time for a would-be shoplifter to do his or her thing. The “laptop bandit” knew that and was careful to avoid detection by cameras as well as disguised himself in case he was seen by the camera on subsequent review. He just couldn’t get by little 2-inch Checkpoint tags stuck in the battery compartment.

Checkpoint systems has many solutions for various merchandise.  As a wise retailer, you want to employ both visible deterrents and invisible anti-shoplifting devices to aid in the apprehension of the shoplifter who tries to defeat your retail theft prevention strategies. Visible deterrents include strong signage and public viewing monitors for your closed-circuit television system as well as visible EAS antennae with responsive staff. Your invisible strategies can include the secreted Checkpoint tags in places shoplifters won’t expect or won’t look. If you put a tag on the outside, they are likely to stop looking after they defeat that one and not bother to look for the one hidden somewhere else in the device. This is that much important with display merchandise that is left out in the open to be handled by your customers. It is too easy for someone to walk off with that display camcorder—or in our case, a laptop. 

Our goal for retailers is to make life difficult for the potential shoplifter. Their job should not be easy which means ours is not either. We have to work at protecting our merchandise; otherwise, you might find yourself trying to count how many laptops really do fit in a pair of cargo pants!

For more information on Checkpoint Systems contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 or www.antishoplifting.net.

The Little Devices That Make All The Difference – Alpha Jewel Lok

When it comes to merchandise protection, bigger isn’t always better.  on’t get me wrong, for larger items, you need to use retail anti-theft devices that will be big enough for the merchandise packaging, but what about the smaller items? If you are a store that sells any kind of jewelry, watches or accessories, then the Alpha Jewel Lok may be just what you have been looking for in a merchandise protection device. It would be unrealistic to use bulky retail anti-theft devices for jewelry or watches, because these are the types of items that your customers want to handle and even try on while they are shopping in your store.

With the Alpha Jewel Lok, that’s exactly what they will be able to do with the merchandise.  This is because the Alpha Jewel Lok is the smallest lightweight EAS based retail anti-theft device available for use today, and it’s a great solution to help you prevent shoplifting. The device itself is very small, and has a little hook on the end of it that locks it closed. I think of it as a miniature padlock with EAS capabilities, so it will set off the EAS towers at the exit if someone tries to leave the store with it attached to an item. The small size of the device makes it a perfect solution for jewelry, because you can attach the device directly to the product. For example, all you would have to do to secure a necklace or bracelet is to open the device, place the hook through one of the links on the necklace, and then close it. The same goes for a watch, you could attach the device to the item by clipping it onto the buckle, a hole in the wrist strap, or really anywhere that the hook will fit on the item.

It can sometimes be a real challenge when looking for ways to prevent shoplifting in your store, so when you find a solution that actually works, you need to take advantage of it. It’s not all about merchandise protection devices though, you also need to make sure that everyone that works for you is on the lookout for possible theft and suspicious activity. Train your team on what to look for, and to always offer assistance to customers that are anywhere in their areas. Not only will this keep your paying customers happy by having someone there to answer their questions, but it will also deter a significant amount of theft in your store. Shoplifters don’t like the extra attention, and will most likely leave the area if an employee is consistently asking customers if they need assistance.

What’s great about the Alpha Jewel Lok is that it can also be used in conjunction with a metal lanyard or cable if needed, which can open up many opportunities to use the devices on other types of merchandise as well. Like most other devices used to protect merchandise, you will need a special S3 key to open and close the device, or everyone would be able to get it open. There’s no need to worry though, because the key is easy to use, and convenient and small enough to carry around with them at all times so your customers won’t have to wait. Every different type of merchandise I’ve used these little devices on have shown as significant difference in the amount of loss that occurred. They are the real deal, and are just as reliable as any of the larger retail anti-theft devices I have ever used to prevent shoplifting.

For more information about Alpha Jewel Lok contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

Knowledge is Power: Pre-Employment Screening Gives You Knowledge

“Oh no!” the screams comes from your sales floor. You rush to see what the matter is and come face-to-face with a very angry looking mother. She immediately informs you that the person you have in customer service dealing with returns is the convicted sex offender who molested her daughter as well as five other little girls in town. She demands to know why you would hire him to work in customer service in a children’s clothing store. “I didn’t know …I didn’t know” is all you can say in your defense.  A little far-fetched you say?  Afraid not. A very similar scenario happened at a company at which I worked. “I didn’t know” just didn’t cut it. You really have an obligation to know or at least to try and find out before hiring someone. Pre-employment screening could have given you that knowledge and at least allowed you to consider the person’s history before putting them in front of your customers.

It is often said that the best predictor of future performance is past behavior. Should that be the case, business owners and management have a need to know what kind of behavior prospective employees have exhibited. In a company I once worked for, a person who was convicted of embezzlement and on federal supervision was hired as a manager for a retail store without the company delving into his background and to everyone’s surprise he committed a large-scale embezzlement scheme involved forged checks. Should the company have completed a pre-employment screening of this individual he may not have been hired, or at least never been placed in a position in which he had control of company funds.

If these situations were not serious enough, in another true situation an assistant store manager was hired after leaving another company in the franchise chain with rave reviews and without disclosing he was actually fired for stealing company funds. Within six months he committed another criminal act but it wasn’t theft. He actually sexually assaulted a customer in the manager’s office during store hours. It was then that it was discovered he had a previous criminal history. That would have been nice information to have from an employee background check prior to hiring him and it would have saved the company a great deal of hand-wringing over the potential litigation and bad public relations.

I could go on and on with stories from various points in my career or from other professionals to whom I have spoken but you get the point. One cannot just bury his or her head in the sand and hope that the person they are hiring to handle their money, deal with their customers, or supervise their young employees is not an embezzler, a burglar, or a sex offender. The employer must make an effort to conduct pre-employment screening using a reputable background check company. A failure to do so could lead your company to facing bad public relations, lawsuits, or even tragedy.

A good background check company can provide you with a peace-of-mind by finding and disclosing those potential time bombs before they end up on your employee roster. They can automate the process so the pre-employment screening becomes a seamless part of your application process. You are then presented the findings and can make a hiring decision based on your own personnel guidelines.

Pre-employment screening needs to become part of your personnel processes if it is not already. You can’t defend against what you don’t know and “I didn’t know” is just not going to cut it when you are facing that customer who was victimized by your new employee. INFORMATION IS POWER! Use it to your advantage and conduct employee background checks. 

For more information on employee background checks contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

EAS Tags Do Get Booster’s Attention!

We are finally getting a break from the storm of shoplifting that has been occurring at several of our area stores.  First of all, we got a positive identification of one guy from the local police.  When we contacted the man, he actually agreed to come in for an interview in exchange for us not pressing charges.  He came and talked with us, and gave up several addresses and other details of other offenders.  Our area has been inundated with boosters because of our stores’ proximity to a large local flea market.  Even with our use of Checkpoint Systems, and many Alpha security tools, they have been finding ways around it all.  One group has been emptying entire sections of expensive toothpastes, body washes, and deodorants, even those all these items have EAS tags on the packages in plain sight.  The guy mentioned above has been seen regularly with another lady, but their “shopping list” seemed to always be the bigger expensive stuff, like hair regrowth formulas and electric toothbrushes.  In order to stop shoplifting, we have to get to the root of the problem, which is the buyer of the stolen merchandise, and we had a feeling they were all working for the same one.

Late this week one store manager recognized a woman she had suspected of stealing on a previous day.  She watched her conceal some deodorants in her large purse and then went and waited at the front door for her to attempt to leave.  As she came up to the exit, the store manager told her to dump her bag out and give back the deodorants immediately or she would have her arrested.  The woman complied and dumped her purse out and emptied it right there in the middle of the sales floor, before jetting out the door.  (She also had air fresheners, toothpaste, and batteries from another store or two in there.  None of it had any type of EAS tags, or other identifiers attached)  The manager called the other three stores in the surrounding counties and gave them some detailed descriptions.  Plus she called the police so they could get out a BOLO.   The woman actually did go right to one of the stores the other manager had alerted, and the police nabbed her and the getaway driver.  

We were out on the road scoping out these addresses when we got the call that she had been caught, so we went to talk to her.  She was terribly impaired at the time, and could barely keep her eyes open or concentrate.  She was upset though, because this was going to be her final strike if she went back to court for shoplifting.  We decided it was time to make another deal;  tell us names and details, and we can work on those charges.  First of all, we asked why she and her cohorts were specifically targeting our stores.  She said it was because we have all the items on their lists.  (We work for a small retail pharmacy.)  She said they had actually been warned several times to stay away from us because we have Checkpoint Systems, and they are hard to defeat.  Plus, we have all diligently trained our staff on methods to stop shoplifting, like adhering EAS tags right on the fronts of packages. (This is so when they pull the tag off, it will leave a mark and make the package harder to resell!)  But the draw of getting their lists completed at one or two stores instead of traveling all over was too great.  I guess even a thief has to put gas in their car.  I can also venture to guess that the faster she got back with the desired items, the faster she could get paid and go buy the drugs she was desperate for, or that drugs were possibly her payment.  

We can stop all the boosters we can get our hands on, but they will all eventually be replaced by more.  The way to stop shoplifting is to get to the head of the operation, and stop the buyer.  This is our ultimate goal.  

For more ways to stop shoplifting contact us: 1.770.426.0547 or Antishoplifting.net

Going Beyond The Shoplifter- Checkpoint Security System

A Checkpoint Security System is designed for applications ranging far beyond just catching shoplifters in action, although that is its primary function. For most retail stores, the Checkpoint system includes anti theft/ EAS tags, door pedestals and their alarms, and a CCTV surveillance system.

The EAS tags are the Electronic Article Surveillance tags that are the focal point of theft deterrent. These are the plastic tags that now come in a very wide variety of styles, shapes and applications for a more streamlined product protection. These tags work in conjunction with the door pedestals and towers.

The towers and pedestals contain the audible alarming mechanism. As an active EAS tag passes through the doors, or in the protective field around the doors, the alarm registers and the audible sounds. Beyond activating the alarms, the towers serve as an important visual deterrent.

Since the towers are located at the entrance/ exit doors, they are easy to spot by a shoplifter before they even enter the store. They can see that the doors have retail theft prevention and do not need to go any further into the store. They will be more likely to pick a store that does not have a security system in place.

Another security component placed near the front doors is a public view monitor. Data has shown that when faced with their own image entering a business, people are apt to be more aware of what actions they take and use when in that place of business. In particular, shoplifting suspects are less likely to steal, when they know that their image/ faces have been recorded when they entered the store. 

One of the alternative uses for cameras, CCTV systems, and Public View monitors that go beyond detecting shoplifters is for safety reasons. Cameras deter other kinds of criminal activity, like acts of violence and vandalism. A public view monitor that detects faces, personal images such as height, clothing, etc, operate under the same principal that anyone who sees their on image will be less likely to commit any crime.The flip side is that if someone does commit a crime, they are more easily identified due to the alternate views recorded. An entrance monitor is generally positioned to record the most complete view of a person entering a store. The camera angle is positioned to more accurately gauge height, body size and build, and clearly see the person’s face. All of this is translated into the image seen on the Public View Monitor.

A better identification often leads to a better chance of an arrest, and successful conviction. When more criminal activity is successfully prosecuted, word travels through the criminal community that this is not a store to mess with.

Having advanced Checkpoint security systems often helps more through the residual effects, than through the direct relationship to a shoplifting incident. By creating addition reasons why someone should not commit a criminal act in you store, you more effectively protect your store, your employees and your customers.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase Anti-Shoplifting devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems to stop shoplifting in your store.

For more information on Anti-Shoplifting, Checkpoint Labels, a Checkpoint Security System, Checkpoint Security Tags, Checkpoint Systems, or Checkpoint Tags and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at Retail theft prevention to Stop Shoplifting in your store or call 1.770.426.0547 

STOP SHOPLIFTING BY SECURING YOUR EXISTING CHECKPOINT LABELS

As a retailer, you may not realize you can stop shoplifting simply by controlling your existing supply of Checkpoint Labels (an integral part of Electronic Article Surveillance).  A clear weapon of choice could be something that is not brought into your store by the thieves themselves but rather something that you provide to them indirectly. One example of this that I’ve seen many times in the past is something that I’ve dubbed the ‘shoe sneak’.

To demonstrate the ‘shoe sneak’, imagine the following scenario.

It’s nearly closing time and your associates have already been servicing the last remaining customers towards the front of the store and into the checkout lanes. There are a few straggling customers remaining in the store and as anyone with closing experience knows, it’s sometimes difficult to get the customers to realize that the store is about to close.

Unnoticed, a single subject in the rear of the store has been watching a store associate for several minutes as she affixed Checkpoint Labels to the rear panels of fragrance boxes. As soon as the associate left the area to assist in ushering other customers towards the checkout lanes, the preying subject makes his move by approaching the now unmanned fragrance displays and takes possession of an entire roll of Checkpoint Labels. 

Now you have a problem and no one even knows it yet. Your entire Electronic Article Surveillance program is in jeopardy. 

By whatever means, the subject makes out of the store that night with the entire roll of labels. All it takes is a weakened policy with the way store associates can respond to Electronic Article Surveillance alarms by the front doors and it just about renders an entire EAS program fruitless. Now you have a lax policy about responding to EAS alarms and you’ve let an entire roll of labels exit the store. That particular thieve now knows he has a goldmine within your store.

So what would a shoplifter want with an entire roll of Checkpoint Labels? In order to stop shoplifting, you have to think like a shoplifter! The shoplifter that made off with the roll of labels knows now that he’s in control of them; he can use them each time he comes into the store to make his move. He thinks that your associates are lax, lazy and don’t really care about preventing loss.

The shoplifter returns to your store the following day. He’s armed with a label from your missing roll and a pair of wire cutters. Oh by the way, he’s also wearing steel toed work boots. The boots are his ultimate pass to waltzing right out the front door with hundreds of dollars’ worth of merchandise, per visit. 

How?

Before entering the store, he affixed a single label from the stolen roll, onto the bottom of his work boot. He does this with the intent of actually setting off the EAS alarm pedestal immediately when he enters the store. Coming through the front doors, he does just that. The alarm sounds and the associate working the register nearest to the door looks at him. 

He responds “Steel toed boots!” knowing that the associate will accept the quick explanation and disregard the alarm. The thief just bought an excuse to exit the store in the same fashion, by setting off the EAS alarm without incident. He will be remembered in a few moments as the guy with the boots that set off the alarm. 

From here the man goes to the rear of the store, towards the expensive high end hand bags to perform his magic. He quickly goes unnoticed snipping the cable tethers securing the hand bags to the rack, removes a few and folds them up, concealing them inside of his coat. 

He makes his way towards the front, exiting the store.  He sets off the EAS alarms again, gaining the attention of the same associate. She remembers him as having set off the alarm before and lets him pass without incident. The thief is home free with several hundred dollars’ worth of your merchandise. 

The clever placement of the label on the bottom of his boot, coupled by the carelessness of securing the roll of labels the day before, multiplied by the forgiving and lax store associate is an equation of significant loss. On top of that, there is plenty of more loss in store from this same thief. Remember, he has a whole roll of labels and may use them at will.

If you’re serious and want to stop shoplifting, you have to think like a shoplifter. They will use any and all methods to steal from your store. Start by securing your labels!

For more information on how to stop shoplifting by securing your Checkpoint Labels, contact us at 1-770-426-0547.