CHECKPOINT TAGS HELP BUST ORC RING

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again now; return fraud is one of the biggest fraud schemes affecting retailers right now. This fraud can occur in so many different ways, it’s almost overwhelming to the stores. Individuals can simply walk into the store and grab merchandise; if a cashier isn’t paying attention, a refund can be given to that individual. Thieves will also steal from one store, then immediately drive to the next closest store to return the stolen goods for store credit. Even more brazen thieves will steal the product from the store, go out to their car and then immediately return to that very same store and get a refund for the merchandise THEY JUST STOLE!. It’s a huge issue in my stores that we combat every single day. The only thing that slows down the thieves is our Checkpoint Tags; and that’s been challenged lately as well. 

My stores carry a plethora of high end apparel items, so making sure we have security tags on clothes is of the utmost importance. For a long time, this was helping us battle the shoplifters. I once had a large group making fraudulent refunds. It seemed like every day a different person was returning merchandise to one of my stores. It was frustrating as the product that they were targeting was secured with Checkpoint tags. I couldn’t figure out where they were getting the product from and I didn’t understand how my physical security measures weren’t being more effective. Until a very attentive cashier broke the case for me. 

At this point, I had identified 10 individuals whom were making large dollar returns on a specific pair of athletic pants. Since it takes almost no effort to place security tags on clothes, I made sure to instruct all my stores to tag these pants. They were a bit under the normal threshold for tagging, but we were getting slammed with theft. Weeks went by and I kept seeing return after return from this same group. It would always be a different suspect, but they would all get out of the same, very distinctive vehicle (think small car with 37” rims), so I knew they were all connected. What I didn’t know was how they were connected and how they were beating me. 

One afternoon, I received a phone call from a cashier at one of my stores. This cashier had just processed another return for someone from this group and she noticed something was amiss. After the suspect left the store, the cashier very carefully inspected the clothing. She noticed that there was a small hole in the fabric where the Checkpoint tag should’ve been. Since the fabric was stretch-fit, it was very difficult to see. Without realizing it, this cashier helped me to bust this case wide open!

After that phone call, I started calling managers at every store that had recently been targeted. I made them pull any recent returns and inspect them for damage. Sure enough there were holes in every pair in the exact position where the hard tags were once placed. This group had been cutting a very small hole in the stretchy fabric. They were then able to stretch the hole over the hard tag, causing only minimal damage. It was almost impossible to see, but the evidence was there. Sometimes, putting security tags on clothes simply isn’t enough. 

After a few more weeks, the long arm of the law finally caught up with this group. We found out that the ring leader was a heroin dealer, and the owner of that classy looking car. He would get users to steal and make the refunds for him in order to pay for the drug. He would then sell the store credits to local pawnshops. Detectives were able to make a very strong case against him by using testimony from several of those caught. Not only did he go down for conspiracy, organized retail crime and felony shoplifting, when he was apprehended, he had a large amount of heroin in his possession. He was eventually sentenced to life in prison. (At the time, my state had a mandatory life sentence for anyone convicted of distributing heroin). All of that from something as simple as a cashier noticing a hole where a Checkpoint Tag should’ve been.  

For more information Clothing Security, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

CLOTHING SECURITY AND THE PROPER WAY TO RESPOND TO EAS ACTIVATIONS

If you’re like the majority of retailers out there, you have an EAS system in place to help combat theft. What I find a lot of times is that managers and store owners think that by simply installing the system, all their worldly problems will disappear. Granted, those towers at the front doors make for a great physical deterrent, but you still have to use the system and the corresponding Checkpoints Tags appropriately in order to have the most success. Even further, you should have a policy in place that guides managers and store personnel on how to appropriately react to EAS activations. A simple policy can go a long way at diffusing irate customers as well as protecting your store from any potential liability should a store associate react counter to that policy. 

If you sell apparel of any type, you should understand just how important clothing security is. During any given day of the week, someone will try (or even get away with) stealing your merchandise. Whether they layer the product in the fitting room, or stuff it down their pants or inside their purse, you’re fighting a thief almost every day. If you are using your Checkpoint tags properly, you can curb this behavior and more importantly, your losses. So now you’ve got your most commonly stolen goods tagged and are ready to battle the thieves. Does your staff know what to do during and EAS activation?

99% of the time, the alarm will be activated due to a cashier failing to remove the EAS device at the point of sale. When we fail to remove the clothing security tags, we aren’t providing the best customer service to our shoppers. We (probably) embarrass them a little bit as they exit and it really inconveniences them when they are trying to leave. Making sure your staff responds appropriately to those EAS activations is crucial. You should always apologize to the customer and inform them that you simply missed a tag that needs to be removed. Most times, the customer will understand and even be appreciative if this is handled correctly (They probably wouldn’t want to get home to find a tag they can’t remove). What about those times where it’s not a legitimate customer?

One time while I was monitoring the registers early in the morning, I saw a young lady walking from the apparel department with nothing in her hands. As she exited the store, the EAS system activated. I was close to the front doors and reacted to the alert. As soon as the alarm stopped, she looked at me and immediately began apologizing. Since I was assuming that this was a faulty activation, I assured her it was nothing to apologize about and that she may have stepped on a tag that happened to be on the floor (something that happens pretty commonly at my store anyway). Before I can get another word out of my mouth, this individual started removing pair after pair… after pair of denim jeans from her purse. I then realized why she was sorry. Had it not been for the clothing security tags, I would have lost well over $500 that morning. 

I think back to that incident and I use it frequently during management training classes as a way to properly respond to an EAS activation. At no point was the customer ever accused of shoplifting and the entire interaction, up to the point where stolen goods were produced, was very apologetic and non-confrontational. While not every case will be as simple and easy as this one was, it is however, a great text-book example of how react to an EAS activation. It’s also a great example of just how effective Checkpoint tags can be. 

For more information about Clothing Security,  contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

RUN THROUGH THE ENDZONE WITH CHECKPOIT TAGS

It’s finally football season again! It’s been a long, long off season. While, my team completely bombed today, sales for licensed apparel gear across the country have skyrocketed. There is no doubt that team spirit is a huge boost for sales. All those team emblazoned shirts, hats and jerseys can make your profits fly down field. So, what does Jeremy Johnson and stolen jerseys have in common? They both turn over really, really well. So if you’re in the business of selling team apparel, you should have Checkpoint tags in your playbook. 

Of many things, my stores carry a large array of both professional and collegiate apparel and I can tell you from personal experience, people are stealing this product every hour of every day. This is especially true as the home teams do even better, since demand gets higher. It I weren’t using clothing security tags, I really don’t think we’d be very profitable. 

Last season, I had a particular store who was seeing high shrink in this area of the store. We stepped up the LP presence but it didn’t seem like it was making a difference. Shipments would arrive to the store, the apparel team would apply the checkpoint tags and put the items on the floor. Even with the additional security measures, we were still losing thousands a month. It seemed like every 3rd or 4th shoplifter we were busting was stealing licensed apparel, but again, on paper, we weren’t making a dent. I had to help this store stem the losses, or the season would be a disappointment.

There was a new shipment of product coming in on the next Monday morning. I decided to watch the process (from CCTV) of when the product was received, through the time it was placed on the shelf. I watched as the delivery driver dropped off 4 cases of shirts. The manager signed for the delivery and staged the merchandise in the warehouse. 3 hours later, an associate began applying checkpoint tags, then eventually merchandised them on the sales floor. I went to personally count the inventory and that’s where I found a discrepancy. The driver should’ve dropped off 6 cases. The manager failed to properly account for the delivery and only assumed that it was correct. A little camera work and some digging through invoices showed the same thing had been happening over and over again for months. We’ve now reached the two minute warning. It was time to put this to an end. 

I set up surveillance for the following delivery date. I had the invoice faxed to me from the vendor, so I knew that there should be 7 cases dropped to the store. I also talked with our vendor rep and they did me a favor by attaching some clothing security tags to the merchandise with my store’s name on them. So, there in the parking lot of the store at 3:30am, I sat. Right on time, the driver shows up and unloads 5 cases of merchandise. The lackadaisical manager again blindly signs for the shipment and goes on about his day, unaware that this delivery driver is robbing him blind. The driver pulls out of our lot, with me right behind. 

A few miles down the road, he makes a stop at a corner store. There, he grabs two boxes from his truck and heads inside. So do I. I grab a cup of coffee and watch and he and the owner of the store exchange two cases of licensed apparel product for a few hundred bucks in cash. They shake hands and the driver says, “I’ll see you next week, buddy!” as he drives off to continue his shift. 

I head back to the car and make a phone call to local police. I have an officer meet me at the store where I explain to him what just occurred. We both go inside to meet with the owner who vehemently denies any knowledge of any shipments. I see the boxes behind the counter and ask for them to be opened. There, in plain sight were the jerseys I was missing. I was able to prove beyond any doubt they were mine, as they each had a clothing security tag firmly attached… with my store’s name on it. 
For more information about Check Point Tags contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

Can You Spot The Thief?

I was scrolling through the news feed on a social media sight, and the caption read: “Can You Spot the Thief?” Of course, I could see her plain as day. The scene is an outdoor seating area of a restaurant and there are lots of people hanging around. One woman in particular has a very obvious clothing security tag on the back of her shirt. This lady obviously just wanted a nice classy shirt to wear for her lunch that day and just didn’t feel the need to pay for it. The question is how did she get it out the door. We can only speculate on how she was able to accomplish this dishonest act:

Perhaps she is a dishonest employee of the store where she got the garment. In that case, she would be completely aware of the clothing security measures they have in place there. She could have worked her shift alone, saw an opportunity, and took the shirt. It’s possible she is only intending to borrow the item since she failed to remove the clothing alarm device. I can’t imagine that shirt can be comfortable though considering the placement of the Checkpoint Tags. If she was on duty with a fellow employee, I wonder what happened when she exited. Did the alarm sound or not? Maybe she has a tin-foil lined bag to hide her stolen merchandise.  If that is the case, it’s a shame her coworker did not conduct a thorough bag check. It’s also quite possible that she turned off the EAS system. (On a side note, if the owner or manager had the Evolve Store App for their phone or tablet, they would have been made aware of this!)

The next possibility is that she was a customer. Maybe she is such a good regular shopper there, when she walked through the door and the clothing alarm sounded, the cashier looked up and said “you’re good” and waved her on through. A huge percentage of theft comes from normal every day customers that see the chance to steal. They spy something they like and want, but they know they don’t need it or can’t really afford it. So they look around, see the coast is clear, and conceal it until they can get out the door, hopefully undetected. The thing is, if your store is going to go to the trouble of investing in the tools, and the time it takes to attach the security tags on clothes, you may as well invest in some good training for the staff as well. Either way, this lady got out the door of a business with this shirt, and it still has a clothing security tag attached right there on it.  

In the spirit of goodwill, I will admit to the small possibility that this woman is completely innocent. She may have purchased the item and the cashier just forgot to take the Checkpoint Tags off of it. The world may never know. I just don’t buy that since she decided to go ahead and wear it. I believe if she had payed for it, she would have noticed the tag was still attached. She more than likely stole the shirt,  put it on, and never even noticed that big hard tag attached to the back of the neckline.  
My suggestion to the store she got it from would be to move those Checkpoint Tags to the front sides of their clothing items. Then they would be more visible to the clerk and any potential thieves.

For more information on clothing security, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 or Clothingsecurity.net

BUMP UP YOUR CLOTHING SECURITY GAME BY BEING ALERT

One of the things you can do as a retail professional, to help ensure that your clothing security program is solid, is proactively become in tune with what your customers are doing. Being unobtrusively aware of what people are doing on your sales floor can save you time and money when it comes to incurring loss via shoplifting.

You can use these tips to help identify potential shoplifters in your store and prevent thieves from not only stealing your merchandise but also prevent them from damaging the security tags on clothes. A seasoned shoplifter knows that many retailers use some sort of security measures within their store to prevent loss. These thieves may or may not be seasoned enough to know how to quickly defeat your clothing security devices too. If they are newer to shoplifting, you may be able to spot them by observing these common behaviors outlined below.

Would be crooks who are unfamiliar with security devices like Checkpoint tags, will need two things in order to figure out how to defeat them. The tags work by triggering the EAS towers situated at the store exits, using RF (Radio Frequency) technology. Once active tags pass through the towers fields, the system will sound an alarm. With that said, the first thing you should look for is customers that select a single unit of tagged merchandise and proceed to take that item to a secluded area of your sales floor.

Thieves will scan their surroundings for blind spots, concealment aids (store fixtures etc…) in order to find the privacy they need. So look for someone that grabs an item that is tagged and heads for seclusion. Pay particular attention to people that select and remove tagged merchandise that have no regard to checking the items price as well. Remember, shoplifters don’t care about the cost of an item. They intend to steal it from you. Consider though, at this point a person may only be a potential thief. By that I mean that they may only be taking the opportunity to inspect the security tags on clothes. They may only be attempting to try and figure out how to remove them from your merchandise. They may not necessarily intend to steal the item just yet and may just be in your store for their own learning purposes. Nonetheless, catching onto these people early on can help prevent damage to the tags themselves.

Once a shoplifter gets their tagged item into a secluded area of the store, they will usually take their covertness a bit further. It’s common for a newbie shoplifter to examine Checkpoint tags and other clothing security devices by inserting the tagged item into crevices on shelves.  You may observe a subject ‘insert’ products onto displays in between other larger concealing items and then witness ongoing hand movements. You may not be able to see exactly what they are doing but there is an excellent chance that if your tagged item has disappeared onto a shelf and the subject has their hands in that general area of the shelf, that they are either trying to defeat the Checkpoint tag. At the very least, they may be examining it.

Also, look for customers that walk up to a clothing rack and start fiddling with security tags on clothes. They may try too hard to look inconspicuous as well. Potential thieves may intentionally appear to be closely examining the price tags of a garment but in reality they are taking a closer look at the security tag affixed to the garment. Others may appear to look like that are just shopping but continually handle the tagging device by spinning it around or tugging on it. Others may just simply try to pull it off with force. Clothing security measures that include ‘exploding’ ink devices may prove to be toughest for newbie thieves. You may observe them spending more time examining these tags in seclusion. 

Either way it goes, whether it is simple Checkpoint tags or more sophisticated means of securing product, lesser experienced thieves will need time to figure out how to circumvent your security measures. Paying attention to these behaviors could lend sufficient enough time for you to ‘service’ the customer in the middle of their examinations and cause them to get spooked!

Just having a good tagging program in place may buy you enough time to identify potential theft situations prior to occurring loss or damage. Anyone who fiddles with security tags on your garments or other items are well worth watching. Be proactive and use these clothing security tips to your advantage.

For more information about Checkpoint tags contact us or call 1-770-426-2476.