Police are asking for help to identify traveling ORC ring targeting Cabela’s
Union Gap, Washington, police are asking for the public’s help to identify a group of traveling thieves. Three suspects are running an Organized Retail Crime (ORC) ring, traveling from coast to coast, hitting Cabela’s stores. Take a good look at the three theft suspects on the video who are wanted in Yakima County… two men and a woman. [Video] They’re bold, well organized and detectives across the country are hoping someone watching knows their names. The video shows them in action at the Cabela’s in Union Gap, just south of Yakima. The woman is wearing a big, baggy coat. One of the men stuffs expensive high-tech items in it like GPS units and and Range Finders used for hunting. The second guy acts as a lookout.
Union Gap detectives say the way they finish their heist proves this crew is prolific and the most sophisticated thieves they’ve seen. “They did not remove any of the security measures,” said Union Gap Det. Curtis Santucci. “They concealed them in the jacket of the female and out the door they went. They did not set off any of the alarms, so it’s presumed that they are using some type of security device that’s defeating the door alarms.”
It’s believed these three are just a branch of a bigger group who’s traveling the country together, hitting Cabela’s stores in Montana, Colorado, Minnesota, Illinois and as far east as Delaware. “They were in a mini-van. Silver, light blue in color and it probably had Illinois temporary plates. Cabela’s loss prevention had given out information from prior incidents and intelligence they gathered that they believe the group was stationed out of Illinois and that they typically use minivans with Illinois temporary plates. From groups that they have contacted in the past, they were of a Romanian descent.”
Their score in the Union Gap heist alone was more than $6,000. If you recognize the three suspects or know anything that can help identify them and possibly lead to taking down a big cross-country organized retail theft ring, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS, or use the P3 Tips App to submit your information. [For more: Q13 Fox]
NBA warns fans to beware of counterfeiters during All-Star weekend
The NBA All-Star game is just a few days away and the NBA is warning fans to be cautious. As fans invade New Orleans, Louisiana, they want everyone to know to be aware of cheap merchandise and phony knockoffs. Basketball fans from around the world will descend on New Orleans for the NBA All-Star 2017 this weekend, and the league wants everyone to beware of fake merchandise and poorly made knock-offs.
“It’s been three years since the NBA last held the All-Star Game in New Orleans, which means NBA products will be at a premium throughout All-Star,” said NBA Executive Vice President and Deputy General Counsel Ayala Deutsch. “We expect official NBA merchandise will be in high demand, and it is our responsibility to protect fans by supplying them with the right information and tips to avoid purchasing products of inferior quality.” The NBA says counterfeiters not only victimize fans, but legitimate, tax-paying retailers in the New Orleans area.
To make sure fans don’t fall for fake merchandise, the league offered the following tips:
- Look for the hologram sticker or holographic hangtag and a sewn-in or screen-printed label identifying the name of the NBA licensee (e.g., adidas, Stance, Mitchell & Ness)
- Shop at NBA-authorized retail locations, such as the NBA Store – A Fanatics Experience with locations at the Smoothie King Center, Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, Royal Sonesta New Orleans and InterContinental New Orleans – rather than buying items from street vendors, flea markets, or other questionable sources
- Shop online at NBAStore.com
- Beware of ripped tags or irregular markings on apparel
“At a major, high-traffic sporting event like NBA All-Star here in New Orleans, our collaboration with the NBA is crucial to preventing counterfeiters from preying on unsuspecting fans,” said Raymond R. Parmer Jr., Special Agent in Charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations New Orleans. “We would encourage all fans to heed the tips provided to ensure they are not purchasing fraudulent merchandise. HSI is committed to protecting fans and the American economy from counterfeiters seeking to illegally profit from this great event. We must remember that counterfeiting is not a victimless crime; it costs U.S. businesses billions of dollars each year while severely impacting American jobs.” [For more: Fox8 Live]
Man convicted of stealing $500K in cigarettes from warehouse
A New Jersey man has been convicted in federal court of breaking into a Connecticut warehouse and stealing more than 8,000 cartons of cigarettes worth about $500,000. Andrew Oreckinto was convicted of theft from an interstate shipment. He faces up to a decade in prison.
Prosecutors say surveillance cameras recorded the 52-year-old Oreckinto breaking into New Britain Candy in Wethersfield, Connecticut, in March 2011. A glue-like substance was used to disable door locks. Wires to an outside surveillance camera and a phone line were also cut. Authorities linked Oreckinto to the theft by analyzing his call history. Oreckinto is currently serving a five-year prison term in New Jersey for stealing $100,000 worth of copper cable and selling it for scrap. [For more: The Seattle Times]
LP Worldwide: Australian businesses must now report if they’ve suffered a data breach
After being debated for years, the Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Bill 2016 finally went through the House of Representatives last week, and has now been passed by the Senate, making it legislation. All it needs is the royal sanction to become law – a step that’s basically just a formality.
The bill applies to organisations subject to the Privacy Act, so state governments, local councils and businesses with a turnover of less than $3 million a year are exempt. But other organisations and big businesses in Australia will soon be legally obliged to inform the Australian Information Commissioner and affected individuals of any ‘eligible’ data breach.
The legislation defines an eligible data breach as an “unauthorised access to, unauthorised disclosure of, or loss of, personal information held by an entity” where “the access, disclosure or loss is likely to result in serious harm to any of the individuals to whom the information relates”. Other than the description of the breach, notifications should include the kind of information accessed and details on how their customers are to deal with the incident. The bill states that failure to comply with the mandatory notification scheme will be “deemed to be an interference with the privacy of an individual” and penalties including fines of up to $360,000 for individuals and $1.8 million for corporations.
It has taken three years for both sides of Parliament to pass this bill. When the Labor Party first introduced the Privacy Alerts bill in 2013, the Coalition steamrolled the effort on the basis that there were no clear definitions for the terms “serious breach” and “serious harm”. The new notification scheme has been welcomed by many and is being seen as an important step towards protecting Australian consumer data. [For more: TechRadar]
Most US firms would pay to avoid data breach shame going public
According to a recently released survey released by BitDefender, the majority of businesses in the US would pay big money rather than have to deal with the aftermath of a data breach that goes public.
The report reveals that two-thirds of 250 IT decision makers at enterprise firms say their companies would pay $124,000 to avoid public shaming after a data breach, and 14 percent would even go so far as to pay $500,000. The willingness to pay a vast sum of money highlights just how much devastation a successful cyber-attack can cause. When data breaches occur, this can not only lead to the theft or destruction of customer and corporate information, but companies will take a financial hit to remedy the situation and to compensate customers. They may also have to pay regulatory fees if they do not have acceptable levels of security in place, and perhaps most importantly, a hit to reputation in the aftermath can impact future business.
A recent example of just how seriously data breaches can impact a businesses’ future is the buyout deal between Yahoo and Verizon. In October last year, Verizon said that plans to buy the tech giant for $4.83 billion could be materially damaged after Yahoo admitted to a data breach which took place in 2014 and exposed 500 million user accounts.
BitDefender’s survey, conducted in October last year by iSense Solutions, also suggests that up to 34 percent of companies in the US may have been breached in the past 12 months, and the majority, 74 percent, do not know how it happened. According to the company, board members are now facing increasing pressure to make sure corporate networks are as safe from cyber-attacks and the possibility of data breaches as possible, and IT-related jobs are transforming as a result. However, budgets are not adequate for the task. Only two-third of those surveyed said cyber-security investment levels were enough. In total, 48 percent of the firms surveyed have increased cloud security spending in the past year, surpassing that now spent on physical security. This increase makes sense as so many corporate services and systems are now hosted through cloud technologies rather than in-house servers, but according to respondents, security budgets will need to increase by an average of 34 percent in order to keep future corporate networks safe. [For more: ZDNet]
Retail groups meet with lawmakers on swipe fee reform
More than 60 retail representatives have come together to lobby federal legislators to keep reforms on swipe fees in place. The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA); the National Retail Federation (NRF); the Association for Convenience & Fuel Retailing; the Food Marketing Institute (FMI); the National Restaurant Association, and many others visited Capitol Hill to tell lawmakers “how pro-competitive debit reforms have positively impacted their businesses and ask Congress to stand with Main Street retailers by opposing any efforts to weaken or repeal the law,” according to RILA.
The 2010 Durbin Amendment, part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, put in place debit card swipe fee regulations which, in part, capped those fees at 21 cents per transaction plus five basis points, or .05 percent of the transaction. However, those reforms have come under fire from federal legislators looking to repeal the regulations.
By repealing debit swipe fee reform, Congress is standing with card companies and big banks on the backs of Main Street retailers. These reforms have saved retailers and our consumers billions. Repealing these reforms would harm merchants and our customers,” said Austen Jensen, vice president of financial services for RILA. “The electorate has spoken and they do not want to bailout big banks for providing another bonus check for Wall Street.” President Donald Trump has also put Dodd-Frank on his administration’s radar. Trump has ordered a review of the law to be conducted by his Department of Treasury secretary.
“If debit reform is repealed, the card industry will go back to anti-competitive practices that cost retailers and their customers billions of dollars a year. If that happens, the fees will go nowhere but up and the opportunity for competition will be lost. Retailers are on Capitol Hill to tell lawmakers that debit reform needs to be preserved for the sake of American consumers and our nation’s economy,” said Mallory Duncan, NRF senior vice president and general counsel. Debit swipe fees are retailers’ second highest operational cost only to labor. [For more: Convenience Store News]
Target, Gap, Best Buy and other retailers going to DC to oppose border tax
Chief executive officers from Target, Gap, Best Buy, AutoZone, and other retailers will be in Washington, D.C. to meet with congressional leaders on Wednesday in opposition to a proposed border adjustment tax, Reuters reports. “Given that retail is the largest private sector American employer, retailers support sound policies that spur economic growth and job creation,” said Brian Dodge, senior executive vice president of public affairs at the Retail Industry Leaders Association, in a statement. “Later this week, several top retail executives will visit Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers and discuss pro-growth policies that will benefit both American consumers and job creators.”
A border adjustment tax, a House Republican proposal, would change the way profits are tallied, lower corporate taxes, and impose a 20% tariff on imports. Most of the clothing, electronics and other consumer goods Americans buy are imported. The CEOs are expected to meet with Kevin Brady, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and members of the Senate, according to Reuters. It’s unclear whether President Trump will be involved with the meeting.
“Border adjustments and tax reform could create uncertainty and volatility across the entire retail ecosystem as importers face a non-deductible tax on imported goods and the U.S. dollar makes a significant re-rating higher,” said Cowen & Co. In an earlier note, Cowen outlined some of the issues that would arise if the border adjustment tax went into effect, including a rise in prices and possible bankruptcies among those companies that can’t shift their pricing and supply chains. [For more: Market Watch]
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