Training

It is our mission to work together to develop new and innovative ways to combat Organized Retail Crime and other crimes impacting California retail. Through this community, industry knowledge and resources are shared through training that help prepare retailers to protect themselves and their assets.

The ORC Issue

ORC is defined as the Theft/Fraud activity conducted with the intent to convert illegally obtained merchandise, cargo, cash, or cash equivalent into a financial gain (no personal use), where/when the following elements are present:

  • Theft/Fraud is multiples of items
  • Theft/Fraud is conducted over multiple occurrences
  • Theft/Fraud is conducted in multiple stores
  • Theft/Fraud is conducted in multiple jurisdictions
  • Theft/Fraud is conducted by two or more persons, or an individual acting in dual roles (booster & fence)

What to Look For

Groups, gangs and sometimes individuals are engaged in illegally obtaining retail merchandise through both theft and fraud in substantial quantities as part of a criminal enterprise. These crime rings generally consist of “boosters” - who methodically steal merchandise from retail stores - and fence operators who convert the product to cash or drugs as part of the criminal enterprise. Sophisticated criminals have even found ways to switch UPC bar codes on merchandise so they ring up differently at checkout, commonly called “ticket switching.” Others use stolen or cloned credit cards to obtain merchandise or produce fictitious receipts to return products back to retail stores.

Prevention

In many instances, organized retail crime groups target several retailers in one day moving from state to state stealing and reselling the merchandise. These groups often steal thousands of dollars worth of merchandise at a time with the intent to resell it for profit, buy drugs, or fund terrorist/illicit activities. Being vigilant in sharing information and additional education on ORC are the first steps to prevention.

What to Do Next

With a problem so widespread and frequent, you may be wondering where to even start after your business falls victim to ORC. We can help. Contact us today or sign up for an upcoming training.

Take A Stand

Take a stand against Organized Retail Crime. View our upcoming training and conferences.