Blog Archives
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"Flash Mob" Strikes Again in Philadelphia
Once again flashmob voilence has struck Philadelphia. This is the 6th such event to hit Philly since last May and the City of Philadelphia seems powerless to stop it. According to the media, this latest mob was organized by Twitter messsages. A parent saw the message and contacted police to make the aware. It was described as a "tsunami wave" and chants of "burn the city" could be heard. Read the article and view the photos on Philly.com Curtis baillie - Security Consulting Strategies, LLC -
Commonsense Census Security
There is concern about security with the 2010 Census. The concern is not about the form itself, but what happens if you ignore the form or fail to mail it back. In this day and age of identity theft Census official are warning people what may happen and how to combat identity theft. If you fail to send in the completed Census form you will receive a knock on your door from a Census Taker who will ask for the information. Here’s the issue – this is a prime opportunity for identity theft thieves to steal your personal information and commit fraudulent thefts using your name and identification. A legitimate Census Taker will have government issued identification card and must show you an alternate form of ID, if you ask for it. They... -
Reason to Examine Your Bank Statements
There is now more reason than ever to take a close look at your bank statement. A bank (I used to do business with) with branches in Pennsylvania is now charging their customers a $.35 "swipe fee" when they use their debit card. I check my on-line banking statements at least 3 times a week and found the charge. When I went to the bank for an explanation the Branch Manager told me it was fee charged by the retailers I was doing business with. I went to the retailers who all stated that they were not charging the fee. My next stop was at the bank's corporate offices. After a week of their investigating my complaint they confirmed that they were indeed charging their debit customers a "swipe fee". You can guess how long it took me to... -
Retailers Selling Used Underwear?
I saw an NBC News piece about retailers reselling used women's underwear. They did a "hidden camera" sting where they bought women's underwear in numerous retailers in the New York City area, removed all of the tags and protective strips and returned them. They were allowed to return the "used" underwear at Victoria Secret, Bloomingdales, Gap, Macys and Nordstroms. They marked the underwear so the items could be later identified. In some cases they stained the underwear with baby oil and the retailer used a deodorizer to remove the smell and placed them back on the sales racks. It was noted that the Nordstroms store even replaced the protective strips in the panties. Even though retailers will tell you that reselling underwear is... -
Labor Agency Cracks Down on Employee Misclassification
The Obama administration has earmarked $25 million for hiring 100 investigators to target employers who misclassify their workforce. The Independent-contractor definition saves companies big dollars because they do not provide benefits, withhold taxes, Medicare premiums or unemployment insurance. Read the story at Workforce Management. Curtis Baillie - Security Consulting Strategies, LLC -
Pending Changes to Rule 26 (Dalbert)
There are some pending changes to Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Procedures. Here's an article explaining the expected rules change which will have a major impact on expert witness' and attorneys. by Robert Ambrogi BullsEye: February 2010 IMS ExpertServices™ is the legal industry’s premier full-service expert witness provider. A major revision to the federal rules governing expert witness reports is on track to take effect in December (2010). Lawyers and experts alike agree that the changes are long overdue. No longer would Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allow full discovery of draft expert reports and require broad disclosure of any communications between an expert and trial counsel, as has been... -
"Flash Mob" Violence
According to Wikipedia a flash mob is "a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place perform an unusual and pointless act for a brief time, then quickly disperse." In Philadelphia the term Flash Mob is associated with violence. On Tuesday February 16th an estimated group of 100 teens from three area high schools invaded the The Gallery an underground mall at 12th and Market Streets. Security quickly removed the group from the mall where they quickly re-gathered and a large snowball fight started along with fighting on the street corners. It's also reported that a group of 40 to 50 of the teens then invaded the Macy's store, damaging the store and carrying off large amounts of merchandise. According to the... -
1982 Tylenol Product Tampering Murders Revisited
(CNN) - The FBI announced Wednesday that it is working with Illinois state and local police to review evidence related to the 1982 Tylenol murders. "Further, given the many recent advances in forensic technology, it was only natural that a second look be taken at the case and recovered evidence." I've written extensively (Retail Crime, Security and Loss Prevention - An Encyclopedic Reference) about the 1982 Tylenol murders and the effects the crimes have had on consumers around the world. As a result of that product tampering case, killing seven people around the Chicago area, the drug manufactures started started providing "tamper resistant" caps and closures on their products. It did not take long for this practice to spread... -
Reciprocal Membership between the ASC (UK) and IAPSC
The International Association of Professional Security Consultants (IAPSC) and the Association of Security Consultants (located in the UK) have announced an agreement between the two organizations to offer reciprocal membership. Both organizations are widely respected and noted as the premier security consulting organizations around the globe. Both organizations have ridged membership requirements that include a strict Code of Ethics and mandates that their Members maintain absolute independence, assuring unbiased advice to their clients. Since both organizations require such high ethical standards for membership they have agreed to accept each other’s members without additional background and security checks. This... -
The 2008 National Retail Security Survey - Final Report
The 2008 National Retail Security Survey by Richard C. Hollinger, PhD and Amanda Adams, MA (University of Flordia) is now available. The survey, conducted yearly, is one of the mainstays and barometers of the state of retail security and closely followed by us in the retail security industry. If you are a retail security/loss prevention practioner you can obtain a copy of the report by emailing webmaster@lpinformation.com - you will need to complete a short survey as they want to make sure this report does not fall into the wrong hands. If approved, you will be sent an email link and password to access the report. Just a tidbit from the report - shrink is up over last year. Curtis Baillie - Security...
