Article Options

Chances for retail theft, fraud increasing as Christmas approaches

BY BLACKWELL THOMAS, The Southern

Friday, December 7, 2007 8:33 PM CST

CARBONDALE - The security chief for the National Retail Federation said Friday that while it may be the season to be jolly and spend money, it is also the season for retailers and customers alike to get ripped off.

As the volume of retail transactions spikes in advance of Christmas, there is a corresponding increase in reports of retail theft and fraud, NRF Vice President Joe LaRocca said.

LaRocca said a recent NRF study found about $10.8 billion in annual losses in fraud through merchandise returns alone.

"Return fraud is found in two different forms - individuals who are purchasing goods, using them and then returning them. It's called wardrobing or closeting. For instance, someone who wears a holiday dress to the party and returns it. And then, what's really criminal, the theft of merchandise and then returning those goods back to the stores," he said.

"What's shocking and disturbing is that 83 percent of retailers reported seeing returns with fraudulent tender, meaning items purchased on a stolen credit card and returned to the store," LaRocca added.

Quoting an NRF study he said will be released Monday, LaRocca noted that 64 percent of consumers didn't make a single return last year, a fact he said can be attributed to the increase in the giving of gift certificates.

Carbondale Chamber of Commerce President Meredith Rhoads said most consumers and retailers are aware that this is the time of year for giving and for grinches.

"The vast majority of consumers are not harboring the intention of committing any kind of fraud, but we advise all of our retailers to be observant," she said. "The gut instinct goes a long way for both customers and store owners, especially in a small town. If a deal seems too good, it might just be."

With more and more purchases being made online, buyers should be on the defensive, Rhoads said.

"If you are not purchasing it from the actual establishment, I would say, check your source," she said. "(Online consumers) should educate themselves before they make any large purchases."

At Pro Image in University Mall, employee Robby Clark-Stokes said the store brings in temporary employees to prevent an increase in theft and fraud as Christmas draws closer.

"Alarm systems don't necessarily work. There are places that you go and the alarm goes off and some places they (employees) just let it go. Some people have pacemakers, or a particular watch that will set it off," he said.

"One of the biggest things we do," Clark-Stokes continued, "is to greet people right when they walk in, so they know we're here."

blackwell.thomas@thesouthern.com

351-5823