The ICBC Auto Crime Patrol Supervisor has compiled some Security / Crime Prevention tips and artices for merchants, patrons and the general public in the North Road area.   More items will be added as time goes on, so check back every few weeks for new items.  The advice listed was obtained from the ICBC and Concord Security websites so visit those sites if you would like more information.

Click on the topic links below to go directly to the item you are interested in.

ICBC’s Top Five reasons why your vehicle could be a target

What anti-theft devices provide the best protection?

Organized Retail Crime

Return Fraud Plagues Retailers

Latest Trend in Retail Fraud

Best Practices for Jewelry Retailers

ICBC’s Top Five reasons why your vehicle could be a target for auto crime and what you can do to protect yourself

REASON: You’re an easy target.
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF: Get immobilized.

The number one reason most vehicles are stolen is because they do not have an immobilizer. Car thieves are looking to get into your vehicle and to steal it quickly, with the least amount of hassle – and most can do this with just a screwdriver.

Immobilizers are the best way to prevent your vehicle from being stolen. Electronic immobilizers require a special key or small electronic device to start a vehicle’s engine. When someone tries to start your vehicle without this, the immobilizer shuts off one or more parts of the engine’s electrical system, such as the starter, ignition and/or fuel system. This makes your vehicle virtually impossible to steal.

Most passenger vehicles and light trucks built after September 2007 come equipped with an immobilizer, but you can have one installed in an earlier model. A good standard two-point immobilizer can be picked up and installed for as little as $160 – a small amount to invest given the overall value of your vehicle. It will also save you money in the long run. Customers who have a passive electronic immobilizer installed receive a discount on their comprehensive coverage and can receive a $100 rebate on their deductible at the time of any theft or attempted theft.

REASON: You’re not using a visual deterrent.
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF: Keep it under lock.

Steering wheel locks, like The Club, are another good option to protect your vehicle. They cost as little as $15 and provide a stronger visual deterrent for auto thieves than an immobilizer. Just the sight of an anti-theft device inside a car will put off many thieves.

These types of anti-theft devices come in various forms, but the most common are steering wheel locking bars. Again, car thieves are looking for an easy vehicle to steal and will likely go for the one without any sign of an anti-theft device.

Whatever anti-theft device you purchase, make sure the product meets Canadian standards for automotive theft deterrents.

REASON: Location, location, location.
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF: Choose secure areas that will make thieves think twice.

As with all of our tips, this is one that will make any auto thief think twice before stealing your vehicle. By parking in a safe and secure place, you will make it that bit harder for anyone to steal your vehicle.

Key places to avoid are parking behind fences or hedges, which give thieves cover from being seen. At home, consider having a motion-activated light in your driveway or, if you have an automatic gate to underground parking, wait for the gate to close behind you. When out with your vehicle, park in well-lit areas near pedestrian traffic.

Parkades can be a big problem area for auto thefts. Avoid parking in parkade areas with poor visibility where thieves will feel safe when breaking into your vehicle. When parking downtown, choose a parkade where you must pay on the way out. Car thieves don’t mind stealing your car, but they won’t pay for your parking and generally avoid these parking lots.

REASON: It’s not always your vehicle the thieves want.
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF: Remove any visible contents from your vehicle.

Once you have protected your vehicle from being stolen, it’s important that you also do what you can to avoid being a victim of the other big auto crime threat – vehicle break-ins.

When thinking about what items to remove from your vehicle, start with the obvious – take your keys with you (and close your windows and lock your doors, even if you are only going to be away for just a few moments).

While it’s important to remove any valuables from your car, you should go a step further and remove everything from your vehicle – even bags with nothing valuable in them. Thieves will break your window, costing you your deductible, just to find out if you have anything of value to steal.

REASON: Auto thieves really like your vehicle.
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF: Follow all of these key tips and look for more on icbc.com.

There are certain vehicles that auto thieves just know how to steal. If you own an older vehicle, it’s at a higher risk of being stolen or broken into.

Older vehicles often don’t have an effective anti-theft device and are easy to steal. That’s why the average age of a stolen vehicle in BC is about 11 years old. If you own one of the vehicles identified by ICBC as the most stolen in BC, then you need to follow all of these security tips and more.

The most stolen vehicles in BC are the Ford F-Series trucks. They are popular targets with auto thieves as they can be used to commit other crimes – their carrying capacity and power make them very appealing. Other top targets for auto thieves are the Honda Civic, Chrysler Caravan/Voyager, Honda Accord and the Jeep Cherokee.

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What anti-theft devices provide the best protection?

What provides the best protection: immobilizers, car alarms, or steering wheel locks? Refer to the table below for details about each type of device.

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Organized Retail Crime

Organized Retail Crime (ORC) is a growing concern in the Canadian retail market.  It is estimated that organized retail crime costs Canadians about $5 billion a year.

ORC goes beyond a shoplifter stealing a pack of gum.  It typically involves groups of people working together to distract sale associates and watch for police / security and steal.  Some of the techniques employed are complicated and some are simple, but some of these groups are stealing merchandise amounting to $5000 a day.  In fact, one known Lower Mainland shoplifting group was recently reported to have stolen $1500 worth of merchandise from a single retailer in a matter of minutes.

Read more about Organized Retail Crime and how you can protect yourself in the Canadian Retailer.

DOING YOUR PART
Experts have developed the following loss prevention strategies for retailers looking to combat the growing organized retail crime epidemic:

1. Research items that are known to be targets of organized retail crime rings such as designer jeans, electronics and shaving products. Use this knowledge to protect the items with increased surveillance coverage, state-of-the-art electronic tagging and greater staff awareness.
3. Perform monthly, sometimes weekly, item movement reports. By tracking what is in their store, retailers will have a better picture of what has been sold and what is on their shelves.
5. Educate employees on what to look for and what to do. Look for the car parked by the front door or for the two or three customers in the store talking on cell phones, who appear to be talking to each other. Adopt the philosophy that security is a shared responsibility, so every single employee, agent and contractor that deals with the retailer has the ultimate responsibility of ensuring security.
7. Get technical. Deploy a well-designed, well-installed and well-monitored security system, including video surveillance system, electronic tagging, access control and intrusion detection.
9. Establish a good relationship with local law enforcement agencies. Inform police of incidents that have occurred at your store(s). The sharing of information with police and other retailers will go a long way in curbing the problem.
10. Lobby for tougher laws and sentences for people found guilty of organized retail crimes.
12. Strive to offer greater customer service. Everybody who commits a crime has a fear of detection, therefore an alert salesperson that approaches, acknowledges and assists customers is going to prevent losses.
14. Know what is being stolen. Retailers must be aware of where their losses are occurring. Merchandise that is known to be a target should be placed in locations within the store that are visible to both staff and customers.

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Return Fraud Plagues Retailers

A report from Statistics Canada has concluded that fraudulent returns outrank credit card fraud and counterfeit currency as the most predominant form of fraud taking place in Canada.  Return scams reportedly account for 33% of all retail crimes (credit card and counterfeit cash account for 15% each).

The most popular form of return fraud is exchanging stolen merchandise for cash or store credit and most of the time these involve organized crime.  There are some opportunists out there, but generally organized crime is involved.

More complex forms of return fraud involve returning items that had been purchased with counterfeit money or returning stolen items with a counterfeit receipt.

While thieves are generally targeting stores with more lenient return policies.  It is estimated that 72% of Canadian Retailers experience some form of fraud in the last year.

Fighting Fraudulent Returns

Retailers can take steps to help deter return fraud, but the challenge is finding the balance between good customer service and fraud prevention.

Requiring a receipt for all exchanges or returns and requiring senior staff to authorize returns is a good start that should not inconvenience customers.  Some retailers have begun tracking returns by logging customer information and flagging anyone who does more than 3 returns in a set period of time

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Latest Trend in Retail Fraud

Retailers are cautioned to be on the look out for the following fraudulent refund scam.

A person will call the store asking to speak to the manager.  They will go on to state that they are calling from the store's head office regarding a merchandise return.  The story that follows may vary, but the gist is that the caller will state that a customer tried to return some merchandise at the store recently and it was denied and is upset about it.  They continue to say that the merchandise and receipt has since been sent to Head Office and is now in the possession of the caller.  They suggest that the customer come in to the store and be given a full cash refund without a receipt or the merchandise present.

While this scheme sounds far fetched, it has worked at several stores.  The caller sometimes seems to know the name of the manager and even the names of some employees.  They mention these names during the call to add validity to their story.  They generally know where the store's head office is located; again, in an effort to seem more legitimate.  In two cases, the caller suggests that if this situation can be resolved quickly and without any issues, there is no need to inform Head Office about the customers complaints, as though complying quickly will keep the manager or employees out of trouble.

It is recommended that any calls of this type be double checked with a call to Head Office.  Ask the caller if you can call them back, they may provide a phone number, then call your Head Office directly through normal contact channels (not using the provided number) to verify the story.

These fraudsters seem to have knowledge of the way retail operations work and are familiar with the language to use to prompt the store employees to respond.

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Best Practices for Jewelry Retailers

Concord Security recommends the following "best practices" for retail jewelry stores to prevent and deter retail crime.  Keep in mind that safety of your employees is of the highest priority.  Merchandise can be replaced, but lives cannot.

1.    Have buzzers or chimes on your doors so that you are alerted when someone enters your premises.

2.    Make eye contact with each customer who enters your store, greet the customer, and note his or her appearance.

3.    Have at least two people on the sales floor at all times.

4.    Never leave a customer alone with merchandise. Show only one item at a time. If a second item is requested, show it on your own wrist or finger.

5.    Do not bring entire trays of merchandise or a diamond wallet to the counter when waiting on a customer. Too much value will be exposed to a grab-and-run.

6.    All wall cases, show windows, display cases and showcases must have locks, and be kept in a locked position except when actually removing or returning goods.

7.    Keep the keys to the showcases on your person, never on a hook or shelf in plain view. Keep the keys on a wrist or other holder.

8.    Be warned that many showcases have generic keys, that is, keys that fit all showcases of that type. Anyone with a key to that type of showcase may be able to unlock your showcase and steal your goods. If a generic lock will open your showcases, consider installing unique locks.

9.    After a customer has handled an item, re-examine it to make sure it is the same item before returning it to the showcase.

10.  Keep all jewelry trays completely filled, either with goods or with markers.

11.  Do not let non-employees into work areas, safe area, rest room or behind your showcases. This can be a trick to gain access to your merchandise.

12.  Have an alert system in place in your store. If a suspicious person or situation is spotted, a code word or phrase can be used to alert the other employees.

13.  If a customer is causing a commotion or engages in a loud disagreement, be alert for a distraction theft by an accomplice, and call another employee to assist you.

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