Organized Retail Crime

Organized retail crime (ORC), is frequently referred to as organized retail theft, typically refers to retail theft and fraud by organized gangs of professional shoplifters, or ―boosters. It is an umbrella term including a variety of retail crimes, including theft, gift card fraud, return fraud, and price switching and cargo theft. Stolen goods may be taken not only from retailers, but from manufacturers, warehouses, and distributors as well. The organized crime rings resell this illegally attained merchandise a variety of different ways. They may use fencing operations such as jockey lots (flea market), pawn shops, and online markets like eBay. These goods can be sold to both individual customers as well as retailers. Possibly the very retailers from where the goods were

7)And this is the loss to retailers alone. The financial loss extends beyond the retail industry to the citizens and states. Customers pay for these damages in the form of higher prices on merchandise, and states lose tax revenue that would otherwise be generated from the sale of these goods by genuine retailers. In addition to the financial effect of organized retail crime, the theft and resale of stolen disposable or health and beauty products, such as infant formula, medicines, or food, may pose safety risks to consumers buying such goods from organized retail crime fences. This is because such products may have been relabeled, repackaged, had the expiration dates changed, or stored inappropriately before being returned into the marketplace. Also, industry professionals, law enforcement officers, and local governments have expressed concern about the likelihood that proceeds from organized retail crime may be used to fund terrorist activities. Particularly, federal law enforcement has allegedly traced the illicit earnings from the theft and resale of infant formula to terrorist organizations and insurgent groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and