SECURING RETAIL
A guide to the security measures that are helping to protect Canada’s retail industry
Presented by:
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ANTI-COUNTERFEITING INVESTIGATIONS: BEST PRACTICES FOR OFFLINE AND ONLINE
A detailed guide to the techniques and resources that will help to make your searches more effective
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Q&A: FRANÇOIS PLAISANCE, DIRECTOR, LOSS PREVENTION SERVICES, GARDAWORLD
Advice on working with partners, hiring talent and more
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RECOGNIZING AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOUR IN RETAIL
Provide your staff with the verbal tools they need to deal with customers who may be out of control
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RETAIL SECURE PANEL: PREPARE FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF AN ACTIVE SHOOTER EVENT
A panel of police, retail and property managers offers advice on what retailers need to do to mitigate the worst of an event and help staff and customers deal with the potential outcomes
ANTI-COUNTERFEITING INVESTIGATIONS: Best practices for offline and online
A detailed guide to the techniques and resources that will help to make your searches more effective
By Lorne M. Lipkus and David S. Lipkus
Counterfeiting is estimated to be a $600 billion+ per year worldwide problem with some estimates that there are $20-30 billion dollars per year of counterfeit goods in Canada.
There are useful, varied and readily available tools and techniques available to help locate the source of the goods and deal with the seller/importer/wholesaler/ distributor/manufacturer.
The best way is to conduct an investigation utilizing a combination of tools and techniques.
Whether the investigation involves a physical location or digital location, it is often best to assess the “location” and determine what the end-goal is. Keep in mind that everything you do online can be tracked (most commonly by your IP address) and the seller may learn that you are “watching” him/her. This is no different from surveillance cameras, or being recorded by someone’s phone. There are tools available online to anonymize your online identity (IP address) and it’s probably a good idea to
familiarize yourself with these services before assessing any online seller of counterfeit merchandise.
It is not only important to but also extremely helpful to conduct appropriate open source searches of the seller through social media, third-party marketplaces and typical web sites. These searches should be done for both physical and online sellers.
Best practices
• Preserve pages prior to making an investigatory purchase
• Review all contact information including: social media handle, e-mail address, IP address
• Preserve all applicable checkout webpages
• Review payment details following processing of transaction by thirdparty payment processor (includes email address, name of seller, as applicable)
• Review return address, shipping information and documentation following receipt of the counterfeit merchandise
• Set appropriate protocol concerning chain of custody
In respect to offline anti-counterfeiting investigations, best practices mirror those of most investigations. However, some matters to keep in mind are:
• Work backwards from what you will need when you go to trial, whether civil or criminal.
• Who will be the investigator/ investigation team
• Who will be testifying
• Will the people testifying be “burnt” and unable to do follow-up investigation
• Is there a privilege attached to your communications.
• Who will be communicating to the client: the crown, the police, others?
• Set appropriate protocol concerning chain of custody
• Assume everything you record will be producible and admissible in court
Open source searches
Social media is a valuable tool because it drives online traffic to the seller’s platform of choice to transact business (web site, smart phone application, physical store, etc.) and results in sales. However, social networks are even
more valuable to investigators because they help identify and provide relevant information about the counterfeiter’s operation, including digital images and available products.
Search engines are another valuable tool used to help identify information about sellers, including historical information you can gather that the seller might not even know about.
Working with others
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre is located in North Bay, Ont., where it operates a call centre and other resources to counteract various forms of fraud, including counterfeiting.
Through the Chargeback Program, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre takes steps to overcome the deceptive marketing of counterfeit goods by criminals that pose a significant threat to the economic integrity of Canada.
Project chargeback is a partnership between the CAFC (headed up by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police), credit card companies and banks who take steps to not only reimburse victims of online fraudsters but to close the counterfeit retailers’ payment processing accounts. This effectively makes it impossible for them to conduct their counterfeiting activities online.
This remedy has initiated many thousands of chargebacks where a victim has been reimbursed, including over 10,000 in each of the previous four years.
To initiate the chargeback process, the victim contacts the CAFC, files a complaint providing information that will include details of the goods, website address in question, date and amount of purchase. The intellectual property rights holders assists the CAFC by confirming, when requested, that the goods are not authentic. The CAFC provides that information to the credit card company as well as the issuing bank who then proceeds to assess and then initiate a chargeback or reimbursement. In addition, the CAFC instructs the victims not to return the counterfeit merchandise to the seller, thereby causing the seller to
lose the cost of the product.
The CAFC has developed a series of warning signs (available on their website www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca) for shoppers to protect themselves:
• Consumers should do their due diligence and thoroughly research an online store or website prior to making a purchase.
• Confirm that you are dealing with the actual manufacturer and look for any warnings posted on their site.
• Use a credit card or debit card when shopping online, as customers are offered protection and may receive a refund.
• Inspect the website thoroughly. Often counterfeit sites will contain spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.
• Online manufacturers generally use their own company email account. If a web-based email like Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo is listed on the website under their contact details, this is a red flag and further research is recommended.
Enforcing your intellectual property rights at the border
Intellectual property rights holders are encouraged to file a document called a Request for Assistance, providing information regarding their registered Canadian trademarks as well as any copyrights, whether registered or not, with customs. This provides customs with the authority to detain suspected importations of counterfeit products bearing those filed intellectual properties.
The rights holders are given three days after receipt of information regarding the product in question to authenticate and advise whether they wish to pursue a civil remedy. After that time, the rights holders are given 10 additional business days to pursue a civil remedy, failing which the imported goods are released. In practice, since the inception of the program in January, 2015, there have been a limited number of detentions (approximately 100). Yet, in the overwhelming majority of cases, the importer has agreed to a quick resolution, within the 10-day time, to have the goods destroyed at their cost. Although the program has not been
used extensively, it has proven to be quite effective. There is no cost to filing, renewing or amending the Request for Assistance.
Resources: National/ International Organizations
Those requiring assistance in dealing with counterfeiting situations have the ability to contact a plethora of national and international organizations with resources to assist in the case itself, including contacting the appropriate intellectual property rights holder, law enforcement, customs or related government organization and to learn various aspects about the counterfeiting problem, including its effect on the public.
Go-to organizations that have proven to be of assistance include:
• Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Network
• Canadian Antifraud Centre
• Canadian Intellectual Property Council
• Europol
• Global Anticounterfeiting Group
• International Anticounterfeiting Coalition
• International Trademark Association
• Interpol
There are also several well-known international publications that provide significant information relating to counterfeiting issues, from a legal as well as practical perspective, including:
• World Trademark Review
• Managing Intellectual Property
• Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection, (A-CAPP), Michigan State University
Conclusion
There are many tools available to make investigation of counterfeiting cases more effective. As with most investigations, proper and early planning, utilizing experienced team members, usually provides the best results.
Lorne M. Lipkus is a founding partner and David S. Lipkus is a partner in the Toronto law firm of Kestenberg Siegal Lipkus LLP (www.ksllaw.com).
How has today’s surveillance technology helped to reduce shrink?
Cash register systems provide exception reports that can help us shed light on fraudulent behaviour, helping managers prevent losses caused by internal theft. Camera systems can be used in conjunction with a floor detective agent to identify shoplifting behaviour and then intervene, if necessary.
Q Q A & A
with François Plaisance, Director, Loss Prevention Services, GardaWorld
“Communication and information exchange between retailers in a shopping centre and the property manager must be facilitated.”
Several intrusion systems can be utilized to set up operating schedules for the business. If a business is not armed (or disarmed) before certain hours, a call or notification will be sent to the manager, who can react immediately. It is also possible to manage access codes remotely from a web platform, which makes it easier for managers or business owners to remove access codes for nonactive employees. These tools prevent theft by people who want to retaliate against their former employer.
How can retail security services work more effectively with other departments in their organization?
Security departments should discuss cash register system issues with IT teams. We should ensure that our cash register systems allow for few or no vulnerabilities that can be exploited by a dishonest employee and that reports can be generated for control purposes. Security services should also be involved with Human Resources to ensure that new employees sign clear policies and procedures and that background checks are conducted for
all candidates to avoid any unpleasant surprises later.
What is the biggest frustration/concern in loss prevention today?
A reality that currently affects all employers is the saturated job market. To overcome this challenge, we are continuously on the lookout for new, stellar talent to join our team, and when we find a great candidate, we do what we can to retain them. Because of the labour shortage, some employers may hire on the spot without having carried out any pre-employment checks. Dishonest people, or people with questionable backgrounds, can make their way into the company, which can
become detrimental to your business. That is why it is essential, especially at this time, to ensure that a thorough preemployment assessment of candidates is conducted.
How can retailers and property managers work together to reduce organized crime activities?
To reduce and prevent organized crime activities, the first step in the solution is communication. Communication and information exchange between retailers in a shopping centre and the property manager must be facilitated. The property manager can also organize information and open dialogue between retailers.
Recognizing aggressive BEHAVIOUR IN RETAIL
Provide your staff with the verbal tools they need to deal with customers who may be out of control
By Stephen O’Keefe
The biggest difference between humans and other animals is we have the ability to think about something and change our “feelings.” We can sit and stew over something and make ourselves depressed, or we can think of funny things and make ourselves laugh.
That part of the brain, the frontal lobe, is a magical place to help us remember how we felt when things were good. It can also be the source of aggressive feelings. In this article we will review just how important it is for retail staff to understand when aggression might occur, when it is at risk of escalating and how to identify it so you can deploy preventative measures.
There are three basic stages to aggression: (1) emotional, (2) verbal and (3) physical. However, we typically break this down even further when we are trying to describe a customer’s behaviour in a retail setting as there are many variables in the customer/ employee interaction.
There are three equal stages in how a person might respond to aggression: (1) supportive, (2) assertive and (3) defensive. Equally there are variations in what the response ought to be based on the situation.
One important thing to remember always is safety first. In the higher order of aggression, there are mental health issues, substance abuse challenges, and the ultimate and unfortunate level of aggression that we see far too often
these days, active shooter situations.
The disadvantage that retailers have is that they do not necessarily know their customers personally. Our doors are open to all and all could have the potential to release their aggression on our staff — or so they think. Retailers have rights, and knowing when to be assertive in telling our customers we won’t stand for verbal abuse takes skill.
As a retail loss prevention professional, I have seen situations that have spun out of control. In hindsight, most of those incidents were completely avoidable.
If the response to aggression is excessive or inadequate, the individual can quickly lose control of the situation. It is therefore extremely important to identify the behaviour and physiological
changes that accompany certain lower order stages.
One thing to point out as we proceed: all humans have a voice in their head, an internal monologue. As you talk to a person who is emotionally aggressive, you must give pause and consideration to the fact that they are either absorbing what you are saying or they are not. But you can’t read their mind, so how can you know what they are thinking?
Let them talk and read their body language.
Good security and loss prevention professionals are skilled at reading body language. In order to be successful, you must be able to detect when aggression begins to build. Physiological changes in a person can be indicators that they are about to lose their cool. A person who is “thinking” about a situation, and becoming aggressive emotionally, will
show signs. That same part of the brain is releasing chemicals that will cause the complexion of their skin to change. And if you look close enough, you can see their pulse quicken in the veins in their neck. Once they move from emotional aggression to verbal aggression, the response becomes personal.
De-escalation techniques are about finding a way to avoid the escalation and providing appropriate responses to help a person to calm them down.
“Calm Down” as a command typically does not work, but there is language that you can adopt that can help to achieve that end result.
For example, if a customer experiences frustration because of a refund denied at point of sale, an assertive or defensive response can escalate tension. The customer is emotional, your response should be supportive. Training retail staff to deal
with such situations is very important. Review key phrases that an employee should say to the customer if an interaction goes poorly — phrases that empathize with the customer’s assertion and in turn help to reverse their aggression.
If an employee stands their ground and makes bold statements about policy, they will likely find the customer becomes even more verbally aggressive. This is the unintended consequence of an employee not correctly assessing the customer’s level of aggression and meeting it with the appropriate level of response.
Stephen O’Keefe is a Toronto-based independent retail loss prevention consultant working with some of the industry’s top brands. Contact him at stephen@blmorg.com to find out more about de-escalation and his training workshops.
RETAIL SECURE PANEL: Prepare for the possibility of an active shooter event
By Will Mazgay
Retail Secure 2019, the Retail Council of Canada’s annual loss prevention and security conference, recently hosted a panel on planning for and responding to active shooter events.
The session, “Active Situations: Putting Plans into Action,” explored the steps retailers, especially those in large shopping malls, can take before, during and after active shooter attacks to potentially mitigate loss of life, look after panicked customers and their families, and provide support to staff.
Bob Riddell, director of security and life safety for property manager Ivanhoe Cambridge, said retailers need to be proactive. “The wrong time to begin your planning is when the event takes place. At the end of the day, the incident picks you, you do not pick the incident.”
Steve Banton, sergeant, Toronto Police Service, said that signs of an attack can be picked up by paying attention to “pre-incident indicators.” Employees or customers issuing threats shouldn’t be ignored. That information should be shared with colleagues, security, property owners and police. “A lot of attacks are grievance motivated,” he said.
When an attack does occur, Banton said a police response team’s main purpose is to stop the attacker. They will be looking for key information like, “Where was he last seen? What is he wearing? Does he have armour on? If your store’s security can provide a [video] feed, that’s valuable information we need.”
Banton also said retailers need to reach out to police to plan and prepare emergency response strategies. “We don’t want the first time we interact together to be on game day. We’ve got to make
sure we’ve included retailers, security, management, property owners, police.”
Patrick Jandard, country security manager, Canada, H&M, asserted that adequately preparing for violent attacks starts with a company culture that prioritizes security and wellbeing, and from there, proactive training.
“Training should start day one with the new employee,” Jandard said. “It could be as simple as showing someone where the emergency exits are, where is the emergency meeting point, where is the path to go to the emergency meeting point, because as we know, sometimes in malls those back hallways can be a bit tricky.” Jandard continued, “That has to be done the first hour of the first day a new hire starts, because you never know when an incident will occur.”
Neil Mathews, manager, emergency management, for property manager Oxford Properties Group, said lockdown spaces need to be as secure as possible. “Carve out a space that has solid brick walls, a big metal door, not just ‘let’s run to the back storage room and hide.’”
Jandard explained that even when a retailer goes into lockdown, the customer experience doesn’t stop. “Nerves are at their maximum, people may be panicking, and if you and your staff don’t do a good job of managing the lockdown situation, I can guarantee you are going to have a nightmare.” He continued, “Let people know they are in a safe place, reassure lost children. Communicate with property management to get as much information as you can, and relay that to the customers when you can.”
After the attack, Riddell said taking care of staff is crucial. “It’s essential to have a plan to take care of your team. Security, LP, staff, they encounter situations where perhaps they don’t see the effects in the first 24 hours. It may hit them a little bit later.”
Whether it’s co-ordination with police, staff training, handling lockdown, or dealing with the aftermath, Riddell said the consequences of not getting it right can be dire for retailers. “Brands suffer when they don’t prepare adequately.”
Patrick Jandard, country security manager, Canada, H&M; Neil Mathews, manager, emergency management, Oxford Properties Group; Steve Banton, Sergeant, Toronto Police Service; Bob Riddell, director of security and life safety, Ivanhoe Cambridge