Latest news with #retailsecurity
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Louis Vuitton UK Says Hackers Have Stolen Some Customer Data
Louis Vuitton UK said hackers have stolen some customer data as the luxury brand becomes the latest target in a string of cyberattacks against retailers. On July 2, an unauthorized third party accessed the systems of the British unit of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE 's flagship brand and took information such as names, contact details and purchase history. No financial data like bank details were accessed, the company said in an email to customers on Friday.
The Sun
07-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
H&M takes drastic action at 3 major stores with staff to wear BODYCAMS in desperate bid to deter shoplifters
H&M HAS taken drastic action in three major stores as staff are now fitted with bodycams in a desperate bid to deter shoplifters. The popular fashion store is the latest retailer to give its UK staff body cameras to help stop shoplifting and protect workers from attacks. 1 The Swedish clothing giant revealed it had been testing the new technology, according to the Mail on Sunday. The high street brand follows big names like Tesco, the Co-op, and Lidl, all of which have introduced bodycams for their staff. These major retailers said they were forced to take action because the police had failed to respond. Shoplifting rose by 20 per cent from last year, with violent and abusive incidents reported around 2,000 times daily. Criminals - often in organised gangs - have been stealing goods in full view of staff and shoppers, knowing they're unlikely to face any consequences. High street retailers urge their staff not to intervene, fearing they could be attacked. Workers have faced racial and sexual insults, physical threats, spitting, and in some cases, physical violence. H&M will trial the new bodycams in stores in Edinburgh, Wood Green, and Beckton in London. A spokesman for the firm said: "We're testing this new technology in a three-store pilot to assess what beneficial impact it may have, along with proper staff customer service training, on de-escalating and reducing incidents for the safety of both our colleagues and customers." The cameras will be worn on staff uniforms and will record distressing incidents to provide police with video evidence. Moment Co-op worker grabs fleeing shoplifter by the THROAT to stop him making off with arms full of stolen items Superdrug have also issued police-style bodycams and headsets to staff amid soaring levels of violence by shoplifting thugs. Abuse and attacks on shop workers rocketed 50 per cent from 870 to 1,300 incidents-a-day last year, according to a leading trade body. Stores are resorting to desperate measures after the British Retail Consortium blasted 'woefully inadequate' government action to tackle the High Street 'crisis'. The consortium's survey also revealed shoplifting has more than doubled to 16.7 million incidents in the past year, up from eight million. They added: "The cost of theft has soared to almost £1 billion a year." A poll earlier this year found one in six staff workers were physically attacked by abusive customers.
The Independent
05-07-2025
- The Independent
Fog machines, barriers and citizen's arrests: Meet the shopkeepers hitting back against ‘kamikaze' thieves
Shopkeepers are resorting to desperate measures in a bid to protect their businesses and staff from so-called 'kamikaze' thieves who they claim are not being punished hard enough. Amid record levels of shoplifting reported to police, small retailers are being forced to fork out thousands of pounds on fog machines, enhanced CCTV systems and high-tech security barriers in a bid to deter would-be thieves. Some business owners are making citizens arrests, chasing potentially dangerous suspects into surrounding streets, and banning every pupil from entire schools. 'High-price' items such as laundry powder, foil and butter are being put behind the counter, or even no longer stocked, because of blatant attempts by criminals to clear shop shelves for resale. Shopkeepers say the rise in so-called 'kamikaze' shoplifting, which takes place in plain sight with complete impunity, is only exacerbated by the lack of tough sentences handed out to those caught. Just over a quarter of shoplifters sentenced at courts are jailed, the latest Home Office data reveals, with the average custody term being two months. Others caught face softer outcomes. One woman caught stealing items worth more than £50, including tubs of Lurpak butter, was ordered to pay back 80p 'every few weeks out of her benefits' after receiving a conditional discharge, said Durham shopkeeper Andrew Board, who described his own fight against shoplifters as 'personal'. 'They're stealing out of my pocket and I'm not going to have them dragging me into the gutter, I'm not going have these people continue to steal off me and just think they can get away with it,' he told The Independent. Latest figures show the number of shoplifting offences in England and Wales passed half a million for the first time last year, increasing by 20 per cent from 2023. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has vowed to crack down on the shoplifters, with the latest move announced last week for increased police presence across 500 towns as part of a safer streets summer initiative scheme. Also, under planned changes to the Crime and Policing Bill, the maximum sentence for shoplifters caught stealing items under £200 will rise to seven years, and a new offence will be created for assaulting shop workers. However, stronger punishment is still needed to tackle the 'epidemic', according to Katy Bourne, lead for retail crime at the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners. Home Office data analysed by The Independent showed just 18 per cent of reports of shoplifting led to a person being charged or summoned to court, while in 56 per cent of cases, no suspect was identified. 'We know that if we take the prolific offenders off the street crime goes down,' said Ms Bourne, who is the Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner for Sussex. 'The message we are sending to thieves is 'we are almost letting you get away with it. We need an effective deterrent, we need shops to no longer be an easy target.' Shoplifting is costing retailers £2.2bn a year, according The British Retail Consortium, which said many business have lost faith in action against the thieves, who it said have have become bolder and more aggressive. Mr Board, who runs Core Convenience store, said he and his staff do not hesitate to catch suspects, adding that those caught rarely come back. 'I've reached the stage where I've just had enough, so take matters into my own hands now,' he said. 'This is just a small family business, so thefts come out of my pocket, so it's always personal. If the business gets pushed to the point of closing, the community loses access to critical services as we also house a very busy Post Office branch.' CCTV clips of the citizens arrests are put on the store's Facebook page in a further bid to deter other shoplifters. Mr Board said: 'Our overheads have been pushed to extremes. The government promised the construction of many new prisons, so those committing crimes could be more likely to receive just punishments, but it's all silent. 'If things don't change quickly, then you'll find all your small community convenience stores closing down.' In Bristol, Nick Smith, who runs a Premier shop in Knowle, also said he has had to chase after suspected shoplifters fleeing his store. Earlier this year, he ran after a person with a walking stick who was found to have stolen items from the shop. Tin foil, coffee and even sweets are now stored behind the counter due to thefts. 'It may be £4 or £5 worth of items stolen each time, but you add that up over 20-or-so incidents and you are down almost £100 - that's a lot for a small business,' he said. Also in Bristol, at Wai Yee Hong Chinese supermarket, a spate of thefts forced bosses to install scanning barriers and ban children from a nearby secondary school. Drinks and snacks made famous on TikTok were being targeted, said worker Celina Li. 'The extra eyes on shoppers and security were helping to deter shoplifters,' she said. The store received funding to pay for extra security through a Safer Shops West scheme run by the West of England Combined Authority. Other businesses to benefit included Silver Jewellery shop in Bath. After a break-in, owner Guy Douglas spent £2,000 on a fog machine that can be activated by in-store staff for when a theft occurs. 'Fortunately, we haven't had to use it,' he said. 'I like to think the warning signs have had an impact.' Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman, from the National Police Chiefs' Council, said: 'Over the last two years we have made significant strides in our fight against retail crime, strengthening relationships with retailers and working in partnership to support in prevention tactics and improved information sharing.' The Home Office said local actions plans had been set up with police, shops and councils to crackdown on thefts as part of the planned 'blitz' in the summer. Ms Cooper said 'We are putting officers back on the beat where you can see them and making our town centres safe again."
The Sun
25-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Iceland is making major change to ALL its checkouts across UK in new crackdown
ICELAND is set to make a major change to all of its checkouts in the UK in a bid to crack down on theft and violence against staff. The retailer plans to install facial recognition cameras in stores with trials of the scheme already underway. 2 Two Iceland stores are currently trailing the technology with plans in place to roll out the cameras more widely. How does it work? Cameras are reportedly provided by Facewatch, a security firm that also works with Home Bargains and several other big retailers. The technology is said to check customers faces against a database of people deemed to have committed a crime in the past. If a former criminal is spotted the system will alert all staff so that action can be taken. If the tech doesn't find a match on the database the information is immediately deleted. The cameras check customers against a "subjects of interest" database as they enter the store. When are the cameras being installed? The new tech is currently being trialled at stores in Bradford and Salford. Iceland reportedly plans to expand this to six stores by October 2025 and roll it out further following that. The firm claimed that the tech had only been installed after a due diligence process. Iceland said that the the system provided by Facewatch had been reviewed by the Information Commissioner's Office and the firm's status as a data controller made it a reliable partner. It's expected that the tech will lead to a massive 30 per cent reduction in violent incidents in stores. Facewatch claim that the tech is proven to reduce theft by at least 35 per cent in the first year. Retailers across the country have been trialling facial recognition cameras in a bid to clamp down on theft. Which other stores are using the tech? Asda have been trialling a similar system in five different stores since March. 2 Home Bargains, B&M and Frasers Group – including Flannels, House of Fraser, Sports Direct and Evans Cycles, have all been trialling Facewatch in stores. Iceland addressed the roll out of the technology in a statement, with a spokesperson saying: "Following a robust due diligence process, we can confirm that our facial recognition trial is now live in two stores and will expand further this year. "This is part of our continued investment into tackling violent retail crime and protecting the safety of our colleagues and customers." 55k thefts every day across UK By Julia Atherley BRITAIN is facing a shop- lifting epidemic with a record 55,000 incidents a day. In 2024, it cost retailers £2.2billion, up from £1.8billion in 2023, figures show. Offences reported by police in England and Wales have jumped 23 per cent to more than 492,000 in the past 12 months, says the Office for National Statistics. The scourge is being driven by the perception that offenders are rarely caught or punished. Graham Wynn, of the British Retail Consortium, described shoplifting as a 'major trigger for violence and abuse against staff'. Mr Wynn said: 'The rise in organised crime is a significant concern, with gangs hitting stores one after another. 'Sadly, such theft is not a victimless crime; it pushes up the cost for honest shoppers and damages the customer experience.' Labour has promised to make assaulting a retail worker an offence and treat more seriously thefts of goods worth less than £200.
BBC News
14-06-2025
- BBC News
Facial recognition error sees woman accused of theft
A woman who was wrongly accused of shoplifting toilet roll due to an apparent mix-up with a facial recognition system was left "fuming" after being ejected from two Home Bargains Horan was escorted from the branches in Greater Manchester in May and June and initially given no later discovered she was falsely accused of stealing about £10 worth of items after her profile was inexplicably added to a facial recognition watchlist to prevent security firm Facewatch, which provides the technology, said: "We acknowledge and understand how distressing this experience must have been and the retailer has since undertaken additional staff training." The firm said a review of the incident later showed the items had been paid Bargains has declined to Horan, who runs a makeup business, said she at first "thought it was a joke" when the manager of Home Bargains in Regent Road, Salford, asked her to leave the shop on 24 said: "Everyone was looking at me. All the customers at the till and I was like 'for what?'" After her protestations, the manager advised her to contact Facewatch directly but Ms Horan said she had "no joy" from her messages to the firm, or to Home later visited another Home Bargains store in Fallowfield, Manchester, with her 81-year-old mother on 4 June."As soon as I stepped my foot over the threshold of the door, they were radioing each other and they all surrounded me and were like 'you need to leave the store'," she said."My heart sunk and I was anxious and bothered for my mum as well because she was stressed."But I was ready for it because of what happened the previous time. I just fought my corner and said 'you need to tell me why'." It was only after repeated emails to both Facewatch and Home Bargains that she eventually found there had been an allegation of theft of about £10 worth of toilet rolls on 8 picture had somehow been circulated to local stores alerting them that they should not allow her Horan said she checked her bank account to confirm she had indeed paid for the items before Facewatch eventually responded to say a review of the incident showed she had not stolen anything."Because I was persistent I finally got somewhere but it wasn't easy, it was really stressful," she said."My anxiety was really bad – it really played with my mind, questioning what I've done for days. I felt anxious and sick. My stomach was turning for a week." 'Guilty by alogrithm' In one email from Facewatch seen by the BBC, the firm told Ms Horan it "relies on information submitted by stores" and the Home Bargains branches involved had since been "suspended from using the Facewatch system".Madeleine Stone, senior advocacy officer at the civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, said they had been contacted by more than 35 people who have complained of being wrongly placed on facial recognition watchlists."They're being wrongly flagged as criminals," Ms Stone said."They've given no due process, kicked out of stores. This is having a really serious impact.""Historically in Britain, we have a history that you are innocent until proven guilty but when an algorithm, a camera and a facial recognition system gets involved, you are guilty."Big Brother Watch has called for the UK government to completely ban facial recognition technology from Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said: "While commercial facial recognition technology is legal in the UK, its use must comply with strict data protection laws. Organisations must process biometric data fairly, lawfully and transparently, ensuring usage is necessary and proportionate."No one should find themselves in this situation." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
