Retail Fraud Driven by Refund Hacks and Fraud-as-a-service

Retail fraud is becoming disturbingly mainstream, with nearly 1 in 5 consumers viewing it as a victimless crime and many being exposed to “refund hacks” through influencers and social media ads. A new report by Netacea reveals that nearly half of surveyed consumers in the UK and US have seen fraud-promoting content online, while 23% admitted being tempted to commit fraud themselves. With platforms normalizing these behaviors and “fraud-as-a-service” gaining traction, the line between criminal activity and consumer trend is rapidly blurring—putting retailers at massive risk while many consumers remain unaware they're part of the problem.
DIGIT News

How much inventory is too much to prepare for tariffs?

As new tariffs threaten to raise prices, retailers face a critical decision: whether to stockpile inventory now or risk higher costs and shortages later. Some major players like Amazon and Apple are pulling inventory forward, while warehouse demand spikes and imports temporarily surge—but experts warn this may be short-lived. Despite the recent uptick, most retailers are keeping inventories lean, wary of overbuying in an uncertain economy, with projections showing a steep drop in imports later this year as businesses choose caution over risk.

Retail Brew

Building Cyber Resilience: Practical Steps and Lessons from Recent Retail Cyberattacks

As cyberattacks on retailers and their supply chains escalate, the industry must shift from awareness to action by implementing concrete cybersecurity strategies. These include conducting thorough digital risk assessments, enforcing supplier security standards, investing in AI-driven threat detection, training employees to spot phishing attempts, and preparing well-rehearsed incident response plans. Case studies show these tactics work—retailers that adopted proactive measures like AI monitoring and interactive training saw major reductions in threats, proving that resilience lies in both technology and teamwork across the entire retail ecosystem.
International Supermarket News

Breakthrough Tech Secures $43M to Revolutionize How Retailers Fight Theft in Real Time

AI-powered retail security startup Veesion has raised $43 million in Series B funding, bringing its total to $80 million to further scale its gesture-recognition technology aimed at tackling shoplifting. Currently active in over 5,000 stores across 25 countries—including major U.S. retailers like 7-Eleven and ShopRite—Veesion plans to accelerate its North American expansion, double down in Brazil, and strengthen its European presence. Co-founder Benoît Koenig emphasized the company’s rapid growth and mission to make AI-powered loss prevention simple and scalable, calling this milestone a launchpad for global retail innovation.

RTIH

Defensive Merchandising – How can retailers reduce shrinkage without sacrificing sales?
Retail theft continues to escalate, driven in large part by organized criminal groups and gaps in store-level protection strategies. While many retailers are turning to high-tech solutions like surveillance systems and body-worn cameras, experts emphasize that the most effective approach is a multi-layered strategy tailored to each store’s layout, product types, and customer experience. Simple, smart shelf-level solutions—like one-at-a-time dispensers or automated pusher systems—can significantly reduce shrink without creating barriers for honest customers. In the battle against theft, the key isn't just flashy tech—it's integrating practical, well-designed systems that secure merchandise while keeping the shopping experience frictionless and engaging.

Grocery Trader

Tom Meehan, CEO CONTROLTEK
comments@talklpnews.com

Global Accessibility Awareness Day: Making Technology Work for Everyone

Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), which took place on May 19, 2025, prompted me to think more deeply about the digital accessibility needs of the more than 1 billion people worldwide living with disabilities. 

In my own experience with vision loss, GAAD served as a reminder that we live in a world where digital participation is increasingly expected—if not required. I don’t necessarily believe that engaging in the digital world should always be a must, but for better or worse, it’s become central to how we live, work, and connect.

After visiting the GAAD website, I noticed the word “declaration” displayed on a faint blue background, in a font color nearly identical to grayscale. That subtle design choice struck me—not just visually, but emotionally. It served as a quiet but powerful example of how accessibility is not only about what we can see, but also about what we choose to acknowledge, include, and value in our shared digital spaces.

In the wake of GAAD, I’ve been paying closer attention to how the tech industry is addressing these needs, and Apple’s latest announcements have been particularly inspiring.

Apple's Latest Accessibility Innovations

With iOS 19 arriving this summer, Apple is introducing several exciting accessibility features that signal real progress:

The App Store’s new feature called Accessibility Nutrition Labels, will let users see which accessibility features (like VoiceOver and Larger Text) an app supports before they download it. This added transparency helps users make informed choices and removes unnecessary trial and error.

A magnifier for Mac will assist users with poor eyesight when it comes to getting a closer look at their environment and will help when it comes to making words more readable. If eyesight is not at its best, it can certainly make a simple task close to impossible.

Apple is also rolling out system-level text customization allowing users to adjust text appearance in ways they find most readable. The service includes four main components that cover most aspects of reading—progression through text, its appearance, tone (which can also be interpreted in a visual manner through color), and how much space there is between each character and line.

Enhancements to the Personal Voice require just 10 spoken phrases (versus the previous requirement of 150) users can now produce a voice that sounds natural in under a minute.

Later this year, Apple plans to expand the Live Caption feature to even more devices, including the Apple Watch.

Most would agree that conversations are even more accessible when everyone is using the same medium, but that's not always a reality.

The Impact of Accessible Design

These innovations are more than merely technical triumphs; they are pathways to independence, education, employment, and social interaction for hundreds of millions of people.

Designing for accessibility means you must honor everyone's right to participate fully in society. The digital world has become an essential infrastructure, not just for education and healthcare, but for all of us to work, connect socially, and live meaningful lives. When you make these spaces accessible, you're not doing it as an act of charity or goodwill; you're doing it out of a commitment to equality and inclusion.

In the spirit of this year’s GAAD, I urge all those in the tech and design fields to think deeply about how the work they do affects users who have a range of abilities. Making our world more accessible isn't just something that should be done for the sake of good design. It is, quite simply, the right thing to do.

Retail Power Play: New Amendment Could Disrupt Credit Card Fees as We Know Them

Payments Dive

Pharmacy Employee Steals $300,000 From Company

An employee at Varichem Pharmaceutical Company was arraigned Wednesday, facing charges of theft of trust property after allegedly embezzling US$300,000 from his employer.

Milton Goremusandu, 42, appeared before Harare magistrate Marewanazvo Gofa, who remanded him in custody until Thursday for a bail ruling.

Goremusandu is alleged to have committed the offence in collaboration with his subordinate, Edwell Sibanda, who is already on remand.

ZimEye

Walmart Cuts 1,500 Tech and Corporate Jobs in Structural Shake-Up

ISN

Tech-Driven Strategies: Enhancing Retail Safety & Reducing Loss? 

Retail threats are evolving—and so are the solutions. In our LPF webinar, Tech-Driven Strategies: Enhancing Retail Safety & Reducing Loss, Mike Lamb, Craig Greenberg, and Dara Riordan explored how Purchek® and FaceFirst empower retailers with proactive tools to fight theft and improve safety.
From automated pushout prevention to AI-driven offender alerts, the insights shared reveal how integrated technologies deliver stronger protection without disrupting the shopper experience.

29 Arrested in San Bernardino County's Effort to Dismantle Organized Retail Crime

San Bernardino County law enforcement agencies have continued their crackdown on organized retail crime through Operation Smash & Grab, resulting in 29 arrests and the recovery of $4,400 worth of property.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, in conjunction with multiple agencies including the Gangs/Narcotics Division, Probation Department, Homeland Security Investigations, California Highway Patrol, and San Bernardino Police Department, conducted this targeted retail theft operation from May 3 to May 16, 2025, focusing on high-crime shopping districts throughout the county.

Hoodline

Three wounded in shooting near Potomac Mills shopping mall

Three men were injured in a shooting behind a shopping center in Prince William County, Virginia, on Wednesday afternoon, police say.

Prince William County police confirmed to WTOP that around 5:15 p.m., they got the report of a shooting in the 14200 block of Smoketown Road in Woodbridge near the Potomac Mills shopping center. When they arrived on the scene, they discovered three “males, initially believed to be adults,” with gunshot wounds.

Police did not share the extent of their injuries and said no suspect has been taken into custody.

WTOP News

How Retailers Can Fight Back Against AI-Enabled Fraud Rings

Online retail fraud has plagued e-commerce for decades, but recent developments have propelled this challenge to unprecedented levels.

For example, BogusBazaar, operated over 75,000 fraudulent webshop domains and processed an astounding one million orders since 2021 alone, according to Security Research Labs.

These fraud rings employ a variety of tactics. Some purchase goods at discounted prices from big box retailers for resale, others corner the market on scarce items to sell at inflated prices and the most brazen simply create phantom Amazon stores to collect payments without ever intending to deliver products.

Forbes

OSHA revises Site-Specific Targeting program

OSHA has updated the criteria it uses to direct agency enforcement resources to workplaces via its Site-Specific Targeting inspection program.

The program funnels resources to establishments that have the highest rates of injuries and illnesses “based on injury and illness data submitted in accordance with OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements.” SST is the agency’s primary planned inspection program for non-construction establishments with 20 or more employees.

Safety+Health

State bill introduced to fund panic buttons, & critical safety measures

Calls to help protect bodegas and delis in the city are being heard after multiple violent and deadly attacks inside the neighborhood businesses this year.

The New York State Bodega Act of 2025, introduced by Bronx Assemblyman George Alvarez, would direct the Division of Criminal Justice Services to establish a grant program supporting security upgrades for bodegas, food marts and similar small retail establishments.

News 12

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