With the lingering financial challenges of a recession and rising crime rates, malls and shopping centers this holiday season are, as always, targets for criminal activity and threats impacting consumers, retailers and their employees. The latest estimate for ORC (Organized Retail Crime) loss alone is $33 billion in the United States. Andrews International, Inc., the largest privately owned U.S. full-service provider of security and risk mitigation services, offers the following security tips for consumers, retail operators and employees.

Consumers
*To discourage purse-snatchers and pickpockets, handbags should be carried with the strap over the shoulder and across the body with the clasp facing the body.
*Wallets should be carried in an inside coat or front pants pocket. If a wallet must be carried in a back pocket, put several rubber-bands around it to prevent it from coming out of the pocket easily.
*Use credit cards when possible and keep cash to a minimum.
*Don't count money in public.
*Be wary of those lingering around an ATM.
*To guard against identity theft, frequently check credit reports and consider signing up for a service that monitors personal credit activity.
*At night, park under lights and close to a facility's entrance.
*Don't purchase more than can be carried; those struggling are an easy mark for a thief.
*Walk in groups, and if you are alone, ask mall security for an escort.
*When approaching your vehicle, see if you are being watched by those in a nearby car.
*If there's a note on the windshield, ignore it - criminals use this to delay and distract targets.
*Keep packages and valuables in the trunk of your car and out of sight to discourage break-ins.

Retailers & Employees
Organized shoplifting gangs have been known to steal upwards of $200,000 in a single mall excursion. They know which retailers are unlikely to prosecute, and those that display merchandise that makes theft easy. Typical tactics include creating a diversion, such as an argument, drawing the attention of employees from others who are stealing merchandise. Retailers and employees should watch all areas of a store when there is a possible diversion.

Tip-offs for mall security officers are large groups repeatedly leaving and re-entering a mall, depositing merchandise in multiple vehicles usually with out-of-state license plates, and communicating frequently with hand-held devices.

Insider Threats
If possible, background and drug checks should be conducted on all employees, including temporary help. Organized gangs place people within retail stores as employees to facilitate robberies and shoplifting. Seasonal help should never have access to security information such as alarm codes or keys; these should be changed immediately when needed and on a regular basis.

Business Purchases and Checks
A popular scam is for a retailer to be contacted by "an area business" about a large purchase for employee gifts. They then ask if someone can pick up the merchandise and pay by check "on Saturday." Anytime someone offers to pay with a business check during a time when it cannot be verified by the bank being drawn upon, it is a tip-off that something is amiss.

Securing the Store
Criminals often enter a store through back doors left open by employees for ventilation, taking out trash or sneaking out for a cigarette. Most outlets have back offices, so crimes can be committed without anyone in the store being aware. Doors should be checked regularly and secured at the end of the night, security cameras should be reviewed to ensure they have not been re positioned, alarms and recording devices should be tested. Additionally, after-hours burglary is common, so there should never be more than $100 left in a cash register draw at the end of the night.

End of Night Cash Drop
Owners or employees leaving a mall alone at night with the day's cash deposit are a prime target for robbery. If possible, an armored car service should be used for the transaction. If not, use a banking outlet within the confines of the mall. It is ill-advised to have a single person carry out this function, particularly if leaving the premises, even if the bank is just across the parking lot.

Targeting of Employees
Parking for employees is often in a designated area, away from the entrance to a facility and more vulnerable. Criminals realize that vehicles in the employee parking area will be there for an entire shift, providing them with a greater window of opportunity to steal a car or merchandise within. In addition to the same precautions consumers should exercise in parking lots, employees should take special care to keep valuables from GPS units to iPods to gifts in their trunk and out of sight.

Andrews International, headquartered in Los Angeles, is a full service provider of security and risk mitigation services with operations throughout the United States and internationally. The company employs more than 10,500 security personnel, providing uniformed security, consulting and investigative services, personal protection, special event security, specialized training, and disaster emergency response services.