Why it matters:

Gift card fraud is one of the easiest ways organized retail crime quietly drains money from shoppers and retailers—and it’s often connected to much larger criminal operations.

The big picture:

On Retail’s Most Wanted, Scott Glenn, VP of Asset Protection at The Home Depot, explains how ORC has evolved from visible theft into coordinated, cross-border crime that’s hard to detect and harder to prosecute.

Key points:

• Gift cards are a prime target: Anonymous, fast, and easy to launder, they’re often drained before victims know a crime occurred.
• This isn’t petty theft: ORC is “shoplifting for greed,” used to fund broader criminal activity.
• Education + coordination work: Training shoppers and associates, stronger state task forces, and federal action are starting to make a difference.

What’s next:

Criminals will keep adapting—but growing collaboration between retailers, law enforcement, and lawmakers is finally narrowing their advantage.

*Correction Notice: Scott Glenn is a lawyer. He has not served as a prosecutor.

Retail's Most Wanted is presented by LVT and the Attorney General Alliance.

Organized retail crime continues to pressure retailers nationwide, and the role of private security is changing fast. In the latest episode of Retail’s Most Wanted, WGS Group CEO Marcus Skeen breaks down what’s shifting on the ground and why deterrence still matters.

Why it matters

Even with tougher penalties in some states, ORC remains a daily operational issue. Shrink, safety concerns, and store disruptions continue to ripple across the industry.

What Skeen is seeing

Threat levels may have dipped slightly, but complexity hasn’t.

He notes that many security providers drifted into passive roles—observing and recording incidents rather than actively deterring them.

The shift back to deterrence

Skeen argues the industry needs a reset.

That includes better training, clearer expectations, and tools that support professionalism, like body-worn cameras monitored in real time and supervisors who can respond quickly when situations escalate.

What retailers often underestimate

Visible, confident security presence influences more than theft.

It affects how employees feel at work, whether shoppers choose to stay in the store, and how likely repeat offenders are to target the same location again.

The bigger picture

Retailers frequently hesitate to leverage stronger security measures due to liability concerns.

Skeen’s view: risk grows when expectations aren’t clear, and training isn’t consistent.

Retail's Most Wanted is presented by LVT and the Attorney General Alliance.

The big picture:

Retailers and law enforcement are collaborating in ways they weren’t just a few years ago. On the latest episode of Retail’s Most Wanted, Marty Carpenter talks with Matt Kelley, SVP at LV, about how real-time data and smarter partnerships are reshaping the response to organized retail crime (ORC).

Why it matters

ORC continues to rise, but the industry’s ability to respond is strengthening. Kelley says momentum is picking up as retailers, police, and solution providers share information more quickly and more openly.

Inside the new collaboration model

Summits like the Utah Organized Retail Crime Alliance (UTORCA) gathering are accelerating progress. Leaders leave aligned on priorities, expectations, and proven tactics. That clarity turns conversation into action.

Tech is the turning point

Real-time data is giving retailers and law enforcement a shared view of what’s happening. LV’s tools serve as “eyes and ears” where traditional surveillance doesn’t exist, helping teams deploy resources faster and more precisely — especially during retail blitz operations.

What’s ahead

Kelley sees the future in “data stitching” — seamless information flow from solution providers to retailers to law enforcement. The goal: faster insights, quicker case building, and more efficient outcomes.

Utah helped set the national standard with one of the first ORCAs. The next opportunity is deeper collaboration across states.

Retail's Most Wanted is presented by LVT and the Attorney General Alliance.