Asset Protection & Loss Prevention Flashcards

What is 'sweethearting' in retail loss prevention?

Answer: Employees giving unauthorized discounts or free merchandise to friends or family

Sweethearting occurs when employees fail to scan items, apply unauthorized discounts, or give away free merchandise to friends, family, or acquaintances at the register.

A loss prevention professional discovers a significant discrepancy between perpetual inventory records and a physical count. The FIRST step should be to:

Answer: Investigate all possible causes including receiving errors, administrative mistakes, and theft

Inventory discrepancies can have multiple causes including receiving errors, administrative mistakes, damage, and theft; a systematic investigation of all possibilities should precede any accusations or legal action.

Which of the following best describes organized retail crime (ORC)?

Answer: Coordinated criminal groups that steal merchandise in large quantities to resell for profit

ORC involves professional criminal networks that systematically steal large quantities of merchandise to fence to other retailers or sell online, costing the industry billions of dollars annually.

What is the purpose of 'target hardening' as an asset protection strategy?

Answer: Making specific assets more difficult to steal by increasing the effort or risk required

Target hardening involves making assets more difficult to steal through physical security measures, access controls, and other deterrents that increase the effort, time, or risk required for a potential thief.

Which metric is most commonly used to measure the overall effectiveness of a retail loss prevention program?

Answer: Shrink rate expressed as a percentage of total sales

Shrink rate, expressed as a percentage of total sales, is the primary KPI for loss prevention programs because it directly measures total inventory loss relative to business volume.

In loss prevention, a 'booster bag' refers to:

Answer: A specially lined bag designed to defeat Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) systems

Booster bags are lined with layers of metallic foil designed to block EAS tag signals, allowing shoplifters to remove merchandise from stores without triggering security alarms.

'Return fraud' or 'wardrobing' most commonly involves:

Answer: Purchasing merchandise, using it temporarily, and then returning it for a full refund

Wardrobing involves customers purchasing merchandise, wearing or using it, and then returning it for a full refund, effectively obtaining temporary free use of the item at the retailer's expense.