Los Angeles, New York and Chicago are Top Cities for Organized Retail Crime Activity

Los Angeles, New York and Chicago top the list of cities with the highest organized retail crime activity, with Miami and Atlanta rounding out the top five, according to a study by the National Retail Federation.

The NRF’s ninth annual Organized Retail Crime Survey found that while organized crime has dropped slightly, it remains widespread. More than 90 percent of retailers identified as victims of organized crime during the past year, down from 96 percent the prior year.

The survey also revealed that concerns over store merchandise credit and gift card fraud schemes are growing. Nearly 80 percent of those surveyed said they had experienced a situation where thieves returned stolen merchandise without a receipt for the sole purpose of receiving store credit via a gift card to sell for cash to secondary markets that include kiosks, pawn shops and check cashing stores.