The eBay Inc. Director of Global Asset Protection Investigations John Mearls has been elected vice chair of the Online and Mail Order Loss Prevention (LP) Forum. It’s a new e-tail force seeking to tackle the global impact of cybercrime in retail.
The forum comprises online and traditional high street names – the so-called ‘clicks v bricks and mortar’ bringing together online and offline brands, die to the blurred boundaries between them. It’s the latest of the ORIS Retail Loss Prevention Forums.
John, who is based at eBay’s offices in Dublin, will work with chair Alison Parkinson of Next with a view to the sharing best practice against retail cybercrime. John began his career as a regional loss prevention director for Bloomingdales in New York in 1990 and has held a number of senior LP roles with US retailers including Kmart Corporation, Lowes and Hollywood Entertainment before moving to eBay in January 2010.
John said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for us to work with some of the UK’s biggest brands to collaboratively share information on illegal and fraudulent practices that impact all of our businesses. At eBay & PayPal we work hard to proactively detect and prevent suspicious activity before it reaches the live platforms, enhance user experiences while at the same time identify the minority who attempt to take advantage of the platforms and/or its millions of users. We work closely with law enforcement agencies, rights owner and brands in support of criminal investigations. We look forward to continue to enhance our already positive relationships with law enforcement and retailers across all forum segments, to include sharing of investigative best practices, technology resources available and fraud trends impacting all of us. The Forums allow us to openly share information that is mutually beneficial – both through the regular meetings or through analyst training sessions.”
Those with a seat on the forum: the Metropolitan Police; Next, Shop Direct, John Lewis, Peacocks, Office Depot, JD Sport, Tesco and JD Williams. Internet fraud is understood to be getting worse as more stores are seeking an online presence, according to the National Fraud Authority.
Alison Parkinson, chair of the Online and Mail Order Forum added: “John and his team at eBay have become great allies and we are really pleased that he is working with us as part of the Forum. We share common objectives so it makes sense for businesses that compete for sales to come together to defeat fraud.”
The Forum, which meets four times a year, has also had interest from other online retailers who want to sign up to reduce their losses collectively.
The Online and Mail Order LP forum is one of eight sector-specific LP forums facilitated by ORIS Forums covering Fashion, Health Beauty and Pharmacy, Café, Dining and Hospitality, DIY and Trade, Technology and Office, Supermarket and Grocery and Speciality Retail. The success of the forums has been the collaboration of the members who represent some of the UK’s biggest brands, but also the lobbying and public affairs work with the likes of the Home Office, ACPO, The Magistrates Association and the new Police and Crime Commissioners.
Impact
The impact on the retailers runs into millions of pounds in shrinkage and loss while nearly one in eight UK surfers became victims of online fraud in the last year, with personal losses averaging £875. Of the 29 million UK adults who use the internet, 1.7 million suffered some kind of online shopping fraud and 1.2 million were a victim of banking or credit card
