Category Archives: AssetWatch

Loss Prevention: How to stop your assets from going ‘walkabout’

It’s not yet known if and how the cost of living crisis in the UK will affect crime rates generally. There has understandably been plenty of speculation though; ‘desperate times call for desperate measures’.

There was a 21% increase in shoplifting between March 2021 and March 2022 (Usdaw, July 2022). Employee theft has been steadily dropping since peaking in 2003, but there were still 5,638 offences reported throughout England and Wales in 2021/22 (Statista.com, July 2022).

Now is certainly not the time to be lax in the security of your company’s assets, particularly those that are more prone to go ‘walkabout’ such as mobile phones, laptops and other portable tech. These have always been lucrative items to thieves, fraudsters and even dishonest employees; they’re high value, they can be turned around for cash easily and the theft can potentially go unnoticed for a long period of time, making it harder for any action to be taken.

They say crime doesn’t pay, but there is a booming second-hand marketplace that could quite easily convince someone otherwise, particularly if they’re facing difficulty in paying their bills or keeping enough food in the fridge to stop their family from going hungry.

Protecting Your Assets: The Essentials

  • Keeping stock records up to date
  • Keeping stock away from easy exit routes
  • Using secure, lockable cabinets or rooms for high-value stock; ensuring good key and/or access code practices
  • Consider using mirrors and CCTV systems
  • Limiting the number of people who have access to valuable stock
  • Training staff to be vigilant for suspicious behaviours that might point to theft – and how to take appropriate action
  • Carefully selecting reputable shipping companies or couriers
  • Be thorough in pre-employment checks and create a positive work environment, with an honest culture
  • Check in with employees regularly; inform them of resources they can reach out to for help if they face any difficulty, including financial strain
  • Provide a way for employees to report theft or fraud

How to Protect Your Devices When You Can’t See Them: Introducing AssetWatch

Even when you have all of the measures above in place, there is often a problematic point at which you lose sight of an asset owned by your company. This could be:

  • When a device is rented or leased;
  • When a device is on loan to a staff member, such as a company phone;
  • When a device is physically moved, perhaps from a warehouse to a distribution centre, or sent out in the post to a customer;
  • Or perhaps just when a device – despite all of your company’s careful measures – goes missing from a stockroom or warehouse and falls off the radar.

At any of these points, a device could be easily stolen and very quickly re-sold. It could take days, weeks or months before it is noticed, depending on the situation.

Unless of course, you have a way of monitoring these assets regardless of where they are and an alert system in place to notify you if they are offered for trade without consent.

Preventing the sale of the stolen property already takes around £350m per year out of the criminal economy and this is expected to be as much as £500m by December 2023.

– Les Gray, COO, Recipero Ltd

This is where AssetWatch comes in; a unique, simple and effective service, used by some of the world’s largest manufacturers, distributors and retailers, along with finance companies, rental operations and any businesses with laptops and phones provided to employees or used outside of a regular office.

We help a broad scope of companies across many sectors to quickly detect the unauthorised selling of company assets, so that they can take action against:

  • Retail stock leakage
  • Devices sold by employees who claim “loss” or “theft”
  • Goods lost in transit
  • Theft from warehouses and distribution centres
  • Devices sold when subject to outstanding finance
  • Devices sold when subject to contractual terms

The use of AssetWatch can also help to reduce theft by acting as a deterrent. We provide each of our data partners with a checkmark, serving as a warning that their assets are being monitored and are readily identifiable to police.

How it Works: The Key is in the Serial Number

AssetWatch is a tool which will monitor devices from the point of acquisition right up until they reach their intended recipient, or until the company sells or disposes of them. To do this, it relies on device data held within Recipero’s unique and comprehensive ‘crime reduction ecosystem‘.

Using the serial number or IMEI of a device as the central way of identifying it, AssetWatch can link activity by police, insurers, second-hand traders, pawnshops and individual consumers buying from auction and classified sites. When you provide us with a list of products you have told us you own, we can monitor them via the serial number and match any activity in the ecosystem to it. We can then alert you when someone attempts to trade an item.

In addition to this, we also return a ‘red flag’ result to the trader who is considering buying the item. They will then reject the device, the sale will fall through and the thief cannot profit from their crime. The easy route for profit – and potentially even the incentive to steal again – is removed.

It is a simple concept but it only works as a solution because of Recipero’s unique footprint of traders across the globe.

No personal information is required at all; we just need you to regularly provide us with the serial numbers of items you have taken ownership of and those that you have sold or disposed of, so we always have an up-to-date record of your company assets.

Benefits of Use: The Bigger Picture

To summarise all of the above, AssetWatch can:

  1. Deliver a pro-active alert when there is an authorised attempt to trade a device your company owns or finances
  2. Warn traders against buying stolen devices, flagging at the point of pre-sale checks that the item is being monitored by AssetWatch and should not be offered for sale without authorisation
  3. Monitor devices until they reach their intended recipient and also make sure any devices reported ‘lost’ are visible to the police, increasing the chance of their return
  4. Act as a deterrent to would-be thieves and in doing so, offers a return on your investment
  5. Help you to build up a picture of your customer or employee base, and spot patterns of activity

There is slightly more to it than this though; by using AssetWatch and becoming one of our data partners, you’re helping us with the bigger picture.

At Recipero, we work closely with police forces, the general public and industry professionals to fight theft and fraud; it is what our ever-growing ‘crime reduction ecosystem‘ exists for. Every serial number inputted into that ecosystem becomes a piece of the much larger puzzle. Every partnership we forge helps us to stamp out fraud and deny thieves of a marketplace for their stolen goods. So, benefit number 6 is that AssetWatch can:

6. Help you to become a crime-fighter!

Case Study: Mobile Device Rental Company

As the core concept for AssetWatch is quite simple – the matching of a serial number record to lots of other data streams – it can be of benefit to a whole host of circumstances and industries. In the past, we have mainly helped businesses to monitor mobile phones, but the service can be stretched and applied to any item with a serial number.

Over the last 10 months, for just one rental company, we tracked 60,000 devices and have stopped over 2,000 of them being illegally sold on through UK high street and online traders.

The devices concerned have a used value of over £1m and a new value of over £1.5m. Knowledge of the attempts to trade have given the business a chance to identify accounts prone to default well ahead of actual default and take steps to mitigate the risk.

AssetWatch devices such as those on rental agreements number in the hundreds of thousands already. This is a rapidly expanding market with millions of devices expected to be monitored by the end of 2023.

– Mark Fowler, Head of Commercial Solutions, Recipero Ltd.

Looking at another sector – this time, telecoms – we worked with a large retailer to detect thousands of new shop-stock items being offered to second-hand traders, sometimes on the same high street! The evidence provided has been instrumental in identifying employee dishonesty and stock control process deficiencies.

Next Steps: Proof of Concept

To summarise, AssetWatch helps you to go above and beyond best practice in loss prevention, by:

  • Monitoring stock/assets in real-time and even when in transit;
  • Alerting you to activity when someone attempts to trade them;
  • Preventing the trade by warning the retailer that the item is registered with AssetWatch;
  • Building up a picture of activity across your customer and employee base;
  • Acting as a deterrent to thieves when they realise items that would otherwise be relatively easy and profitable to steal, are being actively monitored and will be difficult to sell on.

Contact Us

If you feel your company could benefit from tracking and protecting its valuable assets, you can take the first step by emailing info@recipero.com to register your interest. We’ll get back to you with a very simple template for you to fill in, so that we can provide you with a free, no-obligation proof of concept.

Enquiries: info@recipero.com

UK Office: +44 (0) 333 880 6658

US Office: (+1) 888 551 1159

Visit our AssetWatch solution page to learn more.

Beware of ‘Geeks’ Bearing Gifts – A New Type of Fraud

By Les Gray, COO of Recipero

Ok, so not everyone looking to part with valuable used consumer electronics is a ‘Geek’.  The proverb shamelessly mangled for this post’s title does neatly sum up a note of caution though – not everyone trying to sell you an item is acting honestly.

Mobile phones are undergoing a massive increase in fraudulent sales, reflecting a wide-ranging change in the marketplace for how phones reach consumers. Many companies are now providing new or refurbished phones on rental agreements. These are attractive propositions, enabling the consumer to obtain a cheaper handset for a lower monthly cost than the traditional network-subsidised model and the ability to upgrade or cancel almost at will.

The problem for traders with this market shift is the number of phones being fraudulently sold or offered as collateral for pawn or buy-back transactions is increasing rapidly.

The seller of such devices does not have legal title, so the trader cannot acquire legal title. The trader’s perceived security in the device is worthless.

Many traders check whether a phone is blocked on mobile networks. This check identifies a small subset of stolen phones reported to the networks. However, it amounts to shutting their eyes to the presence of loss and theft reports from police, insurers, the public and corporate owners.

Only CheckMEND has access to Recipero’s Crime Reduction Ecosystem, a massive collection of devices (not just phones) that are stolen or will become so if sold. Millions of devices are rightfully in possession of consumers but not owned by them, and they have no right to sell. The shift in market conditions has recently grown this class of phones by 10% month-on-month during 2022 and is accelerating, widening the already significant gap between network-blocked phones and stolen phones.

An analysis of 30,000 phones from one recent month’s trade, found over 1,000 stolen items valued at almost £200,000. Not a single phone was network blocked when offered for sale. Pawn or buy-back transactions may feel more secure as the customer often redeems the phone. However, 40% become blocked up to eight weeks after the transaction; plenty of time for the careless trader to resell the phone, only to have a disgruntled customer return when it stops working. Perhaps worse, that customer tries to sell their phone only to fail because of the stolen record—double trouble and cost for the unfortunate trader.  

CheckMEND is the only due diligence system compliant with the UK Recycler’s Code of Best Practice, and the above should clarify why. The world’s biggest companies that create markets for mobile phones trust us to track their property and detect and prevent its theft. Their trust in us is why CheckMEND’s due diligence service is both unrivalled and growing at an increasing rate.

Are you buying phones without running CheckMEND checks? Are you confident that you are doing enough? Contact us for a free, no-obligation analysis of historical transactions. Every stolen phone we identify that you’ve missed will have the corresponding information provided so you can take action on it to reduce the risk you’ve previously assumed.

Remember, network block checking is not the same as avoiding buying stolen property.

Immobilise Awarded Loss Prevention Standard 1224

Immobilise is proud to have been awarded Loss Prevention Standard 1224. This is a secure asset register standard and Immobilise is the only register that supports all types of property, to hold this certification. Register bikes to blu-rays, golf clubs to games consoles at immobilise.com . Registration provides maximum protection from second-hand trade and visibility to police and insurers, all working together to reduce theft.

Loss Protection Certification Board Award

#ImmobiliseCrime #PropertyMarking #UKPolice #TooHotToHandle

14.5 Million Bikes Bought Since Lockdowns Began!

Incredibly, around 14.5 million bikes worth £5 billion have been purchased since lockdowns began. Weekly cycling miles in the UK are estimated at more than one billion! It goes to show how accustomed we’ve become to two wheels for travel, leisure and exercise. What more can we do to protect one of our favourite possessions? Here is a must-read article for bike owners:

https://www.directline.com/cycling-insurance/magazine/how-to-prevent-your-bike-from-being-stolen

City Cyclist

#TooHotToHandle #StolenBikes #ImmobiliseCrime #PropertyMarking #UKPolice

When Thieves Are Brazen!

When thieves are this brazen and not deterred by steel U-locks, warning labels, engravings, and other marks are not going to be a deterrent either. But we can at least leave something in your bike that would incriminate anyone later found in possession of it. ImmobiBike, with its shuttle securely fitted in the seat post, can’t be removed without risk of damage and is easily traceable by police.

Follow the link to the article:
https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/brazen-thieves-steal-3-500-184826328.html

Learn more about ImmobiBike RFID tags:
https://shop.immobilise.com/immobibike-rfid-bicycle-security-tag-presentation-pack/

#TooHotToHandle #StolenBikes #ImmobiliseCrime #PropertyMarking #UKPolice

Increasing Cases Of Tool Theft From Traders’ Vehicles

We hear of increasing cases of tool theft, where traders’ vehicles are targeted for the valuable power tools inside. If you or someone you know works in the trade, please remind them to get their equipment marked and registered on Immobilise.com. It’s completely FREE and adding a serial only takes a few minutes. Together can we help stop criminals from destroying livelihoods and ensure crime doesn’t pay.

https://www.glosnews.com/articles/thieves-roll-parked-van-into-the-road-so-they-can-steal-power-tools-from-inside

Are your tools at risk?

#tagthattool #PropertyMarking #CrimePrevention #ImmobiliseCrime

Recipero Attends The ORIS Risk Summit (12-13 Oct)

Recipero is pleased to be participating at the well-respected ORIS Risk Summit event at the De Vere Wokefield Estate in Berkshire, UK.
Working alongside our law enforcement liaison officers, we are speaking to the retail and logistics community to combat business and retail crime. Recipero directly contributes to over £35m of loss prevention monthly in the UK alone.
Please come and visit our stand. We would be delighted to talk to you about how we can help your organisation.

To learn more visit: http://orisforums.co.uk/

#lossprevention #retail #lawenforcement #police #ecommerce

Emergency Services Show – Day 2

Day 2 at #ESS2021 has started well. We are getting many visitors to our stand, demonstrating the value of our data-driven solutions to support law enforcement. We had the pleasure of being visited by Bonnie, one of the search dogs from the National Search & Rescue Dog Association, who made great use of our stress balls. If you would like one, we are on stand H93. Talk to us about how we can help you combat retail fraud, property crime, and much more. #lawenforcement #police #retail

#ESS2021 – Day 2