The retail industry will lose an estimated $8.76 billion to return fraud this year, and $3.39 billion during the holiday season alone. Overall, 5.8 percent of holiday returns are fraudulent, up slightly from 4.6 percent last night.

Successful asset protection is an integral building block in the success of any retail operation. However, controlling loss and theft continues to challenge retailers worldwide, with merchandise losses averaging close to $40 billion per year (Hollinger).

Up to five years in prison faces anyone guilty of knowingly committing organized retail crime, such as reselling stolen items to other stores or on the Internet.