Organized retail crime (ORC), often referred to as organized retail theft, typically refers to largescale retail theft and fraud by organized groups of professional shoplifters, or “boosters.” It is an umbrella term encompassing a variety of retail crimes, including theft, gift card fraud, receipt fraud, ticket switching, and cargo theft, just to name a few.
Stolen and fraudulently obtained goods may be taken not only from retailers, but from manufacturers and distributors as well. The
organized crime rings resell this illegally acquired merchandise via a variety of “fencing” operations such as flea markets, swap meets, pawn shops, and online marketplaces; these goods are sold to both individual buyers as well as retailers—potentially the very retailers from where
the merchandise was originally stolen.
Organized retail crime exposes the United States to economic, public health, and domestic security dangers.