Shoplifting is fueling an expansive underground economy of "boosted" goods that is costing retailers in New York State billions of dollars a year, according to a new report.
The shoplifting epidemic has caused shops in the Empire State to lose about $4.4 billion in 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul said in February, the New York Post reported on Thursday.
The pilfered goods are being sold by thieves and middlemen on resale sites like eBay and Facebook Marketplace, as well as in warehouse spaces and illegal pawn shops, the report said.
In the Big Apple, shoplifting has jumped 64% from June 2019 to June 2023, the news outlet said, citing figures from the Council on Criminal Justice.
In some cases, the thieves are given "shopping lists" directing them which items to take.
"They get shopping lists for items that include cell phones, power tools, handbags," a law enforcement source who specializes in fraud told The Post. "They bring stolen goods to [illicit] wholesalers in the five boroughs."
The stolen items are bought by middlemen for pennies on the dollar and then sell the goods, the fraud specialist said, adding "there is no underlying cost."
"Members of the booster crew get their cash," the source said. "Then the dealer, if you will, distributes them through his own network, via storefronts, if he has them, or he puts them online and sells to consumers through Facebook Marketplace."
To blend in as typical users of the online marketplaces, fences "sell one, list the next one and keep doing that all day. Or else they maintain multiple online identities," the law enforcement source said.
The National Retail Federal and security firm K2 in an April 2003 report said they found evidence of thieves using Facebook Marketplace, which allows users to list items for sale directly, the New York Post reported.
Facebook Marketplace did not respond to a request for comment by the newspaper. An eBay spokesperson said, "eBay is committed to providing a secure online shopping experience. We have zero tolerance for criminal activity."
