The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) released the Current Crime Trends Survey, revealing evidence that crimes against retailers are trending upward in correlation with the down economy. The survey examines the observations from 52 of the largest and fastest growing retailers in the US, ranging from grocery, drugstore, and mass merchant to specialty apparel, electronics and appliances, and fabric and craft retail. Focusing on the time period associated with the current economic downturn, the survey seeks to identify corresponding trends in unlawful activity.

The report concludes that crimes of opportunity as well as more sophisticated organized retail crime (ORC) are on the rise across all retail segments. Key findings include:

• 84% report an increase in theft/amateur shoplifting
• 76% report an increase in financial fraud
• 80% report increases in organized retail crime
• 77% of specialty retailers report increases in ORC

Retailers report alarming upward trends in regions not typically prone to such increases, according to RILA. Complex cities and highly urbanized states are often the first to display increases in unlawful activity; however, survey results show that increases have permeated beyond these regions and onto a number of non-traditional and rural areas.

Meanwhile, results of the tenth annual CyberSource Corporation survey of ecommerce fraud, released on Wednesday, showed merchants expect to lose a record $4 billion to online fraud in 2008. Merchants say the fraud loss rate will hold constant at 1.4% of revenue (same as 2007 and 2006), but continuing growth in eCommerce sales mean dollar losses to fraud are still growing.