Quilt Shops – along with other small business owners being targeted

According to all reports

The couple below enters the shop, the female suspect has fabric swatches and distracts the employee with a story about making pillows for/with grandma. The male suspect searches for purses and removes wallets. They then exit the shop.

Once they have something, they proceed directly to a Walmart or Sam’s Club to spend whatever they can.

They are seen leaving in vehicles – without license plates (different vehicles in different locations have been reported).

They are targeting multiple quilt shops in an area before relocating to a different area.

Early reports have this couple hitting quilt shops in

• 2021 – a quilt shop in Yukon Oklahoma (Photo)
• San Angelo Texas – January 13, 2022
• Early 2022 – 2 quilt shops in Omaha Nebraska
• Chicago Illinois – March 2022
• Pittsburgh and Glenshaw Pennsylvania – May 2022
• South and North Dakota – May / June 2022
• Louisville and Bowling Green Kentucky – June 2022
• Tucson Arizona – June 1, 2022
• Odessa and Midland Texas – June 7, 2022
• Billings Montana – June 8, 2022 (Photo and Video)
• New Jersey – June 14, 2022 (Photo)

More recent siting’s have been in

• Temecula California and Riverside California – August 30, 2022 (Photo)

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Protecting yourself and your shop:

Internal

• Talk to your employees – regularly. Show them the pictures, discuss the diversionary tactics, and how to safely address them.
• Post pictures on the door, at the cash register, in employee breakrooms, and the “back of the house” work/storage rooms.
• Beef up internal security practices – keep purses, coats, jackets, and other valuables locked up, and your cash register secured. No personal belongings in or near the cash wrap station.
• Greet every customer – look at them directly so they know that you are paying attention to them.

External

• Share with your local media – this helps to prompt national exposure.
• Share with other shops around you.

Sharing this information with neighboring businesses, other businesses within our industry, and your local media – could help prevent more thefts and also help law enforcement to put the pieces of this puzzle together and find this couple.

Shop Template Press Release
https://fabshopnet.com/downloads/Template/PressRelease-BeOnAlert.docx

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