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)
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
Oklahoma – 2021
Montana – June 2022
New Jersey – June 2022
California – August 2022