
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, December 18, 1993                   TAG: 9312180173
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

FOILING THE OLD FROZEN INK TRICK

Steve Maffe has been looking for shoplifters for years. Maffe is a loss-prevention specialist.

He's seen some unusual situations - including shoplifters putting merchandise underneath their babies inside strollers. But one situation stands out.

Maffe said some businesses use a new concept in loss prevention: special ink tags to identify merchandise.

A small container of ink that is pinned to garments will break and stain merchandise unless the container is removed with a special device at the cash register. The ink tag does not set off an alarm, however, and shoplifters found a way to remove the tag without damaging the goods, Maffe said.

They simply put the stolen articles in the freezer, let the ink solidify, and then popped the tags off, Maffe said.

Not to be outdone, the manufacturer of the containers recalled the product and put anti-freeze in the ink.

by CNB