Stakeholders

There are a variety of different stakeholders in combating ORC and e-fencing, including retailers, state and local law enforcement, federal entities, and online marketplaces:

Retailers: ORC activity has been identified across a variety of different industry segments and retail outlets of all sizes. Retailers bear the greatest impact of these crimes and invest resources to combat ORC activity. Representing individual retailers are several industry groups that are involved in various efforts to communicate ORC-related information and conduct stakeholder outreach and lobbying efforts on behalf of its members. Among these groups are the National Retail Federation, Retail Industry Leaders Association, National Association of Chain Drug Stores, and the Food Marketing Institute.

State and local law enforcement: Local law enforcement is routinely involved in investigating property crimes, including retail theft, but because ORC cases often span across multiple local jurisdictions, investigations may also include county-level or state law enforcement agencies, as applicable. These agencies are generally responsible for enforcing state laws and are routinely involved in developing evidence against potential ORC suspects, which may include surveillance or undercover sales and purchases.

Federal entities: Although there is currently no federal statute that explicitly criminalizes ORC, such behavior may be prosecuted under a variety of other federal criminal statutes including, for example, interstate transportation of stolen property and laundering of monetary instruments among others. Principal federal agencies involved in ORC investigations include the FBI and ICE but may also include the USSS, Postal Service, or Internal Revenue Service if ORC cases involve mail fraud or credit card fraud, among other crimes in which these agencies may have jurisdiction to investigate.

Online marketplaces: With the introduction of the Internet, online marketplaces have emerged as a powerful platform for commerce for both individuals and businesses alike. However, along with legitimate transactions, such marketplaces also present ORC groups with an additional venue to potentially fence their stolen goods. eBay, founded in 1995, is currently the largest of the domestic Internet marketplaces. Other domestic online marketplaces commonly cited by stakeholders include Amazon, Overstock, Oodle, Craigslist, Facebook Market-Place, and Ubid.