In its 2012 annual survey of retail theft, Hayes International found that: “Shoplifters and dishonest employees stole over $6.0 billion in 2011 from just 24 major retailers, according to the 24^th Annual Retail Theft Survey conducted by Jack L. Hayes International, the leading loss prevention and inventory shrinkage control consulting firm. These 24 surveyed retailers apprehended over 1 million shoplifters and dishonest employees in 2011 and recovered more than $161 million from these thieves.”

These 24 large retailers operated more than 18,500 U.S. stores and generated almost $600 billion in 2011 in retail sales. This means that the figures cited by Hayes International — as high as they are — represent just the tip of the iceberg for the multi-trillion dollar retailing industry.

Click here to learn more from Hayes International’s 2012 survey.