Acccording to The Washington Times, shoplifting has become rampant: 61 percent of the largest retailers and chain stores report that “opportunistic” shoplifting has increased in the past four months, despite the fact that stores collectively shell out $12 billion a year in loss-prevention efforts, according to new research released last week by the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA).

None of the retailers – grocery, mass merchandise, apparel, electronic, crafts, appliance and specialty stores – reported that the shoplifting incidents have lessened.

More than half have been victimized by credit card or other financial fraud. In addition, three-fourths said they have seen a marked increase in “organized retail crime,” or ORC, the catchall term for grand-scale shoplifting.

“Sophisticated crime rings steal and stockpile stolen merchandise, eventually selling the stolen goods to buyers usually unaware of the item’s pathway to market. Stolen merchandise is sold through flea markets, swap meets, pawn shops and increasingly through Internet auction sites,” the RILA report said.