Known loss data logging

1. A method for collecting information pertaining to a defeated electronic article surveillance (EAS) tag, comprising the steps of:

locating evidence of missing merchandise within an area protected by an electronic article surveillance (EAS) system, wherein the evidence of missing merchandise includes at least one of a discarded EAS tag or discarded packaging materials indicative of a missing article;

providing a recording unit for collecting data pertaining to missing merchandise having at least one user interface;

recording the missing merchandise data into the recording unit in response to a series of user interface prompts displayed on the recording unit, the interface prompts being programmed according to a predetermined user input sequence, the recording unit being adapted to transmit the data through a communications network;

providing at least one point-of-sale (POS) station operable to record POS transaction data associated with merchandise purchases and merchandise returns; and

transmitting the missing merchandise data and the POS transaction data through the communications network to a data processing unit, the data processing unit being configured to analyze the data and to generate a report which correlates shoplifting patterns based on the data.

2. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the missing merchandise data includes information selected from the group consisting of information relating to a method used to defeat the EAS tag, information relating to a location of the defeated EAS tag, information relating to identification of the discarded merchandise packaging, information relating to a location of the discarded merchandise packaging, and information relating to the number of the defeated EAS tags.

3. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the user interface prompts include a query and at least one response selection.

4. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the step of recording the missing merchandise data further comprises the step of:

providing time and date information relating to the data.

5. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the communications network includes at least one wireless interface.

6. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the user input sequence is setup at runtime from a configuration file.

7. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the user input sequence is configurable.

8. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the POS transaction data includes an item identifier for an item associated with the transaction and the date and time of the transaction.

9. The method as in claim 8 , wherein the item identifier is a UPC code.

10. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the POS transaction data includes identity information associated with the individual initiating the transaction.

11. The method as in claim 10 , wherein the identity information includes at least a portion of a financial card account number.

12. The method as in claim 10 , wherein the report generated by the data processing unit can be used to determine the probable identity of serial shoplifters based on the identity information.

13. A system for collecting information pertaining to a defeated electronic article surveillance (EAS) tag, comprising:

a recording unit for collecting data pertaining to missing merchandise wherein the missing merchandise is evidenced by at least one of a discarded EAS tag or discarded merchandise packaging discovered within an area protected by an EAS system, the recording unit having at least one user interface to record the missing merchandise data into the recording unit in response to a series of user interface prompts displayed on the recording unit, the interface prompts being programmed according to a predetermined user input sequence, the recording unit being adapted to transmit the missing merchandise data through a communications network; at least one point-of-sale (POS) station operable to record POS transaction data associated with merchandise purchases and merchandise returns and transmit the POS transaction data though a communications network; and

a data processing unit to receive and process the missing merchandise data and the POS transaction data, the data processing unit being configured to analyze the data and to generate a report based on the data which correlates shoplifting patterns.

14. The system as in claim 13 , wherein the missing merchandise data includes information selected from the group consisting of information relating to a method used to defeat the EAS tag, information relating to a location of the defeated EAS tag, information relating to identification of the discarded merchandise packaging, information relating to a location of the discarded merchandise packaging, and information relating to the number of the defeated EAS tags.

15. The system as in claim 13 , wherein the user interface prompts include a query and at least one response selection.

16. The system as in claim 13 , the recording unit provides a time and date information for the missing merchandise data.

17. The system as in claim 13 , wherein the communications network includes at least one wireless interface.

18. The system as in claim 13 , wherein the user input sequence is setup at runtime from a configuration file.

19. The system as in claim 13 , wherein the user input sequence is configurable.

20. The system as in claim 13 , wherein the POS transaction data includes an item identifier for an item associated with the transaction and the date and time of the transaction.

21. The system as in claim 20 , wherein the item identifier is a UPC code.

22. The system as in claim 13 , wherein the POS transaction data includes identity information associated with the individual initiating the transaction.

23. The system as in claim 22 , wherein the identity information includes at least a portion of a financial card account number.

24. The system as in claim 22 , wherein the report generated by the data processing unit can be used to determine the probable identity of serial shoplifters based on the identity information.