High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Retail loss prevention (in some retailers known as asset protection) is a form of private investigation into larceny or theft. The focus of such investigations generally includes shoplifting, package pilferage, embezzlement, credit fraud, and check fraud. "Loss prevention" or "LP" is used to describe a number of methods used to reduce the amount of all losses and shrinkage often related to retail trade. Stolen credit cards find their way into retail stores as much as or more than online retail websites. This is usually for several reasons. Retailers have generally relaxed their procedures for checking credit cards, to shorten customers' time spent at the cash register. Also, purchasing merchandise first-hand affords a credit card thief some anonymity, as opposed to providing a mailing address for an online sale. Most retailers are not liable for the use of stolen cards, unless they have chosen to override the chip and PIN and accept a customer's signature when they could have accepted a PIN.