Jewelers' Security Alliance, eBay Announce Partnership to Fight Organized Jewelry Crime

NEW YORK, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- eBay, the world's largest online marketplace is partnering with the jewelry industry's trade association focused on crime prevention to tackle organized jewelry crime. This unique partnership between eBay and the Jewelers' Security Alliance provides for greater information sharing to further support the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as state and local law enforcement agencies, working in partnership with jewelry loss prevention professionals.

"JSA has done a great job in its long history of fighting jewelry crime, but a dynamic marketplace requires new tools and alliances," said Paul Jones, Global Director of Asset Protection, eBay. "Through this partnership, JSA and eBay are taking a stand against criminal activity; we will work with law enforcement partners to prosecute those who unlawfully obtain jewelry and abuse the online marketplace to sell the ill-gotten items."

In their efforts to fight organized jewelry crime, the groups have agreed to collaborate in the following ways:

• Regularly discuss state of the industry, share best practices and take measures to eradicate the illegal activity.
• Identify ways to leverage new technology, including JSA email network and stolen jewelry website, and eBay's PROACT program, to further assist law enforcement in identifying and tracking organized jewelry crime rings.
• Collaborate with the FBI Jewelry and Gem Initiative to help identify crime rings that have been responsible for stealing jewelry.

"eBay has invested substantial resources and is making great progress in assisting law enforcement agencies and loss prevention professionals in tracking illegal behavior," said John Kennedy, President of JSA. "Our partnership will further help stop criminals from fencing their stolen jewelry by providing additional information and expertise so that law enforcement can fight jewelry crime more effectively."

About eBay Inc.

Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) connects millions of buyers and sellers globally on a daily basis through eBay, the world's largest online marketplace, and PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to securely, easily and quickly send and receive online payments. eBay also reaches millions through specialized marketplaces such as StubHub, the world's largest ticket marketplace, and eBay Classifieds sites, which together have a presence in more than 1,000 cities around the world. For more information about the company and eBay's portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.

About JSA

Jewelers' Security Alliance (JSA) is a non-profit trade association providing crime information and services to the jewelry industry and law enforcement. JSA, founded in 1883, has 20,000 members and works closely with the FBI and law enforcement agencies throughout the U.S., sharing its data and analysis in order to further the war on jewelry crime. JSA fulfills its mission of informing and educating jewelers and law enforcement about jewelry crime through frequent E-Mail Crime Alerts, Wanted Bulletins and print publications, web sites (www.jewelerssecurity.org and www.stolenjewelry.org), seminars, consulting activities, and assisting local crime prevention networks of jewelers.

SOURCE Jewelers' Security Alliance