Thousands of dollars worth of clothing was recently taken from several Omaha stores. An Abercrombie and Fitch reported two shoplifting incidents on the same day totaling $2,200. Two days later, a Victoria's Secret was hit for three times that amount.

Dozens of shirts and hundreds of bras and panties were taken from the stores. Why? Most likely they'll turn them in for a refund at another Victoria's Secret or Abercrombie and Fitch.

It seems every business has surveillance cameras, but that's only part of the defense against shoplifters. You'd expect a store that sells state of the art electronics to have a state of the art security system, which the Nebraska Furniture Mart does.

"We have a zero tolerance for theft and shoplifting,” says Jim Cahill, loss prevention general manager at the Furniture Mart. He's seen all kinds of attempts to steal from the store.

More than 300 cameras cover every inch of sales space at the Nebraska Furniture Mart where a man was recently caught trying to remove the sensor tag from a package. The staff quickly closed in.

Cahill says there's a second type of shoplifter that usually works in packs and may have been the kind that hit Victoria's Secret and Abercrombie and Fitch.

"What you'll typically see with those folks is large amounts at one time. They may come and go to that same retailer and rip 'em off three or four times in one day and then they're gone."

That’s why the mart has a very visible security staff that greets everyone who walks in the store. Cahill says the presence of the guards is enough to deter many potential shoplifters. There are also undercover security personnel, unrecognizable, but keeping a close eye on what people are doing on the floor.

"Because if I can't get them with all this technology I've got our staff on that floor like a gigantic neighborhood watch group keeping their eyes and ears open and reporting," says Cahill.

That is more valuable than the cameras watching over the store. Cahill says the people on the floor work security and sales by approaching a customer and asking if they can help. It lets any potential shoplifter know they're being watched.