A number of Northshore Mall shoppers are saving a lot of money. The problem is it's with the five-finger discount.

The mall on Route 114 in Peabody saw more than a half-dozen major shoplifting incidents and shoplifting attempts the week before last involving at least $5,000 in merchandise.

None of the incidents involved violence.

Mark Whiting, general manager of the Northshore Mall, believes part of the recent rise in illegal activity is the result of vacationing students doing a larcenous version of "back-to-school shopping."

But other offenders operate on a larger scale.

"As mall manager, we take that type of activity very seriously, and we do not want our tenants to have to experience a reduction of inventory that is not a result of a sale - we want merchandise sold," Whiting said.

Mall stores take shoplifting seriously, as well. Peabody police records indicate that two teenagers were recently summonsed to court on shoplifting charges after loss-prevention staff at Sears and J.C. Penney caught the teens stealing.

Whiting said the young offenders are tempted to engage in shoplifting as they prepare to head back to school.

But not all the cases involve bored kids looking for the latest fashions or an illicit thrill.

Other cases in recent weeks involve older, more sophisticated criminals who clear out display tables and stuff the garments into bags before running out of the store.

"When it's a teen, typically it's a mistake, boredom, or they're trying to see if they can get away with it," said Peabody police spokesman Lt. Dennis Bonaiuto. "In (larger) cases like this, it's more for financial gain."

On July 16, employees at the Gap reported 50 clothing items stolen from the store. Three people were seen leaving in a vehicle with a license plate that came back listed to a Lawrence address.

A day later, employees at BabyGap reported $1,100 in merchandise gone. On Friday, the store was hit again. This time clothing valued at $1,400 was gone.

The store was hit for a fourth time on Sunday when staff reported a man running from the store with a bag filled with Gap clothes, valued at $1,600.

Other cases have involved thousands of dollars' worth of lingerie stolen from the Victoria's Secret store.

The clothes usually end up being sold on the street or posted on auction Web sites.

In Salem last year, a Superior Court judge ordered an Andover woman who had financed her lifestyle by swiping clothes and lingerie and selling them online to repay the federal and.state government more than $117,000 in public assistance benefits she fraudulently obtained between 1998 and 2005.

Jennifer Stevanovich, who drove a Land Rover and a Mercedes during her four or five years of crime,.is serving a state prison term for her offenses. The problem for her was that Limited Brands Inc., owner of many popular mall stores, eventually caught on by tracking her account activity.

Sarah Anderson, a spokeswoman for Gap Inc., said their stores cooperate with police and work with other retailers to share information and combat organized retail theft and shoplifting.

"The level of cooperation between retailers and law enforcement has grown," Anderson said. "We're sharing and leveraging resources beyond our own.

"We feel it's important to band together with other retailers and share information because we can identify trends," she said. "Also, by aggregating the amount of theft together, it elevates the crime to a federal offense for tougher prosecution."

Recent mall thefts

July 16

* 4:40 p.m. - Sears loss-prevention staff report a female shoplifter. A 16-year-old girl summonsed on shoplifting charge.

r.8:06 p.m. - Gap reports 50 items of clothing stolen from the store. No value given.

* 8:20 p.m. - J.C. Penney loss-prevention staff report a female shoplifter. An 18-year-old from Gloucester is summonsed on shoplifting charge.

July 17

* 4:27 p.m. - Mall security reports employees at Baby Gap reported $1,100 in missing merchandise.

July 18

* 10:25 a.m. - The owner of Brighams Ice Cream in the Northshore Mall reported the nightly deposit bag for July 16 may have been stolen from the store. Management calls back police on July 24 saying they no longer need assistance.

July 20

* 5:02 p.m. - GapKids/Baby Gap reports $1,400 in stolen merchandise.

July 22

* 5:31 p.m. - Caller reports a man from the Gap ran out of the store with a bag filled with clothes, later valued at $1,600.