A Difficult Subject – Employee Theft

January 29, 2014 by

As a business owner or manager you have probably seen your share of employee theft over the years. It is a difficult problem in many ways. Not only do you suffer the financial losses caused by employee theft, but you can also suffer the emotional loss caused by this employee’s betrayal.

Over time, you might be more desensitized by these emotional losses and can begin to develop a general distrust for most employees. This makes it hard to be a good leader and a good listener. If you are not approachable, your current employees may not feel comfortable coming to you with information about an employee theft situation.

Let’s face it; your employees are probably going to be more aware of this theft before you are.

It might be time to participate in some loss prevention seminars. They will help you come to terms with your store’s past theft issues. This will also give you the tools to help broach the subject with your current employees. Loss prevention workshops are designed to open up the lines of communication.

You might not be jaded from past experiences and still not be viewed as approachable. Sometimes, employees who are privy to theft happening in the store simply do not know what to do with the information. By providing a new outlet for communication, you have a better chance of eliminating or responding quickly to these instances of theft.

For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.

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The Delivery Scheme- Employee Theft Investigation

January 29, 2014 by Leave a Comment
It is not uncommon for an employee who is in charge of receiving merchandise deliveries to be approached by the vendor to steal product. Employee theft investigations revolving around an employee and a vendor are becoming increasingly common.
A common scheme is for the vendor to work with an employee. When the vendor show up with a merchandise delivery, the employee does not verify that all of the merchandise comes off the truck and enters the store.  That creates an overage on this vendor’s delivery truck, and leaves you with an inventory shortage.
Either way, the employee theft has occurred and it is hard to trace since the invoices have been signed off as a full receipt of product.
There are a few ways to combat this kind of internal theft. The first is to conduct random audits of shipments. That means as the vendor is dropping off the merchandise you actually go back and count. Chances are if they were going to short the shipment, they will bring all of the merchandise inside. After a few random audits, it will be too risky for the vendor to try and short your store.
Another way is to set up a regulation with the shipping company that limits the amount of time a vendor has to unload their truck and leave. This helps eliminate the time the vendor has with your employees developing relationships that might allow the confidence to commit employee theft together.
For more information on employee theft, employee theft investigation or internal theft contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia
Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase CCTV Systems that can help you stop Employee Theft and Internal Theft problems and help with your Employee Theft Investigation.

It is not uncommon for an employee who is in charge of receiving merchandise deliveries to be approached by the vendor to steal product. Employee theft investigations revolving around an employee and a vendor are becoming increasingly common.

A common scheme is for the vendor to work with an employee. When the vendor show up with a merchandise delivery, the employee does not verify that all of the merchandise comes off the truck and enters the store.  That creates an overage on this vendor’s delivery truck, and leaves you with an inventory shortage.

Either way, the employee theft has occurred and it is hard to trace since the invoices have been signed off as a full receipt of product.

There are a few ways to combat this kind of internal theft. The first is to conduct random audits of shipments. That means as the vendor is dropping off the merchandise you actually go back and count. Chances are if they were going to short the shipment, they will bring all of the merchandise inside. After a few random audits, it will be too risky for the vendor to try and short your store.

Another way is to set up a regulation with the shipping company that limits the amount of time a vendor has to unload their truck and leave. This helps eliminate the time the vendor has with your employees developing relationships that might allow the confidence to commit employee theft together.

For more information on employee theft, employee theft investigation or internal theft contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase CCTV Systems that can help you stop Employee Theft and Internal Theft problems and help with your Employee Theft Investigation.

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Boost Your Profits, Not Your Products – Anti-Shoplifting

January 28, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Some areas are seeing a resurgence of booster bags being used by shoplifters as a way to defeat Checkpoint systems. These are primarily foil-lined bags that can interfere with the transmission signal sent by checkpoint security tags to the other components of the checkpoint systems. If the signal is weakened or eliminated, the alarms will not sound, making for a clean get away by the shoplifter.

In order to prevent or stop shoplifting using boosters, you need to be extra diligent. Because it is harder to spot the merchandise leaving, you have more limited warning flags to look for.

It comes back down to recognizing the nervous behaviors most shoplifters have. Because they are more confident that they won’t be caught, the signs are subtler, but they are still there.

Watch for customers who are picking up multiples of an item. If it is clothing, are they picking up several of the same item in the same size? Shoplifters who are using boosters are looking for a bigger haul. The disregard to normal quantities a shopper would buy is one of the signs of a shoplifter.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase Anti-Shoplifting devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems to stop shoplifting in your store.

For more information on Anti-Shoplifting, Checkpoint Labels, a Checkpoint Security System, Checkpoint Security Tags, Checkpoint Systems, or Checkpoint Tags and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at Retail theft prevention to Stop Shoplifting in your store or call 1.770.426.0547

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Loss Prevention Programs For Your Business

January 27, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (4)The economy’s downturn has had an effect on the American consumer and retailers across the nation.  In an industry where every dollar counts, loss prevention is paramount to every retailer and can be the difference between profitability and losses in the company. Having an understanding and a program in place to educate your employees about loss prevention practices can save your company thousand of dollar every year.

Read more about this topic by following the links below.

U.S. Security Associates Shuts Down Shoplifters with its Loss Prevention Program

In 2013, U.S. Security Associates (USA) Loss Prevention Associates made over 25,000 successful apprehensions and effectively assisted in reducing shrink for retail customers nationwide. Every day, details reported by USA’s Retail Loss Prevention Associates help lead to the identification and arrest of individual shoplifters and ones associated with Organized Retail Crime (ORC) rings.

USA’s Retail Loss Prevention (LP) Services are developed to meet the shoplifting and theft prevention needs of the retail community and reduce shrink for clients. Among its suite of services, the LP Division provides uniformed retail security officers, store greeters and specially trained Loss Prevention Associates. In contrast to traditional, uniformed security officers, USA’s LP Associates work in plain clothes and covertly observe the behavior and actions of visitors to collect sufficient evidence to warrant intervention. LP Associates preserve the inviting atmosphere maintained by retail customer service personnel while performing a security service that is critical to the continued viability and improved expense control of retail businesses.

The Importance of Face to Face Loss Prevention

Technology has afforded us the opportunity to be in two places at once. Using remote connectivity, a person can be in one location conducting business, while “connected” to another watching video or conducting a video conference. Even though technology provides us this convenience to conduct business remotely, face to face loss prevention still provides greater benefits as it comes to a solid loss prevention program.

The Benefits of face-face loss prevention

Relationship Building: The success of any loss prevention program depends on the ability to get buy-in from store associates. That buy-in starts with building a positive relationship between loss prevention and associates of all levels. Working remotely doesn’t bring the personal touch that is necessary in building relationships. In-store presence provides more opportunities to get to know them and understand their needs so they may help your program be successful.

Why Do I Need a Loss Prevention Program for my Business?

The goal of loss prevention is to reduce the costs associated with running a business including workers’ compensation claims, equipment and contractual losses, employee and customer mistreatment, or other problems. Any loss prevention program can be tailored to reduce loss in the way affecting the company. Therefore, it’s important to take steps to start a loss prevention program in your organization.

A well-managed loss prevention program can help to reduce the frequency and severity of workers’ compensation claims. In 2010 alone, the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report estimated that there were some 4,690 fatalities caused by workplace injuries. This costs businesses millions of dollars in workers’ compensation claims, increased premiums, and loss of personnel.

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In or Out – Alpha Security

January 24, 2014 by

Like most retail environments, I suspect that most liquor stores are experiencing an increase in refunds. There are plenty of customers who will have an excuse for why they need to return a particular bottle of liquor. If you are using liquor bottle security, then you should not have an inventory shortage because of the returns.

If you are not using liquor bottle security, than you might be seeing a shrink implication in addition to these returned bottles of liquor.

Refunded merchandise does not cause inventory shrink. If someone stole the merchandise and then refunded it, it is generally called a fraudulent refund. However, the inventory loss happened when the merchandise was stolen, not when the merchandise was returned.

That doesn’t mean the person standing in front of you deserves the refund, it just means that you are not going to have an inventory loss as a result. An exception would be if a refund is given when someone takes merchandise directly from a shelf to a counter and it is refunded. Because the merchandise never left the store, the refund causes to inventory discrepancy.

Best way that I have found to reduce these returns is to use the Alpha Security EASy Bottle bottle locks. If the bottles being returned still have bottle locks, you can safely bet that these are situations that need to be further investigated.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase EASy Bottle bottle locks by Alpha Security and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system.

For more information on Alpha Security, Bottle Lock, Bottle locks, Bottle Security, EASy Bottle or Liquor Bottle Security and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

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Out of Necessity, Not greed – Internal Theft

January 24, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Quite frequently, we hold the mindset that internal theft comes from greed. We see employees living beyond their means to have the latest fashions or electronics, or simply to have disposable cash.

In the latest employee theft investigation, we had a sharp reality that sometimes, people simply steal because they need it and don’t know any other option.

We saw an employee eating a bag of chips and had wondered if she had paid for it. When we reviewed the journal transactions, we saw that she did in fact ring up the bag of chips. However, she had paid for those chips with a store credit.

When we went back and reviewed the refund that generated the store credit, we discovered that the employee had created a fraudulent refund. This employee rang up an item that was sitting close to the register for the return.

It was not her item to refund, nor did a customer initiate it. We knew right then that the internal theft was not from the chips, but from a fake refund transaction conducted by the employee.

We questioned the employee about the transaction and she admitted that she needed the money to buy food for her and her son. She decided that her only option was to steal to make ends meet.

No internal theft is excusable, but this was a reality check that sometimes theft is not about greed, but simply about survival.

For more information on employee theft, employee theft investigation or internal theft contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase CCTV Systems that can help you stop Employee Theft and Internal Theft problems and help with your Employee Theft Investigation.

 

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You Get What You Pay For – Background Check Experts

January 23, 2014 by Leave a Comment

When you have background check experts to do the digging, you will have more successful and thorough pre-employment screening. Unfortunately, just as you want to pre-screen your job applicants, you also need to make sure that your background check experts really are who they say they are.

Be wary of prices that seem too good to be true. There probably is a reason why a company might be boasting unreasonably low (or high prices). Most reputable companies should fall into a general price range. Anything outside of that price range might be a cause for concern.

There is usually a reason why the price is so low. They may not verify information through a legitimate credit-reporting agency. That can put you into potential legal problems down the road. If they give you bad information that causes you to decline an applicant, you are the one that will ultimately be held responsible. An applicant has a legal recourse as they can verify and dispute this information.

The price might also be low because these so-called background check experts are actually a scam. They might want to steal personal information for their own usage. By keeping a low price, they are attempting to lure in unsuspecting customers who will hand over applicants’ information without question.

The flip side might be a company that is priced too high. They might claim to have additional resources or benefits. In reality, they might just be trying to falsely inflate what they can actually and legally do for you.

To purchase Pre-Employment Screening Services or for more information on background check experts, background checks, criminal background checks, employee background checks or pre employment screening contact us at the background check company or call 1.770.426.0547

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Policy, In a Nutshell – Loss Prevention Training

January 22, 2014 by Leave a Comment

In a nutshell, loss prevention is about reducing the opportunity for merchandise or cash losses in your business. It is about developing standard business practices and procedures that limit the scope by which you might suffer monetary or inventory loss. These losses create a financial burden that is hard to recover from. This is where you need Loss Prevention Training and development.

You probably have policies and procedures in place for other functional areas of your store – things like sales, customer service, or human resources. So why would you not have these same policies for loss prevention in place.

It is just as easy to give your employees a loss prevention workshop, as it is to train them on how to run a register or sell to a customer.

Attending a Loss prevention workshop will also give you some ideas to develop and implement these policies.

There really is no need to try and re-invent the wheel. There are many practices that have already been developed that have been proven to eliminate or deter both shoplifting and employee theft.

The need for loss prevention in your store or business has one main goal – to prevent opportunities. If you are not completely adept in how to do this, you need to explore how to further your own loss prevention training that can help you expand.

For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.

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Why Do People Shoplift? The High Price of Shoplifting for Retailers

January 22, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (1)Shoplifting is a serious issue that affects more than just the retailers being stolen from. This hurts an economy that is struggling to recover from the recent recession because shoplifters are stealing approximately 25 million dollars worth of merchandise every single day.
There are several different reasons that people shoplift. A professional shoplifter is looking for a profit from reselling what he or she has stolen, but the majority of shoplifters is not professional and shoplifts for very different reasons. One reason non professional shoplifters steal is the emotional high or thrill they get from the theft.

Another reason is often the lack of funds to buy what the shoplifter wants. The shoplifter may also feel that they are entitled to take what they want if they can get away with it, or if they feel it is over-priced.

Not all shoplifters lack the funds to buy items, but feel pressured to steal by their peers. Emotional issues or kleptomania is a cause for some shoplifters. Whatever the reasons may be, the effect of shoplifting is hurting the economy. The attitude that many Americans have toward shoplifting is part of the problem. Shoplifting is often called the nations “silent crime” because it happens so often with so little consequence to the shoplifter. On average a shoplifter only gets caught one out of every fifty times he or she shoplifts.

Retailers are primarily the ones left with trying to stop shoplifting. Fortunately there are options available to help retailers curb shoplifting in their stores. An electronic surveillance system is a great tool in spotting shoplifters, and when it is used in connection with security tags on merchandise, the two become an outstanding line of defense for the store.

When potential shoplifters see a security tag detection systems at the front of a store, find security tags on the merchandise, a visible electronic surveillance system, and alert store associates, it might make shoplifters think twice about trying to get a five-finger discount from that retailer. For retailers, a good security system is a small price to pay in the struggling economy.

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Lawsuits Against Retailers

January 21, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (2)When do you file a suit against a shoplifter? Or should you?  Is detaining a suspect in your store believed to be shoplifting the proper procedure? The number of complaints and lawsuits against retailers continues inexorably, and the demand for alternative solutions to protect your business against shoplifters, or any loss prevention issues continues to be a priority for any retail business.
Follow the links below to read more about this topic.

Lawsuits against Retailers: The Expert’s Role

Contemporary loss prevention policies and procedures is a direct consequence of the so-called “litigation explosion” that dates back to the early to mid-1980s. Time was when a head-long pursuit through the parking lot and across heavily-trafficked public roadways was a way of life. To many it was exhilarating and the resultant capture of a shoplifter was rewarding.

However, I recall with clarity the case of two teenage brothers who were pursued by supermarket employees for the theft of a couple of candy bars and a 16 oz. can of beer. The two were struck and killed by an auto in the middle lanes of a nearby freeway. The subsequent lawsuit was punishing. It’s fair to identify that very case as the beginning of the end of hot pursuits in the retail industry.

Subsequently, other practices, heretofore invoking mild reprimands, became socially and legally unacceptable and everyday practices, such as wrestling a suspect to the ground and gaining control with an arm-lock, became suspect, again, magnified by lawsuits. Shoplifters died, invariably followed by a lawsuit resulting in the awarding of damages. Awards sent corporate policymakers, guided by their own legal counsel, back to the drawing boards.

The Litigation Process

Despite the greatly altered face and character of loss prevention today, complaints against retailers continue on, albeit not at the same pace of yesteryears, but continue none-the-less. Lawsuits driven by a loss prevention act or omission requires an “expert” to assess the event and educate the judicial community, which includes a jury, on justification or lack thereof of the act or event.

For example, was the forceful holding of a suspect to the ground, who then died due to positional asphyxia or a heart attack, reasonable or not? Such tragedies have been litigated time after time and experts, depending on the totality of circumstances, have opposing opinions.

Camera models that can help improve security in 2014

Many small business leaders have likely made new resolutions for improving themselves and their businesses in 2014, and security measures can play a big role in these means. Whether it means adding or improving cameras and alarms on hand, bolstering their means can be a big boost to improving functionality.

One new advance in camera technology comes from Samsung, according to Engadget. The latest SmartCam from the company works by recording 1080p video directly to an internal SD card. While that prevents it from benefiting from the potential of cloud-based information storage, compression efforts allow the company to only need about 30 percent of the bandwidth other cameras would require, reducing data sizes while still offering owners the ability to remotely watch live video.

Both of these models can be connected using WiFi, can connect to Android or iOS devices using two apps and have low-light video quality, ensuring most situations can be covered. In particular, there are two models of the camera, and the outdoor one can have a range of 50 feet. That outdoor model can also withstand plenty of weather-based damage without risking its power supply or WiFi module, which would remain inside at all times.

Shoplifter’s lawsuit against store owner underway

Should a store owner who shot a shoplifter have to pay for the injuries he caused? According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, that is what an El Paso County jury is trying to decide as the civil suit against Chang Ho Yi got underway this week.

In October 2010, Bryson Dewberry reportedly stole a bottle of vodka from Yi’s Colorado Springs liquor store, Austin Bluff’s Liquor. Yi chased Dewberry from the store and shot him in the face at point blank range as he attempted to get into a getaway car, the Gazette reported. The bullet struck then-22 year old Dewberry in the jaw and also hit a passenger in his car in the leg.

Now Dewberry’s attorneys state that the young man, who had aspired to be a rapper, suffers from a speech impediment. Dewberry is suing Yi for ongoing medical expenses as well as pain and suffering, loss of work, and loss of future business opportunities. According to an earlier report from KDVR when the lawsuit was filed in December 2012, Dewberry also claims that Yi’s actions were negligent and reckless and that Dewberry posed no physical threat that would warrant him being shot.

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