Credit Card Fraud, Bad Checks And Counterfeit Money: Tips To Combat All Three

 I live in a resort area so we get all types of fraud activity. Stolen credit cards, stolen and counterfeit checks and counterfeit cash, in addition to the day to day shoplifting and employee theft cases keep us busy. For L.P. departments in our area this can become overwhelming from an investigation standpoint. Employee training and awareness is crucial to effectively combat this activity, L.P. Managers can’t be in a store 7 days a week and even if we could be we can’t see everything. Store associates and managers are the first line of defense in preventing fraud at the point of sale. Here are some tips to identify and deter financial transaction fraud.

     Let’s start with credit card fraud. I used to harp on cashiers to look for signatures on the back of cards and if a card wasn’t signed or had “See I.D.” written on it, they were expected to ask for ID. When proper ID was not produced a transaction was declined, no exceptions. With today’s technology, people swipe their cards or hold smartphones up to the card reader and the information is transferred to the Point of Sale (POS). Chip cards are also considered a more secure means of payment than the older self-swipe. With chip technology every transaction has a unique code attached to it, whereas the old mag stripe cards had unchanging data that could be replicated and transferred to another card (source creditcard.com). Because chip enabled cards still have mag stripes and not all companies have changed to chip reader technology, fraud is still an opportunity. To minimize risk, if a small transaction for a few dollars is followed by a large dollar transaction be cautious, there is a strong possibility a stolen card is being used. The small transaction acts as a test to be sure the card is going to work. Second, if you have chip readers, don’t bypass them. Ask for a different form of payment if necessary but let the system work for you. You are always free to ask for an ID to compare to the card, and turn down a sale if the customer doesn’t have one.

     Check fraud is becoming less common. The advent of Apple Pay, Pay Pal, and pay apps for various companies, has resulted in fewer checks being written. Still, business checks are pretty common and a personal check is tendered from time to time. Check creation kits are easy to purchase and with a routing and account number it is a piece of cake to create a fraudulent check with any name, address or phone number you want on it. The good thieves will also have fake ID’s to match the information on the check. A few actions you can take to reduce the chance of check fraud in your store include, requiring a government issued ID for check transactions and recording the ID number on the check. If your POS system can electronically process a check let it. Don’t override the system if a check is declined. Look for high dollar checks being written in the later evening hours and on weekends when banks tend to be closed. The bad guys are counting on you not being able to verify account information.

     Counterfeit money is a problem and with high quality printers available on today’s market it is easier for criminals to create currency that at first glance appears very convincing. Without going into specifics, counterfeiters have found ways to get paper that can pass muster with regular people like you and me, though trained bankers would notice the difference in quality. They spread their money around a town for a few days and then leave before authorities can start following a trail. The only thing I can suggest to combat these thieves is to watch for the small purchases, such as a pack of gum or soft drink being purchased with a $50 or $100 bill. The criminals are getting real money in change at the cost of no more than a couple of bucks.  Along the same lines, watch for the $1 bills that have been altered by pasting higher denominations on two of the corners, usually $50’s and $100’s although sometimes $20’s are used. These bills will be mixed in with several other bills with the dollar corners concealed in the stack.

   One last word of caution, if you use the words “In Training” on your name badges, stop! Criminals look for people they think are new and easier to con. Identifying your new people is an invitation for trouble.  Financial transaction fraud can be expensive and cost you a lot of money. Properly training cashiers and monitoring transactions can help you deter the crime from happening in the first place.


Alpha Security Devices Prevent Most Shoplifting But Be Careful Of Thieves Who Are Not Deterred By Them

 

Alpha Spider Wrap-4                                                                                                                      WC blog 285
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Alpha Security Devices Prevent Most Shoplifting But Be Careful Of Thieves Who Are Not Deterred By Them
     My daughter recently told me about trying to prevent shoplifting during an incident at the store she works at. She was at the customer service counter located near the front door. She noticed a man wearing a ball cap with the tag hanging down and several items in his hand. She told me she sees customers wearing their hats a lot but usually they take them off when they get to the register and pay for it along with the other merchandise they may have. This customer was making no attempt to walk towards the register and as he got closer to the front door my daughter said she saw he was carrying a piece of merchandise with an Alpha Spider Wrap on it. The suspect got closer to the door, the retail anti-theft devices activated the electronic article surveillance (EAS) alarm and my daughter went to the door to conduct a receipt check and called to the suspect but he ignored her and ran to his car. My daughter called the Manager On Duty to report the theft but told me she was mad the shoplifter had stolen from them and wanted to chase after him (though she did not and followed company policy). 
     If you are a retail business owner and do not use retail anti-theft devices from Alpha Security products like the Alpha Spider Wrap, you are probably experiencing more theft than you know. Alpha Spider Wrap is a protective device that has a radio frequency (rf) tag built into it that causes an EAS antenna radio frequency receiver to sound an alarm when it is carried too close to the antenna. Alpha 3 Alarm retail anti-theft devices also have a built in alarm that sounds IF someone gets out the door with protected merchandise. Spider wraps have four strand of wire connected to a main housing unit. The wires are wrapped around a boxed piece of merchandise and then tightened with a ratchet like handle. When properly applied, the wraps cannot be removed without an Alpha Security detachment key, normally kept secured at the cash register. By the way, Spider Wrap is also tamper proof and will self- alarm if a shoplifter attempts to cut one of the wires. 
      You are probably thinking that in my daughter’s situation protective devices didn’t prevent shoplifting so why use them? First, it has been proven that retail anti-theft devices DO deter thieves and prevent shoplifting. If you look at the 2014-2015 Global Retail Theft Barometer report, you can see in the Regional Report for North America (pgs. 50-60) that for most retailers that reduced their spending on Loss Prevention their merchandise shrinkage increased from the prior year. Second, by using the Alpha Security devices an alarm did activate and my daughter was able to attempt to approach the customer and she did see what he looked like, and customers who were nearby reported what type of vehicle the suspect got away in. This is someone who will be recognized if he returns. If your store isn’t protecting merchandise you have no way to know when something is stolen let alone who may be taking it. You also have no deterrence to keep shoplifters from trying to steal from you. As someone who has been involved in Retail Loss Prevention for nearly 20 years, I have first-hand experience in watching would-be criminals try to remove Alpha Security devices and then stop out of frustration. I have also seen them drop merchandise when EAS antenna alarms sounded and I have recovered merchandise during a receipt check due to alarm activations. 
     I also want to touch on the topic of employee safety and dealing with shoplifters. I mentioned that my daughter said she was mad that someone would steal and she wished she could have chased after the suspect. Drawing from my years of Loss Prevention experience, I reminded her that she did the right thing by staying in the store and I am sharing this advice with you. Too often shoplifters who disregard alarms and run out the door are armed, on some type of illegal drugs or have criminal records that would put them in jail if they are caught. I have seen shoplifters speed out of a parking lot nearly hitting other cars and pedestrians in an effort to escape. I have been injured and had LP co-workers injured trying to apprehend shoplifters. Responding to an alarm caused by a retail anti-theft device is appropriate but chasing someone who has shoplifted is dangerous. Report suspected thefts to your local police department. Merchandise can be replaced, people can’t be. In the meantime do what you can to prevent shoplifting by using Alpha Spider Wrap and watch your shortage results shrink.
Need information on Alpha Security? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.

My daughter recently told me about trying to prevent shoplifting during an incident at the store she works at. She was at the customer service counter located near the front door. She noticed a man wearing a ball cap with the tag hanging down and several items in his hand. She told me she sees customers wearing their hats a lot but usually they take them off when they get to the register and pay for it along with the other merchandise they may have. This customer was making no attempt to walk towards the register and as he got closer to the front door my daughter said she saw he was carrying a piece of merchandise with an Alpha Spider Wrap on it. The suspect got closer to the door, the retail anti-theft devices activated the electronic article surveillance (EAS) alarm and my daughter went to the door to conduct a receipt check and called to the suspect but he ignored her and ran to his car. My daughter called the Manager On Duty to report the theft but told me she was mad the shoplifter had stolen from them and wanted to chase after him (though she did not and followed company policy). 

If you are a retail business owner and do not use retail anti-theft devices from Alpha Security products like the Alpha Spider Wrap, you are probably experiencing more theft than you know. Alpha Spider Wrap is a protective device that causes an EAS antenna to sound an alarm when it is carried too close. Alpha 3 Alarm retail anti-theft devices also have a built in alarm that sounds IF someone gets out the door with protected merchandise. Spider wraps have four strand of wire connected to a main housing unit. The wires are wrapped around a boxed piece of merchandise and then tightened with a ratchet like handle. When properly applied, the wraps cannot be removed without an Alpha Security detachment key, normally kept secured at the cash register. By the way, Spider Wrap is also tamper proof and will self- alarm if a shoplifter attempts to cut one of the wires. 

You are probably thinking that in my daughter’s situation protective devices didn’t prevent shoplifting so why use them? First, it has been proven that retail anti-theft devices DO deter thieves and prevent shoplifting. If you look at the 2014-2015 Global Retail Theft Barometer report, you can see in the Regional Report for North America (pgs. 50-60) that for most retailers that reduced their spending on Loss Prevention their merchandise shrinkage increased from the prior year. Second, by using the Alpha Security devices an alarm did activate and my daughter was able to attempt to approach the customer and she did see what he looked like, and customers who were nearby reported what type of vehicle the suspect got away in. This is someone who will be recognized if he returns. If your store isn’t protecting merchandise you have no way to know when something is stolen let alone who may be taking it. You also have no deterrence to keep shoplifters from trying to steal from you. As someone who has been involved in Retail Loss Prevention for nearly 20 years, I have first-hand experience in watching would-be criminals try to remove Alpha Security devices and then stop out of frustration. I have also seen them drop merchandise when EAS antenna alarms sounded and I have recovered merchandise during a receipt check due to alarm activations. 

I also want to touch on the topic of employee safety and dealing with shoplifters. I mentioned that my daughter said she was mad that someone would steal and she wished she could have chased after the suspect. Drawing from my years of Loss Prevention experience, I reminded her that she did the right thing by staying in the store and I am sharing this advice with you. Too often shoplifters who disregard alarms and run out the door are armed, on some type of illegal drugs or have criminal records that would put them in jail if they are caught. I have seen shoplifters speed out of a parking lot nearly hitting other cars and pedestrians in an effort to escape. I have been injured and had LP co-workers injured trying to apprehend shoplifters. Responding to an alarm caused by a retail anti-theft device is appropriate. Chasing someone who has shoplifted is dangerous. Report suspected thefts to your local police department. Merchandise can be replaced, people can’t be. In the meantime do what you can to prevent shoplifting by using Alpha Spider Wrap and watch your shortage results shrink.

 

Need information on Alpha Security? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.

 

 

Defective Hiring

Would you knowingly buy a car with a defective engine? Of course not! So why would you hire a “defective employee”?

My definition of a defective employee is one with a criminal history, horrible credit history, has lied on their application and more.

Getting this kind of problem child in your business is asking for trouble you don’t need or have time for. On top of that, do you really want someone who has stolen, committed violent acts or worse in the environment you are trying to build? That person then wastes your hard earned resources including payroll, training and time by causing the same aggravation they have for others. But this time you have to deal with them.

Do you know what the most lied about item is on an application? It is not pay, experience or even that they really do not have a sunny disposition.  It is the dates of employment from their previous jobs. Let’s say they have had three previous jobs. They got fired from number two so they stretch the dates of number one and three and whoosh job number two never existed. As employers we want to have it all including the good, bad and especially the ugly. This allows us to make better hiring decisions. 

We can find this out for you. The criminal acts, thefts, assaults, DUI’s, rapes, illegal drug convictions and more. Oh yes, we can even find those jobs they are not telling you about and get the dates of employment. 

You do not want a car that breaks down as soon as you drive it off the lot. Why would you want the same thing in an employee? Contact us today; we can start pre-employment background checks for you right away.  In most cases we have same or next day results.


Physical Security Inspections Can Help Impact Sales While Keeping Customers And Employees Safe

Daylight savings time is over and for most of us in the U.S. (yes, there are a few exceptions) we have moved our clocks and groaned at the loss of a precious hour of sleep. We have to adjust and get used to the change and eventually we do. For our personal lives there isn’t a lot of impact, once we are used to it we do benefit from the additional daylight and get to enjoy more outdoor activity. The time change is useful as a reminder for changing batteries in smoke detectors. You may even use it as a point when you will start planning your summer vacations. For business owners daylight savings time can be a reminder that it is time to conduct a store physical security review. Time changes may not impact us much individually but for retailers there is an impact for the building, employees and your customers.

     How does daylight impact your business? With more daylight you may want to take a look at your parking lot lighting. Are the lights on the exterior of the building set to timers? If they are it would be appropriate to set them to the new hours of dusk. Lights turning on too early wastes energy and drives up electric expenses. Having lights come on when it is already dark makes a parking lot feel unsafe and will keep shoppers away from your store. In an article from Buildings.com titled “4 Parking Security Essentials” by Jennie Morton, 11/30/2012, the author states, “Give your lighting a hard look stresses Geary Robinson, parking and transportation services director for Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and a member of IPI. Dark shadows that can conceal aggressors, reduced visibility for pedestrians and vehicles, and inadequate color rendering all chip away at safety.” The article continues, “Not sure if your parking area has a lighting problem? Look at the behavior of visitors. If people feel compelled to use their headlights in your garage or cars are grouped in your lot closest to light poles, these activities indicate that users may be uncomfortable with the level of darkness.” (Emphasis mine). If lighting is not adequate or if lamps are out, this is the perfect time to get them replaced. If you lease your property a call to your property management company is in order to get lights repaired or replaced.

     Since we are talking about a thorough physical security review of the building I would recommend testing fire exit push bars. Are they alarming properly? Do the doors open easily? I once had a set of fire doors that would not close properly after testing the push bar and we could not reset the alarm. What if the opposite had been the problem? What would have happened had the doors not opened properly in an emergency situation? You cannot assume that systems will work simply because you want it to be so. While you are at the fire doors, check the fire exit lights, make sure they are lit. This can be difficult with some lights. While they may seem dim to you, some are designed this way. Ask the fire department to come to the store and test the lights to ensure they meet code requirements. By auditing and testing you identify potential issues and get them repaired so you can depend on them in the event you need them. You could also avoid hefty fines for safety violations in case of an inspection by the Fire Marshall.

      Include testing of your burglary and fire alarm systems at this time. Your alarm system company should be able to walk you through a test of the burglary alarm system. Testing door alarm points and any motion sensors your store may have. You may also need to do a break glass test to be sure your system will pick up front door and window glass breaks. Fire alarm tests and sprinkler riser tests can be conducted through a third party vendor. You don’t need to be the expert in how to conduct the tests, just be sure to get them done.

     Many people associate spring with a fresh start. Give your business a fresh start annually, use this time of the year as a reminder to check your safety measures. Keep your customers and employees safe while protecting your business from unnecessary fines or lawsuits.


Tuning Up Your CCTV To Maximize Safety And Security

When do closed circuit television malfunctions occur? I’m sure you can guess, it is always at the point when you need it most. I can’t recall the number of instances when I had a cash shortage I needed to look for and when I attempted to pull video through the DVR the video was already dropped or the camera wasn’t functioning. I remember having to look for an image of a suspect in a shoplifting incident and the picture was too grainy to be of any use due to a dirty camera lens or dome. One slightly embarrassing situation that stands out in my mind involved robberies that were taking place behind our store. I had developed a great working relationship with our local police department and they knew the quality of our camera system. Investigators came to me seeking assistance with outdoor camera footage to try to identify the criminals conducting the robberies. I pulled up video of the date and time in question and much to my chagrin the camera had a great shot of the ground directly underneath it. A power surge had impacted the programming of the pan/tilt/zoom (PTZ) camera and placed it in a default position. I had not noticed the problem in a timely fashion and could not recall how long it was before I did catch the issue. The good news was I was able to re-program the camera and eventually we did provide footage of an incident a little later that led to an arrest.

     It is important to do a spring cleaning of your Loss Prevention tools, and especially a tune up of your closed circuit television (cctv) equipment. As a Loss Prevention Manager for a big box retailer, each spring we would have what we referred to as a bounce back checklist. The checklist covered a number of housekeeping items, including cleaning and checking CCTV components. Doing so helped to ensure we were getting maximum video retention, quality camera pictures, clear public view monitor images and we would identify equipment needing repairs.

     I used to train my team to look at CCTV equipment from the eye of a shoplifter. If there is a public view monitor it is supposed to be a deterrent to crime. When the bad guys see their picture on a monitor the idea is that they will be less inclined to do what they intended whether it is shoplifting, stealing purses or robbing the business. I would emphasize that a filthy monitor or poor quality picture indicated to the bad guys that the store didn’t take Loss Prevention seriously and diminished the deterrence value.

     CCTV equipment maintenance is not just for stores with a Loss Prevention Department. Many stores do not have a security department but there is equipment that is a precaution against crime. Often a camera system with a digital video recorder, computer and or multiplexer is housed in a small office recording activity. It can be easy to forget about it if there is not someone assigned to check on it daily. Sometimes it is neglected until a robbery takes place or money is missing from a register and then a manager goes to review footage and finds the system is not functioning. Using a spring checklist helps managers ensure equipment will be functioning when it is needed.

      So what should be included in a cctv tune-up checklist?

  • Dust digital video recorders, keyboards, computers and multiplexers with canned air and good quality dusters
  • Check all connections and ensure nothing has come loose and no wires are frayed
  • If equipment is maintained in a small office, ensure the room is properly cooled
  • Review each camera and picture, is it positioned to see what you need it to see?
  • Clean every camera lens
  • Wipe down all camera domes (even dummy domes)
  • Clean Public View Monitors. If a monitor has a burned picture, replace it. Look at it during different hours of the day is there a time when too much glare hits it? If so, you may want to try repositioning it.
  • Check your video retention. If you aren’t getting at least 30 days follow up with your vendor to see about clearing space or optimizing recording. You may be able to set recording zones or sensors that will only record when movement in an area happens.

No one wants to think about a robbery, employee theft or shoplifting taking place in their store but it is something you have to be prepared for. Take care of your cctv by tuning it up so that IF the time comes when you need it you will have the video necessary to help police in their investigation to put the criminals away.


Spring Cleaning Should Include A Review Of Evidence Held For Shoplifting And Employee Theft Cases

When I was a Loss Prevention Manager we would catch a shoplifter or a dishonest employee and recover merchandise. Depending on the type of case we would sometimes hold the evidence for a few days until the court hearing other times it could be much longer. If a shoplifter refused to plead guilty or requested a jury trial cases could be held up for months if not longer. I had several cases that went on for more than a year. Felony shoplifting cases and juvenile cases in our jurisdiction often meant lengthy wait periods depending on caseloads in the court. I also recall at least one shoplifting case in which the lawyer for the defendant requested extensions three separate times hoping that I would not appear for the hearing and the case would be dropped. No dice, I showed up for each hearing and finally the lawyer entered a guilty plea. The problem with the lengthy cases was that we would have to hold the evidence until the cases were settled. In some situations the police department held the recovered merchandise, such as when they stopped the suspect after the suspect fled the store. When merchandise has to be held for long periods it is possible for it to sit in evidence and be forgotten about. For stores that are too small to have security or Loss Prevention Departments management may be storing that evidence and no one is thinking about following up on cases with their police department or court.

     Spring is the perfect time to look through cases and see if there is merchandise that can be returned to inventory. Before you just go in and start looking through evidence closets or lockers that you may have in your store take some things into consideration. Just as police have chains of custody, a store should have a similar program in place. No one should be able to open a security cabinet and start digging through it. A proper evidence locker will have a listing of evidence that is associated with a case number, date and suspect(s) name. This enables the store to track the progress of a case. It also gives reference information so that a call to the Clerk of Court can help their employees find the status of a case. When the locker is opened, there should be a signature sheet with a date and time entry showing when it was accessed. There should also be an evidence release form in the event police have to take custody of property (be aware that they will have their own chain of custody form for you to sign too).

     Why is it so important to go through and review for evidence that can be cleaned out? From an inventory standpoint the product could be losing value. I did have merchandise sit in my evidence locker and some SKU’s went clearance as the merchandise had to be held while the case was in limbo. In a few instances merchandise completely dropped from the books and I had to take financial sheets and account for the products. Occasionally police would come by with merchandise from cases I had forgotten about and let me know that they were cleaning out their evidence lockers and a case had been dismissed or adjudicated without any follow up with our store. Again, this was infrequent as most cases were disposed of with me present or a call from the Clerk of Court letting me know the defendant had entered a guilty plea. Our store was large enough that we could absorb some of these lost markdowns or the items dropped from the system without making a major impact on our stock shortage. For smaller stores this could be problematic. Every dollar and piece of merchandise should be accounted for whenever possible at inventory time. The lower the annual sales the more impact each lost or uncounted piece of merchandise has on overall shortage.

     What is the solution to potential losses because merchandise is in evidence? Use spring as the time to review what you may have in your evidence locker from shoplifting and employee theft cases. If there are cases that have been sitting for a month or more, place a call to the court that is responsible for the case and ask about the status. If it has been closed on their end you should be able to release the goods back to the store. If it is still awaiting trial or disposition continue holding it in evidence. One final piece of advice, some jurisdictions will permit photos of evidence to suffice for court. Contact your local police department or court to find out their rules and guidelines.


How to Tackle Employee Theft and Shoplifting

The big retail stores and thousands of convenience stores across the country try to find solutions to tackle shoplifting and employee theft.  The retail industry losses account to $42 billion every year, and it doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.

Security  measures implemented and adopted by many retailers have given these stores some small wins, but overall the losses are staggering.  Inventory adopted by these small stores that are done in real time, and are working in conjunction with software that displays results to the management of these stores instantly,  are invaluable to the operation and profitability of the stores.  As a deterrent to shoplifting and employee theft, these operative measures are of tremendous help to the management as well.

CCTV cameras that provided a grainy image of the customers or perpetrators are a thing of the past.  Now, CCTV cameras provide a clear image of the individual that is easier for police officers and management of these stores to get a clear view of these people. Facial recognition software now provides solutions to these stores that were not available to them before.  And although trained personnel has to work in conjunction with these technological advances, the results have greatly improved over the years.

For more about this and other topics, follow the links below.


To stop a thief: Shoplifting is a daily battle for retailers

On any given day, more than $35 million worth of merchandise is stolen from retail stores across the country by shoplifters – amateurs and professionals alike – who steal clothing, jewelry, electronics and a host of other items, including food.

Some sneak quickly and quietly with the merchandise, others make bold getaway attempts.

In Tupelo, the retail and financial hub of Northeast Mississippi, the Tupelo Police Department gets hundreds of reports each year.

In 2014, TPD took 483 reports related to shoplifting, according to TPD Public Information Officer Chuck McDougald. Last year, that number fell to 260. So far this year, the department has taken 162 calls.

“Higher shopping volume days correspond to more shoplifting calls,” he said. “Those include weekends and holidays.”

As for the timing of when shoplifters are busiest, apparently they’re not early risers.

“Afternoons see an increase over mornings,” McDougald said. “Generally, it looks like the busier a store is, the more opportunities there are for someone to steal.”

For retailers like Reed’s, which has four department stores in the region, the key to cutting down on shoplifters is to make sure customer service is prioritized.


Are You Doing Enough to Secure Your Stores?

Theft and robbery continue to rise, but new technology and planning can deter.

NATIONAL REPORT — Whether it’s violent crime, robberies, shoplifting or employee theft, convenience stores have been dealing with store security issues for years. New technology is allowing operators to amp up prevention and react faster to incidents, but in many cases — in c-stores and the entire retail industry — the situation continues to worsen.

“I’ve been involved in the convenience store industry for 40-plus years and the risk of loss has not changed. The most worrisome is robbery, and as c-stores evolved into 24 hours, the violence level increased,” Chris McGoey of McGoey Security Consulting told Convenience Store News.

Robberies are up all-around, specifically in convenience stores, as the latest released FBI statistics show robbery up 16.8 percent in c-stores/gas stations from 2014 to 2015. Rosemary Erickson, researcher, forensic sociologist and president of Athena Research Corp., based in Sioux Falls, S.D., says this is the largest increase she can remember in all the years she has been studying crime. Erickson has helped NACS, the Association for Convenience & Fuel Retailing, develop many of its security resources.


 

Preventing Shoplifting

The National Association for Shoplifting Prevention agrees with the retail industry about the effect shoplifting has in all of us. Communities across the country lose the taxes they would otherwise collect from the items being stolen from stores to help social and outreach programs that could benefit those communities in the long run. Shoplifting is a crime that costs the retail industry $45 billion a year, and we as consumers have to pay higher prices to offset the cost shoplifting has in these businesses.

What we, as consumers and retail employees must not forget is that Profiling a customer upon entering a store is not legal, and we must not lose sight of that. Macy’s and CVS stores have had legal suits because of  profiling that have cost them millions of dollars. Assuming a poorly dressed person entering your store is a shoplifter, is assuming too much.  The NASP states that there is no profile of a typical shoplifter.  Men and women shoplift as equally.  Poorly or well dressed customers have the capability to shoplift from the store.

A recent article about ways to prevent shoplifting advises to monitor children and poorly dressed people, because they write“Teenagers are the most likely to steal from you. People that are poorly dressed are statistically more likely to be shoplifters as well”. According to The NASP 25% of shoplifters are kids and 75% are adults. Unfortunately they do not post statistics about how well or poorly those people are dressed.  If years of research from organizations like The NASP tells you that there is no profile of a typical shoplifter, it is distressing to find articles that tells you to target poorly dressed people with no data to back it up. If kids or teenagers are your main target, then you will be missing out the 75% of adults that actively shoplift.

Preventing shoplifting is not about targeting people of color, how well they dressed, or if they are teenagers or not.  People  from all walks of life steal, and some of them are repeated offenders with an addiction problem or other types of issues.  Preventive measures that allows you to monitor ALL people including employees, is the only smart solution to take for any retail store.  Prejudices or preconceived notions of what a typical shoplifter is can be detrimental to stopping shoplifting and employee theft.

Recent research suggest greeting customers as they enter the store is one of the best methods to prevent shoplifting.  Employees should also wander the aisles, but that does not mean targeting “poorly dressed” people. A well lit store, or a store that has shelves that are well organized can deter shoplifters from entering the store.  Shoplifting is an inevitable part of doing retail business, get to know your store, and offer preventive shoplifting measures without targeting specific people.


Taking The Offense To Shoplifting

Some shoplifters are violent. I follow these incidents and they seem to be becoming more frequent. The reasons why are many and there is plenty of blame to go around: State and local governments, courts and lax Judges, parents and even retailers themselves. Much of that is out of our control. We must keep violent and non-violent shoplifters from even entering our stores.

What is under our control is how we, the retailer, approach the shoplifting problem? First, you cannot be on the defense. We cannot play the defensive strategy any longer. You must go on the offense! Defense is putting up a sign like “no shoplifting” or some other weak response in place and hoping for the best. This includes a camera system. I cannot even count the number of retailers that have asked me why they still have a shoplifting problem when they invested in CCTV.  CCTV is a passive system; it does nothing pro-active.  CCTV is great for after the fact but even the dumbest shoplifter knows you do not have the staff to be watching all the time.

An EAS system like a Checkpoint System is a PROACTIVE system. It is working 24/7. It does not take breaks, vacations or let its mind wander or get distracted. A Checkpoint System protects your retail good at all times. The shoplifters know this and for the most part will be deterred by a Checkpoint System when they look in your doorway. 

If we deter shoplifters by going on the offense as they walk in, then we also reduce the chances for a violent encounter. Contact us today for information on your Checkpoint System and let’s go on the offense together.  


THE IMPOSSIBLE ACT OF “SELLING YOUR WAY OUT OF SHRINK”

I recently read over an article opining the phrase “sales cures shrink”. While the author touched on both sides of the coin, I found it interesting that in today’s retail climate, anyone would think that you can simply sell your way out of losses. Let’s cut to the chase here; we’re not bringing in 20% increases over last year, hell we’re lucky to come in flat to last year. Online giants like Amazon are eating up market share like never before and if brick and mortar don’t do something fast, sales will continue to slump.

Let’s break this down a bit further. Let’s say your shrink last year was 2% to your sales of $1,000,000. That’s a loss of $20,000 for the year, or about $57 a day. Taking that shrink number and dividing that into your loss per day gets you right at $2680. That means you have to sell an additional $2,680 on top of that $57 loss just to get to the break-even point. Understand this, you CANNOT stay in business if all you’re doing is breaking even. You just can’t. You need to turn a profit!

Being a realist here, there is no way that you’re ever going to sell your way out of shrink. EVER. It is a flawed philosophy and if you ever hear someone utter this crummy phrase, understand that whomever that person is, they have no idea what they are talking about. Unless you have some miracle business model and you’re bringing in money hand over fist, then “selling your way out of shrink” just isn’t an option. It’s a start…

Offsetting shrink takes a multi-faceted approach. Just as you can’t sell your way out of shrink, you can’t very well keep everything under lock and key, and it’s impractical to have the security devices on every single sku. If you’re trying to increase sales, you may be inclined to have more displays of merchandise. Copious amounts of data show that a customer is more likely to make a high dollar purchase if they have a chance to touch and feel the item. (Think sunglasses, hunting scopes, sports equipment, etc.) To sell it, they have to be able to touch it. For you not to lose it, you need to secure it in some manner. Once you find the balance of sales vs. LP procedure, you’ll find the winning formula for shrink reduction.

Proper security measures will only go so far to stop external losses. Internal theft accounts for an even bigger percentage of losses inside your store. Knowing who to hire, and whom you are hiring are both vital spokes in the retail wheel of shrink reduction. You need to go a step further and encourage a culture of honesty, integrity and ethics in your store. Employees should feel invested in your business, as that emotional attachment will likely deter an employee from stealing.

As with any problem, there are always a multitude of solutions to bring about positive change. Get away from a soloed approach to shrink and look at all the ways your losses may be tackled. Just as you would be foolish to believe that locking up all of your merchandise would stop theft, you’re of equal foolishness if you believe that sales are the cure all for shrink; and I personally, pity the fool.