employee background checks

Surveillance And Shoplifting

June 4, 2015 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Many retailers already spend millions of dollars to defend themselves against cyber attacks, and millions more to defend themselves against shoplifting and employee theft. Security cameras are one of the many methods they use to prevent shoplifting, and in big retail stores a security guard is usually walking through the store, but relying in one method of security though is foolhardy, and eventually may prove to be more costly for the profits of your store.

Tips for enhancing the security of your surveillance systems

Nothing beats a security camera when it comes to keeping an eye on your home or your business. The newest surveillance technology can offer a greater range of vision and nearly endless recording durations, guaranteeing protection. Learning about security camera best practices can dissuade intruders from trespassing on your property or hacking your systems. Before buying a set of surveillance cameras, however, take a second to review the steps necessary for truly secure monitoring.

Password unprotected

Isn’t the whole point of a top-of-the-line security system that it’s for your eyes only? No one besides you, your family or a select group of coworkers should have access. Unfortunately, accidentally granting permission for anyone to peek through your cameras can be as easy as checking the Internet.

Is Petty Shoplifting Worth Hiring a Private Security Guard?

It’s obvious why a large store, full of hot-ticket items, needs round-the-clock, top-notch private security. But what about the local, corner store, whose average item’s price is $3.00, and its highest-priced item is $25? Wouldn’t the money spent on a private security guard offset any petty shoplifting?

This question is certainly worth asking, because after all, you would hire a private security guard because it would ultimately protect your assets, not increase your expenses without cost-benefit. Let’s look at the issues at hand, because hiring a private security guard isn’t just about keeping away petty thieves. What else is it about?

1) Calculating accurately. Most retail stores calculate between 10-20% of their budget for shoplifting. That means up to 1/5 of the budget is dedicated toward theft alone! Make sure that the cost of a private security guard is weighed against the shoplifting budget . Even when strictly looking at the bottom line, your calculations could show that a private security guard reduces the need for the so-called “theft budget”.

Alleged shoplifter opens store with security cameras to stop shoplifters

WATCH ABOVE: Police bust an alleged shoplifting ring preying on high end retailers in the GTA. Catherine McDonald reports.

TORONTO – York Regional Police have announced Tuesday the seizure of $1 million worth of stolen clothing after dismantling a Greater Toronto Area shoplifting ring.

Police say the investigation began in October 28, 2014 following a clothing store theft at Markville Mall in Markham.

Security video obtained at the scene helped police identify several suspects linked to similar crimes in the area.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, anti-theft tags, employee background checks, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Retail Anti Theft Devices, Shoplifting Prevention, surveillance

Organized Employee Theft

May 29, 2015 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

I seriously try not to be surprised anymore. During any given day, there is no telling what will come across my desk. As an investigator for my company’s Asset Protection department, there are no two days the same. I have two main focuses. One being organized retail theft and the other is employee theft. Ten years in and I haven’t figured out which one I love more. The external cases keep me on my toes, but the employees really do come up with some very clever ways to steal from me. Sometimes the two worlds collide for a case that is truly amazing.

Take one of my stores for example. It was time for their inventory and two days later we get the final numbers. The appliance department shows that it’s in the negative almost $200K. This is impossible. Every piece of equipment delivered to the store gets checked in, so there’s no chance of shipping errors. It’s pretty hard for a customer to stuff a dryer down their pants, so external theft is out. The only other option out there is employee theft. Again though, you would think it would be obvious if an employee was stealing a large bulk item. Unless of course, half the store is in on the theft.

It didn’t take much research after that inventory to find out what was happening. The basic fraud scheme was this. A customer. A legitimate customer would come into the store looking to purchase a new home appliance. After speaking with one of the sales consultants (dishonest employee), the customer would be duped into thinking there is a special clearance item that meets their needs that just happens to be heavily reduced in price. The sales person would then tell the customer that the system was down and that his register was only accepting cash, and that the store was also short on change, so it had to be the exact dollar amount. In all, several steps, but all believable to an honest customer who just thinks they are getting a deal.

Once the sales person would collect the cash (normally about ½ the retail value of the item), they would call an accomplice in the warehouse. A phony pick label would be generated in order for it to be pulled from the warehouse. An AP associate is required to sign off whenever bulk merchandise is loaded, however the majority of this store’s AP staff was unfortunately, in on the scheme. At the end of the night, the cash would be split. For a busy store such as this one, the associates were splitting thousands of dollars a week. This organized employee theft scheme went on, unchecked, for nearly a year.

During our investigation, we found the ring leader of the bunch, who happened to be an AP supervisor for the location. He stated that it happened once for a friend and he saw just how easy it was to make some extra cash on the side. Before he knew it, things had snowballed into a very elaborate, sophisticated and organized scheme. Never before had I prosecuted an employee theft case so large and organized. So organized that the District Attorney charged all involved with Organized Retail Theft, a statute that I had never seen used with employee theft. In total, these 10 or so employees had cost the store nearly $200K in losses. Each one of the employees were found guilty of their charge and due to the dollar values, some of them actually did a few weeks in a state prison.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-thefts devices, employee background checks, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, internal Audit, Loss Prevention Workshop, Periodic inventory, Prevent Shoplifting, Retail Anti Theft Devices, security devices

Shoplifting and the Law

May 18, 2015 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Some have called shoplifting the silent crime that is plaguing the US. Shoplifting for some people is considered their full time job, and retail organized crime is abundant in this country. Shoplifting affects small business owners tremendously and the retail industry as a whole lose millions of dollars yearly passing the loss to the consumer and therefore affecting you financially.

Shoplifting is a serious crime ,and some states are taking strong measures to make sure the penalties applied to the shoplifter are harsh. To read more follow the links below.

Retail merchants fear theft bill will increase crime

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) –

Retail Merchants of Hawaii president Sheri Sakamoto said a bill to raise the threshold for felony theft from $300 to $750 will encourage shoplifters to steal more.

“It will really affect retailers specifically. They now can steal up to $749.99 and have less consequences to their crime,” she said

Rep. Karl Rhoads is chairman of the House Judiciary committee. He said the bill targets agricultural theft, and shoplifting is considered separate but prosecutors do have leeway. “Even if the Governor signs this bill it’s still a crime to steal amounts between $300 and $750, it’s just the penalty is not as high,” he said.

Theft is a Class C felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. Advocates for raising the dollar threshold say $300 is way too low, and it costs taxpayers about $49,000 a year to incarcerate an offender. “So when we’re talking about property crime that’s under $1,000 and we’re paying $134 a day, you’ve got to start looking at that and saying, That really doesn’t pencil out,” Community Alliance on Prisons advocate Kat Brady said.

Shoplifting gangs operating on ‘industrial scale’

PROSECUTORS have vowed to smash serious organised crime groups who are using “steal to order” shoplifting to fund their illegal activities.

The Crown Office said shoplifting was happening on an “industrial scale”, with some groups travelling from overseas to target Scottish retailers.

More than 200 people have now been identified as being involved in what prosecutors called “professional shoplifting”.

The details emerged as the Crown Office published figures showing £8.6 million has been seized in 2014/15 under the Proceeds of Crime Act (Poca).

The money includes assets seized from the gangs, as well as from brothel keepers, money launderers, and drug dealers.

Solicitor General Lesley Thomson said specialist prosecutors had worked closely with a dedicated police inquiry team during the past year to dismantle shoplifting groups, who specialise in targeting expensive clothing and designer handbags.

Battling The $36 Billion U.S. Problem Of Retail Shrinkage Losses

The financial cost of retail shrinkage is huge. The latest Annual Shrink Report issued by Dr. Richard Hollinger and Dr. Read Hayes at the University of Florida puts the total at $36 billion annually.

Shrinkage has several causes: customers shoplifting , employee theft, supplier fraud and administrative errors.

Frequent inventories and accounting audits counts can catch administrative errors and supplier fraud. But stopping shrinkage caused by theft is a larger undertaking.

“There are two kinds of thieves,”says Keith Aubele, CPP, president and CEO of the Bentonville, Ark.-based Retail Loss Prevention Group. “First, there is the opportunistic non-pro. Second, there are professionals working in Organized Retail Crime Syndicates (ORCS) — vast organizations that buy stolen goods from professional thieves for pennies on the dollar and then repackage and resell the goods to mom-and-pop stores, back into the retail pipeline, internationally — through any of a number of markets for stolen goods.

“Employees are the front line of defense — as well as the most economical defense — against shrinkage losses.”

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Spider Wrap, employee background checks, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, Loss Prevention Workshop, Prevent Shoplifting, prevent shrinkage, Retail Anti Theft Devices, surveillance

Employee Theft and How to Prevent it

May 7, 2015 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Now, research has shown the retail loses more from employee theft every year without knowing how to stop it, than at any other time. Employee theft, shoplifting, credit card fraud, and many other fraudulent practices are plaguing the retail industry without a clear solution to the problem. Local police in many communities across the US are implementing programs to help reduce criminal activities around their communities. To read more about this topic follow the links below.

4 Ways to Protect Your Business Against Employee Fraud and Theft

Q: Which internal accounting controls can help prevent fraud?

A: This is a vast topic covered by countless books and consultants, so let’s narrow it down to employee fraud and theft. Aside from the obvious—conducting regular inventory checks and book audits, reconciling cash daily, and personally reviewing financial statements each month—there are several actions you can take to protect yourself and your business.

1. Establish a code of conduct.

Did you know that Walmart employees are not allowed to accept a bottle of water or cup of coffee from a vendor at a meeting without paying for it? That’s what I mean by a code of conduct. It’s a statement that you will not tolerate unethical or illegal behavior toward anyone—customers, suppliers, employees or the company itself.

While you may not be as strict as Walmart, you should write and post a code of conduct that clearly spells out the rules for employees and the repercussions for not following them. Give the code to everyone upon hire, and periodically thereafter, and require written acknowledgement that they have read, understand and agree to comply with it.

Police: Employee admits to stealing $14,500 from Kohl’s

A Sun Prairie woman admitted to stealing $14,500 from the Madison department store at which she worked, according to a release from Madison police.

Police said Rebecca A. Onstad, 27, said she stole merchandise and faked returns for store credit to support her family during some tough times in the past year.

Onstad worked at Kohl’s at 2602 East Springs Drive.

She was arrested Monday on suspicion of felony theft.

What Smaller Retailers can Learn About Loss Prevention

One of the biggest challenges the UK retail industry currently has to face is shrinkage. While sales are steadily growing – they increased by 3.9 per cent year-on-year in January, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) – stores are still facing losses from the old enemy of theft.

A recent infographic commissioned by SECOM Plc shows shoplifting and more serious retail theft is becoming more and more of a problem. While the number of incidents is falling, their cost to businesses is rising as more valuable items are targeted. In 2014, the cost of crime to the UK retail sector was £603 million, a rise of 18 per cent compared to the year before.

However, this figure does not take into account a number of other factors that have a much greater impact on smaller retailers. Each theft is not equal; stealing an item from one store can cause significant issues, while another might be able to absorb the loss easily.

Many small retailers only employ a handful of people and operate relatively informally, meaning they don’t have many policies in place regarding things like pricing, inventory and employee conduct. It may seem like these things are fairly low priority, but in actual fact having policies like these in place can significantly reduce shrinkage.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, employee background checks, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Prevent Shoplifting, Retail Anti Theft Devices, security devices

The Difference In The Question- Pre Employment Screening

May 4, 2015 by Staff Editor

If you are conducting a job interview to qualify potential job candidates there are some right and wrong ways to find out the information you are looking for. Pre employment screening helps to clarify a lot of the gray area for you; in terms of what questions you can legally ask a candidate.

Take the topic of arrests and criminal convictions, for example. It is illegal to ask a job candidate if they have ever been arrested. The arrest could have not lead to a conviction. The arrest could have been downgraded to a different crime altogether. This could mean the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor crime.

By asking about arrests, you can have a potentially negative response to a job candidate. This is an unfair stance for the candidate who may have been cleared/ found not guilty of those charges. You can be held liable for not hiring someone because you asked the wrong questions.

The legal way is to ask about any convictions. That means a court found them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If the court found them guilty, then this information is generally public record, which means you can have access to it, as a potential employer.

The best way to do this is to inquire on the application. This gives the applicant the opportunity to disclose any convictions and also give any explanations they feel necessary. You are then allowed to validate these convictions during your pre employment screening background checks.

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

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: background check company, background check experts, Background checks, criminal background check, employee background checks, pre employment screening

Background checks and What to Look for

May 4, 2015 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

When hiring a new employee and you need to do a background check, Do you know what you need to look for to make sure you have the right candidate? First of all, you need to be knowledgeable about the laws regarding background checks in your state. What Washington seems reasonable, may not quite cut it for California and vice versa. Due you due diligence before attempting to do a background check without knowing the Ins and outs of the law. Make sure that your process about hiring and doing background checks are consistent throughout the company, you do not want to be the target of an employee discrimination lawsuit because of different treatment to different possible candidates.

What You Need To Know About Background Checks

April 29, 2015 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Many small businesses think twice about hiring a new employee, especially if that business is going through a rough time. The actual cost of hiring a new employee is expensive, and not only because of the salary they will be paying. Recruiting and training alone will be costly, not to mention the time spend for interviewing the possible candidates. Hiring the right candidate can become quite an ordeal, but by doing background checks on an employee before hiring them can save you time and money in the long run.

Class Action: Amazon Violates Federal Law With Employee Background Checks

Amazon.com Inc. and a staffing company that aids the online retailer in its hiring are facing a class action lawsuit, alleging that they have violated federal law because they did not disclose the information found in a background check that was used to deny employment.

Plaintiff Gregory Williams claims in his class action lawsuit filed on Wednesday in Washington state federal court that Amazon and Staff Management Solutions, which is also called SMX, violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Williams claims that he applied for a job with Amazon as a “puller” at one of the online retailer’s distribution centers in November 2013. SMX helps Amazon with hiring at its fulfillment centers primarily in anticipation of seasonal hiring.

As part of the application process, Williams also filled out a form giving SMX the authority “to obtain his consumer report for employment purposes.” That form stated that if anything is found in the background check that could affect his employment that he would be given a copy as well as an explanation of his rights under the FCRA. It also stated that the information can be disputed if the applicant deems that it is inaccurate.

Georgia Background Checks: What you need to know

There are a number of ways for employers to gather information on the background of an applicant for employment. Employers may simply call an applicant’s former employer to confirm the applicant’s dates of employment and title and to try to obtain a more detailed reference from a supervisor. However, more and more frequently, employers are hiring third parties to conduct background checks on applicants who have been offered employment. In addition, depending on the nature of the position, employers are requesting reports about an applicant’s driving record, criminal record, and/or credit history. There are often legal limits on employers obtaining and using this type of information. When employers hire a third party to conduct a background check or obtain reports from outside agencies, such reports are subject to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and state laws. In Georgia, employers must comply with laws concerning criminal background checks and driver’s record information.

Background Check Industry at a Crossroads: Raising Uptime Standards

Why does uptime matter?

In today’s lightning-paced business climate, companies and organizations in virtually every industry are paying more attention than ever to the speed, efficiency and dependability of the systems, software and other support tools that enable them to serve and retain customers and thrive in an increasingly competitive global economy. It’s an era of Google, Amazon and smartphone-enabled instant gratification, and we expect immediate answers to all of our questions and same-day shipment of every conceivable consumer product. And companies’ system availability, or uptime,makes this all possible.

Companies are also under heightened scrutiny from regulators, and from their own internal auditors, to meet stricter accounting and reporting guidelines, to prepare for every possible disaster scenario that could disrupt their business or their customers’ business, and to operate more efficiently in everything they do. Uptime is at the very core of all these concerns.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, Background checks, employee background checks, Employee Theft, loss prevention, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, Prevent Shoplifting, prevent shrinkage, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, surveillance

Be Slow To Hire- Pre Employment Screening

April 21, 2015 by Staff Editor

There is a saying that goes” be slow to hire, and quick to fire” when it comes to hiring practices. All too often, businesses wait until the last possible second to hire replacement and additional staff. As a result, the employees are often not the highest quality; they are simply the employees who could fulfill the job requirements the fastest. Because of a need to hire quickly, pre employment screening is overlooked and not used to its fullest advantage.

When you take the time to hire slowly, you are putting your business in a much better position. You are being strategic instead of reactive. By anticipating hiring needs further in advance, you can stave off potential negatives that can affect your business such as decreased moral and subsequent productivity from overworked employees, and decreased customer satisfaction.

When you hire slowly, you have an opportunity to collect more job applications, thus widening the hiring pool to include a better range of qualifications and abilities. You are not limited to saying yes to only the first few applications that land on your desk. You now have the luxury to be able to say no to those applications, and wait for better applicants to apply.

Once you have found better applicants, you also have the luxury of time to wait for a pre employment screening to come back. Because you are not pressured by needing to have a position filled immediately, you can make sure that the applicant you do want is exactly who you think you are hiring.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: background check company, background check experts, Background checks, criminal background check, employee background checks, pre employment screening

Playing The Stock Market- Employee Background Checks

April 14, 2015 by Staff Editor

If you ever look at a stock portfolio, there is usually a disclaimer that says past performance is not indicative of future success. Basically advisors do not want you to invest in something because you feel like it’s a sure thing, and then have you be disappointed later on. Employee background checks are saying the same basic thing when it comes to whom you hire.

Playing the stock market is riddled with risks- some are high with the promise of a great return, or great failure. Others are low risk with a steady expectation of gain, or they may turn out to be a dud and never fully rise to their potential. When you run employee background checks, you are looking for indicators of which job applicant is going to be a high or low risk.

Just like a stock, you should probably not judge their past behavior as a guarantee of future success. Some applicants with a clean history will end up stealing from you because they are suddenly faced with an unexpected financial debt. Others with a criminal past may have truly been rehabilitated, and are on the straight and narrow path now, never to falter again.

By tracking a stock over a longer period of time, we can see just how consistent it has been allowing us to decide whether to invest or not. Employee background checks help us to see the longer history of a person, and not just what the recent results have been.

Pre employment screening is about having a base line to make those decisions. Is the applicant consistently employed or do they bounce from job to job every few months? Do they have multiple convictions or was it a one-time mistake? By tracking a stock over a longer period of time, we can see just how consistent it has been allowing us to decide whether to invest or not. Employee background checks help us to see the longer history of a person, and not just what the recent results have been.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: background check company, background check experts, Background checks, criminal background check, employee background checks, pre employment screening

Ban The Box- Criminal Background Checks

April 7, 2015 by Staff Editor

Circulating within the California legislation is a bill known as the Ban the Box Bill. In essence, the legislation is seeking to remove and ban the box on employment applications regarding criminal background checks. If this is passed, employers will not have a legal right to ask if a job candidate has been convicted of a crime.

There are two main talking points on both sides of the issue. The first is from human rights advocates that say job seekers who have a criminal past are being unjustly passed over and are discriminated against when they disclose their criminal convictions during pre employment screening. They feel like the potential employees have already paid their dues for the crimes that were committed and should now be given a clean slate to try and rebuild their lives.

Since 1 in 4 have a criminal record, there are too many potential employees who cannot find work, and are therefore a strain on the state, as they often have to collect government assistance to supplement their lack of income.

The flip side comes from the employers who say because 1 in 4 have a criminal past, it is necessary to find out up front who does and does not have a conviction. They feel that they have a right to hire the best candidate for the position. Many employers feel that they would hire a convicted applicant, depending on what the conviction was for, and what position they had applied for, provided it was disclosed upfront and not uncovered during a criminal background check.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: background check company, background check experts, Background checks, criminal background check, employee background checks, pre employment screening