Featured — Page 14

Employee Theft is NEVER Funny, Or Is It? That May Depend On Your Perspective

September 7, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

What can make life miserable for a Human Resources or Hiring Manager? In the right circumstances, a Loss Prevention Manager can be the cause of much consternation for a Human Resources Manager. When more than one employee is being apprehended or fired for theft at the same time it requires shifting schedules, moving people around and hiring new people to take the place of the employees being removed. What makes it even more difficult for a retail H.R. Manager is if the employees work in a specialized job function. I confess (with a smile on my face as I write this) that I was responsible more than once for putting a Human Resource Manager in this predicament during my Loss Prevention Manager career. Don’t misunderstand, I was not taking pleasure in the misery of the Human Resource Manager or the Department Manager, for that matter; I was enjoying closing an investigation that netted around five employees in total, three who worked in the one area.

So what was this particular case and why was it funny to me? The case started out as a cash shortage investigation in our food service area. We had multiple departments in our store but the food services employees tended to be more specialized in their duties. Unlike other departments, there were not always employees in the store who could provide what we called back-ups to assist in food/drink preparations. For example, when the front lanes got busy, a call for back-up cashiers would result in employees from all areas of the store responding since everyone was trained as a cashier. The same thing could not be said for our food service area. We simply did not have the same number of trained people who could respond.

As I began developing my case, I conducted live camera surveillances of our food service area. Now a good investigator remains open to the possibility that there is always the chance that one “type” of case can lead to other activity and he/she is prepared to expand an investigation if necessary. Rushing to close a case simply to get a quick statistics is poor investigative technique, but I have seen it happen. It didn’t take long to identify the person I suspected was causing the cash losses, but I also found there was a second person causing shortages. That led me to conduct additional surveillances and watching all transactions that took place. Soon I was noticing drinks and food were being given at reduced prices or for free to other employees and even some customers. The passing of food and under-ringing became so routine it was comical to watch. There were customers I identified as “regulars” coming to the counter to get special deals that weren’t on the menu.

Eventually I identified three food service employees and two or three other store employees regularly getting free meals, in addition to the primary cash theft that instigated the investigation. There were several more employees who received a free drink or two but not on a regular basis. With the prior approval of my District Manager, I involved the Human Resource Manager since it was going to make a significant dent in her ability to staff food services for a little while. Needless to say, she was taken back by the amount of theft and fraud that had been taking place. She was absolutely shocked when it dawned on her that she was about to lose almost a third of her food service staff. To ease her pain a bit I let her know I was not going to go after the employees who received one or two free drinks. With her assistance, we would issue written warnings to those employees.

Because we had a good relationship, our H.R. Manager worked with me to schedule the employees at staggered times during the day so I could conduct individual interviews without one person having time to alert anyone else to what was happening. The day came when I conducted all interviews and a couple of people were prosecuted for cash theft and three or four were terminated for theft of food and policy violations. A couple of employees received final warnings for policy violations but were allowed to continue their employment with the company.

Coverage for the food service area was difficult for a few weeks, but we made it happen. I also had to chuckle because some of our “regular” customers stopped coming for food. A final word of advice to those in LP and management; build strong partnerships with each other, it is mutually beneficial for you and the store.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, Background checks, Employee Theft, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Training, Loss Prevention Workshop, Periodic inventory, Prevent Shoplifting, prevent shrinkage, racial profiling, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

Sometimes We Simply Do Not See The Obvious

August 3, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Sometimes we simply do not see the obvious even when it is right in front of us. For many years we have worked really hard to hide or disguise Checkpoint Labels. The thought being that the shoplifter will not be able to locate and possibly defeat the label.

But new studies show that although that is still a great strategy, you should also look at the opposite. Putting a clearly identified label in plain sight with a warning on it.

Here is a good example using one of the newer clear, Checkpoint Systems stock labels. The trademarked “lock” and wording has been tested extensively.

Rather than bore you with all the details of the study, I will simply tell you that it works and works well. Visible tagging can increase sales and reduce loss. The last study found:

As many of you know I, Bill Bregar have been in the loss prevention field most of my career. So now putting that hat on let’s look at this from another view. We know that shoplifters are broken into three distinct groups; Impulse, Amateur and Professional.

The bulk of shoplifters you encounter are Impulse. I teach this in my shoplifting classes, which by the way I conduct live, in person or by webinar and are FREE of charge to Loss Prevention Systems customers. I always explain that Impulse shoplifters are easily deterred with employee contact. In other words if you greet the Impulse shoplifter with eye contact, a simple hello and “can I help you”, many studies show that the Impulse shoplifter will most likely NOT shoplift during that visit.

Well if we now apply the thought of a Checkpoint Systems visual deterrence label it makes sense. Given the same circumstances where the Impulse shoplifter has not been greeted but is faced with a visual deterrence label it casts enough doubt into their minds that they do not steal.

Well if that is the case then why doesn’t a sign like this work?

Besides being funny to us I have learned that signs do very little. Probably because of sign “pollution”. They either don’t see it or it is really not a threat. But a specific label on the merchandise they are considering stealing, casts doubt. They do not know what other element may be protecting that merchandise.

Something to consider! If you would like some samples of these labels just reach out to us. We will get them in the mail to you at no charge.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Training, Loss Prevention Workshop, mobile POS loss prevention, Prevent Shoplifting, racial profiling, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, security, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

PROSECUTING A SHOPLIFTER – 101

August 2, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

How do I approach a shoplifting incident? This question is asked of me almost on a daily basis by store managers and owners. We always give advice and best practices on how to deter a shoplifter by using EAS devices, but what should you actually do if you are faced with a shoplifting incident that you personally witness? When should you call the police? When can you legally detain someone? While not every situation is the same, there are some basic best practices to follow. Here’s what I train my managers and can be a great starting point for you.

Establishing probable cause

Before you detain anyone for theft, you have to establish probable cause to do so. The best way to do that is to follow the LP industry’s “5 steps” to an apprehension. By following these steps, you always ensure that a detention is within the legal limits, which protects you and your store from any potential civil liability. Those steps are:

SELECTION

You need to witness the suspect select something from your display shelf/rack or peg. This lets you know that the product is yours, and that the customer did not come into the store.

DISPLAY INTENT

Displaying intent to commit a crime is a pretty big umbrella. A customer can display intent to permanently deprive you of merchandise is dozens of ways. Some of the most common are removing the item from its packaging, concealing it on their person, altering the pricing indicator, or even consuming the merchandise.

MAINTAIN POSSESSION

The most common way a shoplifter will display intent is to conceal the item on their person, or maybe in a shopping bag or purse. It’s vital that they maintain possession of your product at the point in which you detain them. You can get yourself into some legal trouble if you detain someone that doesn’t possess any stolen property, so it’s imperative that you keep constant, unbroken observation on the suspect.

FAILED TO PAY

This one is obvious. They have to not pay for the item. Pretty straightforward and simple.

EXIT THE STORE

Once you witness that shoplifter select your property, conceal it in their pants and then walk all the way up front, past the registers and out the door, you have now established probable cause to detain that individual.

There are obviously various scenarios that can throw a monkey wrench in the gears, so it’s also very important for retailers to know and understand your state laws regarding shoplifting. These can usually be very easily found by going to your Secretary of State’s website and searching for the statutes governing theft. Even though I’m well versed in my state’s laws and have been doing this job for a very long time, I still keep printed copies of the law in my bag that I carry at all times. I also encourage you to reach out to your local law enforcement agency for help. Most departments have a retail liaison or similar position that can help you to understand exactly when a crime is considered to have been committed and what they expect from you as the retailer when responding to calls at your store.

Lastly, I implore everyone to always prosecute to the fullest extent of the law. Don’t give one person a pass. Show that your store will not be a soft target and that you are committed to keeping prices low for your customers. By prosecuting each shoplifter, you’re also committing to keeping your store safe for your customers and your employees. There’s a theory in law enforcement called “broken windows”. It goes something like this:

You walk past a house or building with a few broken windows. The windows go unrepaired and that leads to other window breaking. Before long, the building is covered in graffiti and squatters may take up residence. Drug use inside proliferates and it attracts others with ill-intent. Fires could be set inside. This “moth to flame” action starts trickling down to other buildings and houses in the neighborhood and soon the area is a criminal hot bed.

While this is only a theory and is a matter of great debate in the world of criminology, it should get you thinking. If shoplifters know they can get away with stealing from you, they’ll come back. Eventually, they will get brazen enough to physically assault a store clerk that may intervene. If you’re not prosecuting these individuals, word gets out that your store is an easy mark. You may eventually get robbed and ultimately shut your doors because your customers refuse to shop at a store they feel is unsafe. You can stop this snowball effect by taking pro-active measures to prevent those from shoplifting as well as taking the necessary action to hold those accountable to the law that do take from your store.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, EAS Devices, Employee Theft, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, loss prevention, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Workshop, Periodic inventory, retail security and monitoring, security, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

HOW SOCIAL MEDIA CAN HELP BUILD SUBSTANTIAL SHOPLIFTING CASES

August 2, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Facebook and other social media sites can be a proverbial gold-mine of information; especially if you are dealing with a rather stupid criminal. In my job, I see and interview dozens and dozens of “professional” shoplifters every month. My job is to get as much Intel as possible from them and make bigger cases. Often, that means working very closely with local and state law enforcement officials and even other retailers. No other time have I had such a prolific criminal than with “Jane”.

I first met Jane at my home store (I am responsible for 30). My agent apprehended Jane and several of her cohorts after they attempted leaving the store with several hundred dollars’ worth of clothing concealed on them. After they left for jail, I started my research. Facebook has become my first stop. 10 seconds later I find her page. Completely open to the public. First thing I see is this:

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure this one out. As a seasoned investigator, Just looking at this told me it was stolen. Based on some other photos, I knew this came from one of my stores. Since Jane was nice enough to keep her profile public and include a time, date and location stamp on those pictures, I started my research. Within an hour, I found corresponding CCTV footage of her entering another one of my store locations. Sure as heck, I had video of her stealing everything in this picture. I started scrolling from there. I found that she was also returning stolen goods for gift cards. She posted some shots of a few from my stores. In the comment section (which generates a lot of activity) she was kind enough to take a photo of the rear of the card. I suspended the funds ☺

With all this great information, I decided to compile it all and share it with law enforcement and my LP contacts throughout the state. I was able to make some significant cases on this very prolific shoplifter from some simple research on a social media page. In fact, the evidence was enough to cut several warrants for her arrest, which caught up to her relatively quick in a place, far, far from her home. ☺

To me, what’s even more ridiculous is reading the comments on her “items”. It would seem as though everyone on her “friends list” is well aware of how she is obtaining the merchandise and are even encouraging the actions. These are the types of people that hurt big box retailers and that can put small shops out of business. These are the shoplifters we need to focus on and the ones that the criminal justice system need to come down hard on. The only thing that will stop Jane from stealing is being behind bars. This is her full time job.

Jane is not alone. Across the country and in every city, there are shoplifters that are targeting your stores that do this for a living. They steal full time instead of getting a job. As Loss Prevention professionals, these are the cases that deserve prosecution to the fullest extent allowed by law.

So the next time you’re dealing with a shoplifter, take the extra step and see what you can’t uncover from their online footprint. You may be surprised at what you find!

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, employee background checks, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Workshop, Perpetual Inventory, prevent shrinkage, racial profiling, Retail Anti Theft Devices, shoplifting statistics

STEP NINE

August 2, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

It’s a normal day at the office. I’m working on a few cases and an email comes across from a manager at one of my stores. There’s not much to it; just says “John” called the store looking for you, here’s his number. Curious to who John is, I immediately give him a call. In my mind I’m thinking it could be a detective, or an Assistant District Attorney maybe.

Two rings and John answers with a very chipper, “Hello!” I tell him who I am and that I am returning his phone call. John was very vague. He said he wanted to tell me something, but really wanted to do this face to face. I had no earthly idea who this guy was and asked if we had ever met. He said no and after a bit of coercing, John tells me that it involves shoplifting and that he really wants to speak with me in person. I agree to have him come to the store the next day.

Not knowing what I may encounter, I asked a Sheriff’s Deputy friend of mine to be in the store, just in case. Turns out I didn’t need him, though. I finally met John the next afternoon. He gave me a hearty handshake, looked me directly in the eyes and thanked me for meeting with him. What happened over the next 40 minutes is something I’ll never forget in my entire life.

John is in his mid-thirties. On the outside, he’s an unassuming guy. Clean cut, well dressed and well spoken. Once the door was closed, he took a deep breath and told me that he was a recovering heroin addict and that he had stolen from my store in the past. See, John has been clean for 19 months and part of his treatment is to make amends for the wrongs he’s done.

I was interested in John’s story and how he cleaned himself up. As with any addict, he had to hit rock bottom. The final straw was living in a trailer, with no plumbing with 15 other addicts. John told me that using the restroom consisted of sharing a bucket. One evening he passed out after shooting up and woke up with both hands in that bucket. That was it for him. He went home and asked for help. 19 months later, he is clean, working and starting to support himself again. Those of you that have experienced what heroin can do to a person should realize just how much of an accomplishment this is. Most people don’t or can’t get clean.

Heroin is an epidemic that is destroying our neighborhoods. It is prevalence and ease of access is making a prolific comeback across the country. A good majority of addicts turn to shoplifting to help fuel their addiction. John was of those.

John told me that it started by making returns for other users of stolen goods. They’d get a gift card and run it to a pawn shop for quick cash. As time went on, John worked up the courage to steal. The very first thing he took from my store was a pair of shoes. “Stealing itself is an addiction as bad as the heroin” he recalled. From there he moved on to clothing and other high dollar items. He even would take orders for other dealers. He could trade items or gift cards for the heroin. This went on for months. He was never caught.

He reached into his top pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He handed it to me and it was a list of everything that he could remember taking from the store, along with its approximate value; Nearly $8,000. John again looked me in the eye and said, “I’m going to pay you back every penny that I took from you.”

Speechless I stared blankly for a second. Never in my career have I been faced with something that has truly touched me in such a way. I felt inspired by his story. If this guy can get his life together and make things right, then any little problem I was having that week just seemed so insignificant. I had to stress that he was under no legal obligation to pay us, but he insisted. The feeling of a weight being lifted off of your chest was how he described finally coming into the store and having this conversation. For him, this put him one step closer to completing his treatment, and ultimately getting his life completely back. While I don’t often have a soft spot for shoplifters, John, for me is something more than that. He’s a person and he’s helped me understand how I can be more effective in protecting my company from loss while also understanding that the people that I come into contact with all have their own set of demons.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft tags, EAS Devices, employee background checks, Employee Theft, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Training, Loss Prevention Workshop, Prevent Shoplifting, prevent shrinkage, Retail Anti Theft Devices, security

You Are Losing More Money Than You Realize

June 30, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Yep, you probably are! The shoplifter that walked out the door with your $45 item cost you MORE actual money than $45!

Many Retailers do not understand the actual impact of theft. For example:

You experience a $45 loss (shoplifting, employee theft, vendor fraud…). Is that $45 the total impact on the bottom line? Nope, you actually lost $2,250.00 in real money.

For your organization to simply recover or break even on a $45 loss, you would have to sell an additional $2,250.00 to break even! ($45.00 divided by .02% profit margin). This is on top of your normal sales.

WOW, how many more items are you going to have to order, receive, count, mark, prepare paperwork for, stock, and finally sell just to produce these extra sales? Theft/Shrinkage really cannot be recovered from because you should have had those sales to begin with.

Add to that the loss of sales because the stolen item was not available for sale to a legitimate customer.

You then begin to understand why one third of U.S. business failures are blamed on theft.

The obvious solution is to prevent the theft (we can help with that), errors and abuse that cause loss in the first place.

Loss vs. Sales

So if we assume for a moment that your company has a 2% bottom line net profit margin. Two percent is considered an overall retail normal margin. Yours may be higher/lower. The net profit is your final profit after all expenses such as payroll, payment to vendors, rent, taxes, utilities….

The chart below shows the sales required to replace losses due to theft:

AMOUNT OF LOSS 2% PROFIT MARGIN SALES

NEEDED TO REPLACE LOSSES

$100 $ 5,000

$500 $ 25,000

$ 2,500 $ 125,000

$ 5,000 $ 250,000

$ 7,500 $ 375,000

$10,000 $ 500,000

$12,500 $ 625,000

$15,000 $ 750,000

$17,500 $ 875,000

$20,000 $1,000,000

Inventory shrinkage cancels millions of dollars in sales. That means all of your hard work for an entire year can be wiped out by a single loss. Loss Prevention Systems can fix your shoplifting problems!

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, employee background checks, Employee Theft, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Workshop, mobile POS loss prevention, retail security and monitoring, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

HOW SHOPLIFTERS CAN DECREASE THE VALUE OF YOUR BRAND

June 30, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

I’m sure you’ve already read how shoplifters cost you money. It’s probably hard to digest the dire financial implications that shoplifters have on all of our businesses. Without adequate controls in place, you are putting your business and your financial well-being at risk, and honestly, you just can’t do that. That’s why we have to have a camera system and why EAS systems are a necessity and not just a “nice to have” technology. That’s exactly why we have to invest in exception reporting tools to help us identify criminal activity and why we preach the value of exceptional customer service in our stores.

Value. Your customers shop with you because you provide them with value. They could shop at 12 other stores and some of them might even be more competitively priced than you, but there’s something that draws them into your store. That’s the value of your brand. Retailers have a following just like any band, performer or Hollywood movie start. Believe it or not, you have fans, some of which will refuse to shop anywhere else. Ever stop to think what it is about your store that causes this? There could be several reasons, really. In my personal experience (I have a few stores that I exclusively shop at for different needs). All have a few things in common.

In stock position is number one on my list. If I am going shopping, I normally know exactly what I want. I don’t spend a lot of time browsing and normally don’t need a whole lot of help from a store employee. I simply expect that the item I want be available for me to grab and go. Having available inventory for your customer is key component to your success.

If you’re constantly targeted by shoplifters and dishonest employees, those in demand items may not always be available for your legitimate customers. How many times have you walked a customer out the door because you didn’t have the thing they were looking for, even though you do stock that particular item? More times than you care to admit, I’m sure. So not only did you lose the item to theft, you’ve lost the sale to the customer as well. If that happens enough times to enough customers, you’ll be known as the retailer that “never has what I need in stock”.

Customer engagement is another factor I consider. I don’t often ask for help, but when I do. I expect an employee to be readily accessible, close by, knowledgeable and friendly. I also want to know that the employee is aware that I am in their area and available to help should I need it. This makes me feel that my business is wanted and appreciated.

Shoplifters will target stores that they know they can operate in with impunity. Those are the stores where employees ignore customers (you know the stores I’m talking about here). If a thief knows you are not paying attention, they will rob you blind and then come back for seconds. Customer service is one of the best methods to deter a criminal.

As a retailer, you have to offer value to your customers. You definitely can’t do that if your employees don’t engage your shopper, you don’t have the item in stock and your prices are out in left field compared with your competitor. Setting yourself apart from the competition is what drives business into your store and will keep you in business. As retailers and small business owners, remember that your brand carries value. Whether it’s a positive or negative value rest solely on your shoulders and has a direct effect on how your approach shrink and external theft.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, Background checks, EAS Devices, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Seminar, prevent shrinkage, Retail Anti Theft Devices, security devices, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

EXACTLY HOW DO YOU LOSE MONEY TO CREDIT CARD FRAUD

June 30, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

You have (or I hope you have) read the last article on preventing check fraud. It’s a great way to protect your business from a different avenue of fraud. Another, much more popular and prevalent scheme is credit card fraud. The United States lags far behind the other major countries in the fight against credit card fraud. We’ve only just begun adopting chip and pin technology and it will be several more years before we see magnetic strips become a relic of the past. So exactly how can you identify and prevent a fraudulent change from happening in your store and how exactly do you lose money on these transactions?

Credit card fraud is the one of the biggest, single fraud scheme affect my stores. While the criminals evolve their tactics quite often, there are some general rules you can follow to identify possible fraudulent transactions.

Large Dollar Gift Card Purchases| Normally, a legitimate customer will not purchase 3 $500 in back-to-back transactions with 8 different credit cards. This is a red flag and should involve management immediately.
Multiple Transactions with Multiple Credit Cards| This is another red flag that could help you identify criminal activity. The average American owns about 3 credit cards. If you have an individual using 5-8 credit cards to make several big ticket purchases, then you’re probably dealing with some fraud.
The Credit Card Lacks the Eagle Hologram|Holograms are hard to fake (although I’ve seen some really good ones). Often, the counterfeiters will skip over this step, so I always look for the eagle.
Typos| Since a lot of counterfeit cards come from manufacturers overseas, every now and then, you can spot a typo on the bank’s name, or even the credit card company (I’ve personally seen “MasterCard” about a dozen times.)
Verify ID on all purchases over $X. Now this one is tricky. About 3 years ago, this was an easy, sure fire way to spot a fraudster, as the ID and the card name would not match. Over the past 18 months, we have seen these groups become highly sophisticated in this area. They will now very often, imprint the actual name of the criminal on the card. They also imprint the card with an account number that is not the account number that is embedded in the magnetic strip, which makes identifying the card as fake at the point of sale almost impossible.

So now you have a few best practices to use in your fight against credit card theft, but you may still be asking yourself, “Why should I care? Then bank covers the loss to the customer anyway.” While that statement is absolutely true, the banks will then issue a “charge-back” to the retailer that accepted the fraudulent purchase. This means you can be out thousands upon thousands of dollars if you’re not proactive in your approach to identify and prevent fraudulent credit card purchases in your store.

Essentially, what that means is the criminal impacts two people; the customer that is a victim of identity theft and the retailer that must then cover the cost of the transaction. For a large corporation, it may not be a big deal to dole out tens of thousands of dollars per month in chargebacks, but to a small business owner, even a few hundred could make the difference between being in the red, or black.

My best advice to you is that you follow the guidelines above and update your POS systems to accept the new chip and pin technology. Hopefully, in the coming years as the old tech is phased out and the more secure chip technology takes over, brick and mortar credit card fraud will be a distant memory. (Online fraud, however will take center stage… but I’ll save that for next time.)

HOW SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS CAN PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM CHECK FRAUD

June 30, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

You know, we talk about the thousands of ways you, the small business owner, loses money to thieves constantly. Most of that is centered on shoplifters and boosters stealing your merchandise. We talk about that for good reason… it’s one of the biggest financial impacts to your business if left unchecked. However, there are so many other ways that your business can be targeted by criminals and some of them may appear so legitimate, that you would have no idea you were a victim for weeks. In that time, the criminal is long gone and you’re left paying for that theft out of your pocket. One area of training that is often overlooked in retail is check fraud. I’ll give you some advice on how to identify this in your store and protect yourself from vulnerability.

I’ve worked in big box retail my entire adult life, mostly at a regional Loss Prevention level. The way large businesses protect themselves against phony checks is through a third party company. By using this company, the retailer in fact takes $0 loss on any fraudulent check purchases, since the 3^rd party company gives the retailer, through a quick scan on the POS, a guarantee on the check that it is accepting. That’s great for billion dollar companies that accept thousands upon thousands of checks each and every day. But what about you?

To protect yourself against counterfeit and fraudulent checks, you have to know what to look for. While technology is helping criminals create and print better looking checks, there are several tell-tale signs that you can look for to stop this from happening to you and your business.

Micro print| Take a really close look at a check if you happen to have one lying around. Pay close attention to your signature line. I bet you’ve never noticed that the line is in fact, not a line at all. It’s actually fine print. Really fine print. Often it says “micro print” or “security” and it is very difficult for a fraudster to recreate. In fact, if you try to copy the check on even a high end scanner and laser printer, it will not come out perfectly. This is absolutely, hands down one of the easiest ways to spot a fake.
Perforation| Pay special attention to perforations on the check if you suspect fraud. The vast majority of personal checks have a perforation at the top, which of course makes it easy for you to remove from your checkbook. Often, a fraudster will copy the checks on laser printers, giving the check a smooth side all around. Business checks will more often than not, have perforations along the left side, so also keep that in mind.
Single Checks| If someone is making a rather large purchase and are paying with a check, take note if that individual has just that one single check, and not an entire book. This can be a strong indicator of fraud. I mean, who just carries around one check?
Back of Check| Pay attention to the back of any check. Did you know that on the opposite side of the endorsement is a little paragraph explaining the security features of that exact check? Imagine that! Use that to your advantage and look for the features to be prevalent on the check. Most checks also have a watermark on the back of the check that is almost impossible to fake.
Out of State checks| You know your customers pretty well. If you are a local store and you have someone attempting to spend a great deal of money on high end product with a check from an out of state bank, pay close attention. I’ve dealt with this plenty of times in my career and the easiest thing to do is contact the financial institution on the check. Very often, you’ll find that the financial institution doesn’t even exist!!
Paper Quality| There are two type of phony checks. Ones that are counterfeited from scratch, and those that are actual checks that have been washed in some way. Each one will give you specific clues to the authenticity of the check itself. Washed checks will just look odd. Under the slightest of scrutiny, you should be able to notice that the check has been altered, whether it be an erased line or perhaps you may even still be able to see the original information underneath. Counterfeit checks will usually be printed on paper that’s not of the same quality as a legitimate check. It may feel a little different in your hands, or may be slightly thicker than a normal check.

Now these are just some general guidelines that should help you to identify the majority of check fraud. Since criminals are constantly evolving their tactics, there will never be an “all-inclusive” black and white guide to identifying fraud, following these few steps and using a bit of common sense can help protect your business from falling victim to a forged, counterfeit or otherwise phony check.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, employee background checks, Employee Theft, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Seminars, Periodic inventory, POS ROI, Prevent Shoplifting, prevent shrinkage, racial profiling, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

Increase Your Margins Without Spending Anything

June 7, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Do you REALLY know how to stop shoplifters? I mean, really know? Your Checkpoint System is only half of the strategy. You spent the money, put the labor/time into using labels and tags but after the newness wears off, are you still having more losses than you want?

As a customer of Loss Prevention Systems you have more. Because you bought your system from us and purchase tags/labels from us, we will train you and your staff in any or all of our awesome FREE, LIVE webinars:

Yes, we will conduct these webinars privately for you. As reasonably often as you need. Change in staff, new hires, new supervisor, new manager, refresher training, one person or fifty…. Just call and schedule it.

You see, I believe that the Checkpoint System and Alpha High Theft Solutions equipment is as good as the staff that is handling it. So these webinars are not about how to use the equipment but about how to deter the shoplifters in the first place and what to do when you do catch one. I cover your stores policy (or help you design one), how to approach a suspected shoplifter and deter them, how to handle an alarm from the Checkpoint System, your State’s laws and much more.

My 30 years as an LP professional starting as a Police Officer, Store Investigator, District LP Manager, Regional LP Manager and the Director of LP for two major retailers, give me a vast amount of experience to draw on to help you solve your problems. Think of Loss Prevention Systems as your LP Department. All of that because you are our good customer!

My goal is to reduce YOUR losses. If LPSI can do that, then we are all happy.

So call or email us, get one scheduled before you lose any more merchandise to thieves.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, employee background checks, Employee Theft, loss prevention, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Seminars, Periodic inventory, Prevent Shoplifting, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security and monitoring, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance