Employee theft happens in many different forms. Most of the time we think of blatant merchandise or cash theft as the most prominent issue. One method that is often overlooked yet yields the potential for serious losses are refund fraud.

I worked an employee theft investigation where the culprit was an employee who worked at the refund desk. I noticed several of the same high dollar drill was missing from the store. I ran a report and noticed three of them were refunded in the same day. Suspicious? Very much so.

I reviewed the transactions on our CCTV system and saw the associate ring a refund without any merchandise present for the same customer in three separate transactions. Well now I know where that loss went! Because there wasn’t any actual product being returned, our inventory was now short the three drills.

While continuing the employee theft investigation, I noticed that this scenario happened several times with several different items. This case of employee theft quickly had reached the thousands of dollars mark.

Once the employee theft investigation had been concluded, we spoke to the employee. She stated that it was easy for her to do because no one ever looked at her returns. This was against our company’s policy to prevent employee theft. All high dollar returns were to be verified by a manager. Due diligence would have prevented these losses from occurring.

Most companies have policies in place for a reason. If they don’t have a policy, make one. Watchful eyes are the best way to keep employees honest. Don’t give them the opportunity, and they will be less likely to try to cheat the systems you have in place.

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

According to most retail sources, Internal theft still accounts for over 40% of retail shrink losses. This beats out the losses incurred by shoplifters, which is only around 30%. When I talk to my managers and employees on the floor, they generally think of shoplifters as the biggest cause of losses. Sometimes it’s hard to educate them that statistically it is the other way around.

I think there are a few reasons why most of the associates don’t truly understand the scope of internal theft. The first is that catching a shoplifter attracts a lot of attention inside the store. You need witnesses that are generally store employees. Everyone seems to take note when LP comes back in with a shoplifter. Then the police cruiser outside the store makes an even bigger impression. I have always said that catching shoplifters are great PR for the LP department.

Internals are different. Employee theft investigations are always covert. No one inside the store is aware of what is going on until it’s time for the interview. Due to privacy concerns, even after an employee is terminated for internal theft, very few people are aware. Inquisitions are generally met with a blanket statement like “ Yes, so and so is not with the company any more”. It could be the biggest case ever, and a $20 shoplifter would still create more buzz in the store.

The other reason is that people still expect the best of each other. No one really wants to believe that a co-worker they see every day, or chat with in the break room could be guilty of internal theft. While employee theft investigations are constantly being initiated, respect for the employee’s reputation is also held in a high regard. Guilty until proven innocent is crucial to a successful and respectable investigation.

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