Uncategorized — Page 164

Employer Requirements for Background Checks

December 10, 2010 by Staff Editor

Employer Requirements for Background Checks

The FTC and the FCRA give certain responsibilities to the end users of background checks.

There are basically three entities involved in the procurement of background checks. They are

1. The consumer – or the subject of the background check
2. The end user – or the employer requesting the background check
3. The Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) – the company that provides the information on background check

The requirements for the end user are explained in the Act (FCRA), but consist of four basic steps.

1. Disclosure and consent. The disclosure that a consumer report may be obtained for employment purposes. This should be done on a separate document and not included as a part of the employment application. The employee’s or applicant’s written consent must be obtained, and it may be included on the same document as the disclosure.
2. The end user must certify to the CRA that disclosures and consents have been made and obtained from the consumer. Pre-adverse action disclosures will be made if necessary. (See number 3 below.) If requested, further disclosure regarding investigative consumer reports will be provided. The end user will comply with all federal and state Equal Employment Opportunity laws as they pertain to background checks.
3. If the end user contemplates adverse action, either not hiring, not retaining, or not promoting an employee based on information contained in the consumer report, the employer must provide to the applicant a copy of the consumer report provided by the CRA, the FTC’s Summary of Consumer Rights notice, a statement that adverse action is contemplated, and allow a reasonable time for the consumer to submit a dispute to the employer.
4. The Adverse Action Notice to the consumer after adverse action is taken will include the CRA’s name and contact information. A statement will also be included that adverse action (not hiring, retention, promotion) is being taken, that the CRA is not the decision maker and can’t provide a reason for the decision, the consumer has a right to a free copy of the report and that the consumer has the right to dispute the accuracy of the report with the CRA.

It seems odd that the end user should be required to submit both a pre-adverse action and an adverse action notice, but the Act is very clear that both are required. The Act does not define a “reasonable time” to wait after a pre-adverse notice, but many companies specify five days.

For further information on these topics and on background checks, call 770-426-0547 or click here.

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The Corporate Fraud Investigator and the Ponzi Scheme – Atlanta Georgia

December 9, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

As a corporate fraud investigator you may be called upon to investigate any number of criminal and company violations. If you’re like me, or most other law-abiding citizens, most of the tactics and schemes used by these white collar criminals are as foreign to you as Chinese sign language. One such device is the Ponzi scheme; it resurfaced in popularity after it was expertly used by Bernie Madoff, the former stock broker and investment advisor who bilked his clients out of $18 billion and nearly $65 billion in gains.

Every corporate fraud investigator should be familiar with this scheme and how it works. A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment opportunity that pays returns to separate investors from their own money or money paid by other investors, rather than from any actual profit earned. In other words, you invest your money with me believing that I’m investing in a company called Wally’s Widgets. At year’s end you see a sizeable return on your investment and believe that Wally’s Widgets is a great company. In actuality the money you received was from subsequent investors, minus my sizeable fee of course. The problem is that eventually I will run out of investors and the scheme will collapse on itself leaving my investors with a shell company (or companies) and no money.

The term comes from a Charles Ponzi who became known in the early 1920’s for using this scheme. He got a great number of people to invest in his business proposition but soon found himself using their money to pay off earlier investors and to support his own lifestyle. The Ponzi scheme usually entices new investors by offering returns other investments cannot guarantee, in the form of short-term returns that are either abnormally high or unusually consistent. This is just one more thing in a long list that a corporate fraud investigator needs to be aware of.

For more information about internal theft , white collar crime , employee theft or employee theft investigation contact us at corporate fraud investigator or call 1.770.426.0547 Kennesaw Marietta Atlanta Georgia

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Refunds and Internal Theft

December 8, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Refunds and internal theft have the potential to go hand in hand when you’re dealing with a trained crook. Picture this: An employee sells a television set; a week later the same employee rings a return on that television set. Nothing out of the ordinary, right? No, not until you take a closer look at your inventory and discover that you happen to be short 1 television set. Why? There was no return. The employee simply kept a record of the sale (as a lot of commission sales associates are known to do) and when nobody was looking he rang in a return and pocketed the cash that was supposed to go back to the customer. If nobody is paying attention he/ she could rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars this way.

So, how do you prevent internal theft when it comes to refunds? First of all, insist on a merchandise inspection by someone other than the person doing the sale or the return. It’s important to make sure the merchandise isn’t damaged or in some way altered before you put it back in your stockroom anyway, so why not make it mandatory that it is inspected at the time of the return? Ensure that the person doing the inspection knows what to look for. Make sure the item in the box is the correct model/ brand, etc. Many dishonest employees may be working with someone else. They sell their buddy a $120 toaster and 2 days later he returns one he bought from a rummage sale for $4.

You should always keep an eye on all credit documents. Periodically make phone calls to customers who have made returns to ensure they got their return and to inquire whether there was something wrong with the product, etc. It’s good customer service, but more importantly it’s a great way for you to know whether you have a problem with refunds and internal theft .

For more information about employee theft or employee theft investigation contact us at internal theft or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

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Prevent shoplifting and catch the profits – Atlanta Georgia

December 8, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

I am a shoplifter. I want to steal from your business. Just try and stop me!

What are you going to do to prevent me from shoplifting in your business? Billions are lost every year to retail theft. The results of this loss can be seen in every aspect of your business: higher prices, inventory shrinkage, lost profit, even business closure.

Prevent shoplifting by fostering an environment in which your employees enjoy their work and want to prevent theft. By having employees who are committed to good customer service, they can provide that attention that honest customers appreciate and we shoplifters despise.

Another way to prevent shoplifting is to look at your sales floor the way that a shoplifter would. Are there blind corners and secluded areas? Do your employees provide good customer service or do they tend to ignore the shoppers? How about your high theft items – are they in a secure area or in a locked case? At the very least, these types of items need to be located where employees can be nearby.

What is considered a high theft item? A business needs to keep track of its inventory versus its sales of products so that a loss can be identified quickly. Once an item is identified as high theft, then measures can be taken to prevent the theft of that merchandise.

Proper staffing is also a way to prevent shoplifting . If there are only a couple of employees in your business at a given time, and it is a large business…this provides plenty of opportunity for shoplifters like me to be unattended.

You can’t provide one employee for every shopper that comes into your business, but adequate staff can prevent shoplifting as well as provide good service to your customers.

The goal? Scare away us shoplifters and bring in honest customers.

Shoplifting loses, profits win.

For more information contact us: prevent shoplifting or call 1.770.426.256 – Atlanta Georgia

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Five Mistakes Employers May Be Making with Background Checks

December 8, 2010 by Staff Editor

Five Mistakes Employers May Be Making with Background Checks

1. Conducting them in house. Nobody knows their business like you do, but to rely on departments within your organization to conduct in house background checks may be pushing the HR Department or administrator out of their comfort zones. These departments also have their own priorities. There is plenty of information available on potential new hires, but it is best to leave it to an expert to find, interpret, and deliver the information you need.

2. Relying on a “nationwide” commercial database from criminal background checks. Commercial databases are frequently incomplete, not up to date, or have insufficient identification to positively point to a particular individual. There is no nationwide database that contains every jurisdiction in the country and are not done in real time.

3. Paying for an “instant on-line” criminal background check. If any net-based search claims to be instant, the results will be outdated and probably inaccurate. Instant results are purchased by private companies from some government agencies and the information is updated infrequently.

4. Misinterpreting results. Knowing the seriousness or classification of a crime can be a determining factor in whether a candidate is hired or not. Be sure the offense is related to the job before you exclude an otherwise acceptable applicant.

5. Not having a policy on background checks. Businesses should have and follow a written policy defining the nature and scope of the employee background check for each level of employee. Having a policy in place assures fairness and consistency in the application of background checks.

Avoid confusion in implementing your employee background check program by clicking here or calling 770-426-0547.

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An Example of White Collar Crime – Atlanta Georgia

December 7, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

The term “ white collar crime ” is so broad that I figured I’d give you an example I read about recently that will hopefully help you wrap your mind around just how horrible a crime this can really be. For nearly 60 years a non-profit corporation known as The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (or the Claims Conference) has been overseeing German government funds that assist Holocaust survivors.

The FBI recently announced that 6 Claims Conference employees, along with 11 other conspirators, had been charged with a decade-long scheme to defraud the organization and legitimate holocaust victims out of over $42 million.

Here’s how this particular case of white collar crime went down. Driven by crooked Claims Conference employees, former employees and other conspirators recruited people who weren’t eligible for the program to take part in the fraud. To make it appear that applicants were eligible, identification documents were often altered. For example, a birth date was changed to make it appear that applicants were born during or before World War II and fake Nazi persecution stories were often made up. Fraudulent applications were reviewed and approved by corrupt Claims Conference employees. Once the applicants received their money, they kept a portion for themselves but were instructed to pay certain “fees” using the rest. These “fees” were usually paid in the form of cash or money order and always ended up in the pockets of the conspirators.

The FBI’s New York Assistant Director in Charge, Janice Fedarcyk, said that the victims of this scheme were “those who had already suffered at the hands of Nazi persecution only to have their experiences exploited again. This brazen miscarriage of the compensation program is, in its own way, a kind of crime against humanity.” White collar crime is not, as many believe, a victimless crime. Often the least fortunate among us are the ones that suffer the most.

For more information about corporate fraud investigation , employee theft , corporate fraud investigator , internal theft contact us at white collar crime or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

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Popular Salesperson or Employee Theft? – Atlanta Georgia

December 6, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

We’ve all got a popular salesperson in our organization who the public seems to love, but are you sure that this person isn’t a vehicle for employee theft ? As a business owner you thank the heavens when you find a salesperson that seems to identify with your customer base and repeatedly provides great service and drives repeat business. However, you need to keep a watchful eye on these “godsends” as well. Find out what they’re doing that makes them so popular with the customers. You may not always be happy with what you find.

I was once briefly acquainted with a saleswoman who we’ll call Jan. When I say “briefly acquainted” what I really mean is that I fired her for employee theft . Jan was the most popular salesperson I had ever seen; customers would stand around the store for hours waiting for her to be free and able to handle their transactions. I soon found out why being serviced by Jan was in everyone’s best interest. Jan was regularly giving extraordinary discounts to customers in an attempt to gain their business and their loyalty. When she couldn’t find a way to give a deep discount she would simply switch the tickets on the merchandise and make the sale that way.

The business suffered extreme losses as a result of her actions but her commissions were through the roof. Pay close attention to any salesperson that gets constant visits from friends or the same customers. Track their point-of-sale transactions and ensure that they’re actually popular for their outstanding customer service and not because they’re giving away the store underneath your nose. Employee theft is a serious problem in every business and it is often because we place our trust in the wrong individuals.

For more information about employee theft or internal theft contact us at employee theft investigation or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

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Prevent shoplifting in a variety of ways – Atlanta Georgia

December 6, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

A business owner wants to do everything he or she can to prevent shoplifting within their business. Who wants to stand back and watch their products walk out of the doors at the hands of a shoplifter? Only the business owner that does not wish to remain in business very long.

Establishing a loss prevention program is beneficial to boost profits and prevent loss within a business. A program can be broad and can include many levels of security. For example, having high theft items locked up can be part of a loss prevention initiative, as well as having key logs and secure key policies to prevent employee theft. Having secure keys that access locked cases can also prevent a shoplifter from stealing the keys – and then having access to the jackpot of merchandise.

Your employees can also prevent shoplifting by providing good customer service to all customers, including those that may be intending to shoplift. A shoplifter can only shoplift if they do not have the attention of store staff, so teaching employees to provide that attention in the form of customer service will go far to prevent shoplifting . The shoplifter will move on to the next business, the one without knowledgeable staff that know how to prevent theft.

I researched the attempted theft of camcorders at a large retailer, by using CCTV. While the shoplifter was fighting with the package and attempting to remove the merchandise, a manager happened to walk by.

The manager did not see the shoplifter in the nearby aisle, but that is all it took to startle the shoplifter and cause him to abandon the camcorder.

Sometimes, we do not even realize when we prevent shoplifting .

Not every shoplifter is so easily spooked, however. Working with your employees to prevent shoplifting is one way that a business can reduce this form of shrinkage.

For more information contact us: prevent shoplifting or call 1.770.426.256 – Atlanta Georgia

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Bringing in the experts: A Loss prevention investigator for your major cases – Atlanta Georgia

December 6, 2010 by Staff Editor

A few years ago I conducted a large internal theft investigation that ended up involving eight employees and had resulted in a loss of over $8000.

When a business experiences a case as complex as one like that, it can be time consuming and may require the expertise of a loss prevention investigator .

I was able to dedicate the time needed to thoroughly investigate this case, but many smaller businesses may not have the time or the loss prevention knowledge necessary to tackle this type of large theft investigation.

And often, when it comes to employee theft cases, they can be much bigger. Employee theft is the cause of more shrinkage than shoplifters because the dollar amount per instance is usually much higher.

A loss prevention investigator can come into your business and conduct the necessary research to identify the cause of the loss, develop a case, and refer it to the necessary authorities. By employing an expert, successful prosecution can be sought and recovery of the loss, in the form of restitution, can occur.

To prevent the types of theft I mentioned above from occurring in the first place, loss prevention consultants can analyze a business and its security measures and help the business establish a loss prevention program.

Often loss prevention consultants can see problems in security and loss prevention measures that the business owner or managers overlook. By utilizing theft prevention measures, the opportunity for employee theft, as well as shoplifting, can be reduced. The opportunity is what you want to reduce or eliminate.

While it is good to prevent shrink, we also have to be able to react appropriately when shrinkage does occur. Loss prevention consultants as well as a loss prevention investigator are trained experts in the field of shrinkage prevention or shrinkage reaction.

For more information about loss prevention investigator or loss prevention consultants contact us or call 1.770.426.256.

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The Mystery of Employee Background Checks

December 6, 2010 by Staff Editor

The Mystery of Employee Background Checks

Actually, there is no mystery in employee background checks. In fact, background checks help in removing the mystery from a potential employee’s background.

Careful employers use employee background checks as part of a comprehensive screening program. The information compiled by the professional background check company includes information obtained from public record resources as well as information obtained from other sources such as previous employers, friends, credit bureaus, and motor vehicle departments.

The employer may obtain some of this information directly, but more and more employers are outsourcing these tasks to a professional background check company that has developed sources and contacts to obtain information quickly and efficiently, as well as having the expertise to deliver the results in a format that is easy to understand, and is available to interpret and explain the results when necessary.

The professional background check company will also be available to discuss the limitations of employee background checks so there is no unreasonable expectation of the information included. Every background check company is regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act as to what information may or may not be included on an employee background check.

The information contained in the employee background check will help the employer remove the mystery by revealing past behavior of potential employees that may directly relate to the duties and responsibilities of the applicant.

Remove the mystery from your employee background checks by calling 770-426-0547 or click here for more information.

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