Signals that uncover internal theft Part 5 of 10 – Atlanta Georgia

November 8, 2010 by Leave a Comment

These signals will reveal employee theft or internal theft

· Shifting turnover to cheaper products or services by which means the number of sales remains the same but the average sale drops.
· Unexplainably high expenditure patters of one or more members of staff.
· Discovery of offers of your own assortment on notice boards in supermarkets and other places with only a telephone number, whether or not the number of a member of staff. In particular, mobile phone numbers deserve attention.
· Personnel who are always the first to own the newest, dearest and most trendy articles without having purchased this from staff sales.
· Personnel who rebuild their home with materials that the employer sells, without having made use of staff sales.
· The borrowing of company products or tools without proper registration whereby the borrowing may become permanent.
· The lending of goods to employees with a lending ticket without checking that the ticket is not used to take goods every day.
· Personnel wearing clothing made by the employer without having made use of staff sales.
· Unexplainable rises in breakages or losses.
· Higher turnover of items that fall under the heading ‘useful for home’.
· Keeping storage places untidy and dirty despite repeated instructions to make them clean and tidy.
· Employees who voluntarily take upon themselves unpopular tasks such as taking out the rubbish, cleaning after working hours, etc..
· Employees who noticeably frequently find an excuse to “just pop out for a minute” and often carry goods outside.
· Regularly discovering empty packing boxes in the stores in between full boxes, or discovering packing materials in other places.

By now you understand that you must be actively involved when preventing internal theft or employee theft . Prevention is the key. Do not be afraid to look into these situations. That in itself is a prevention technique. Do not wait until it is out of control to have an employee theft investigation conducted. An employee theft investigation is then done if prevention efforts are not successful.

Watch for more parts to come in future blogs!

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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Loss Prevention Consultants hot on the trail of profitability – Atlanta Georgia

November 8, 2010 by

As loss prevention consultants , you wear many hats. In Loss prevention , to be successful at what you do, you need to understand the business you’re working for, the business you are investigating for and the business you are helping make a profit.

Every year retailers go into Black Friday mode. This is the day many retailers give deep discounts in hopes their customers and new customers will shop their stores and bring them back into the “black” on the books. As loss prevention consultants , it is important to know what your role is in helping a store or business get the most out of a day like this.
What do you have to offer? Put on your customer service hat, get out and meet the employees.

As loss prevention consultants some of the most important work that can be done is help increase the employee awareness. The education of all store associates can help any business boost its bottom line profits and keep a company in the black. Knowing where to start can be challenging, but is relatively simple.

Talk about the basics, talk about Shrink. You’d be surprised at the length of time some people, even managers that have been in the retail side of business for years and still don’t really know what Shrink is and or how it happens. Shrink, as it is, is the difference between a physical inventory count and what is actually on the books.

Loss prevention consultants assess all aspects of what affects shrink both positively and negatively. Discussing shrink with store employees can make all the difference.

All in all, loss prevention consultants work to benefit the business. Advising the business owner or store management on the causes of loss and creating an action plan to help defend against it should the direction taken.

For more information visit us at loss prevention consultants or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

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Timeliness of Employee Background Checks

November 8, 2010 by

Timeliness of Employee Background Checks

During the 2010 SHRM Annual Conference, attendees were asked to complete a survey on background screening and employee background checks.  Based on priority ranking, the top three challenges that responders would like to see changed were:

§ Accuracy of data
§ Timeliness of service
§ Cost

Most employers expect the data that they receive from their provider to be accurate and understand the source of the information.

Employers also expect their requests be completed and results returned to them in a timely manner.  But there is sometimes a misunderstanding on why some searches, particularly the criminal background check, may take longer than others.

Each jurisdiction has its own rules and procedures to follow when releasing criminal history information.  They range from being openly available on line to what is known as a “clerk search” court.

In the worst case, a request is submitted to the court, and the clerk checks for a record when there is time.  If a record is found, the submitter is contacted and returns to the courthouse and retrieves the record.  The time line for this can stretch up to two weeks.  Also, because of decreased budgets and personnel furloughs, some court administration offices are running reduced hours and with fewer people.  In most cases, inconsistencies in the return of criminal records is out of the control of the background check company.

Cost of the criminal background check is also somewhat dependent of the court, as access fees and administrative costs vary widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.  Most providers pass these additional fees on the customer, so that the cost of the record retrieval may also be inconsistent.

Your provider will let you know up front if there are any extra fees by providing a listing of the jurisdictions that charge.  Be careful of any provider who charges one price for all criminal history checks.

There is a story of a mechanic who had a sign in his shop stating, “Our work is good, fast, and cheap…  You can pick any two!”

This also applies to employee background checks.

For further information call 770-426-0547 or click here.

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Signals that reveal internal theft Part 4 – Atlanta Georgia

November 5, 2010 by Leave a Comment

These signals can reveal employee theft or internal theft 

· A further point to the two previous points is that the till display is often turned away from the customer or hidden behind advertising material.
· Cashing up at the end of the day shows multiple till openings without demonstrable reason.
· On checking an X or Y till roll, often a 0 strike or the amount of a carrier bag or some other minimal amount can be seen. This may indicate the intention to open the till between sales.
· Between sales openings of a till usually take place at particular times such as coffee, lunch or tea breaks or at times when there are no other people around.
· Surplus cash often indicates the temporary impossibility for the fraudster to take cash that has not been rung up.
· An abnormally high need to change money, or withdrawing more money than is really changed, often has the intention of creaming off the fraudulently created surplus cash.
· A strong rise by one salesperson of the number of sales (increase in bonus) as against their colleagues can mean the sales of extra guarantees or maintenance contracts without the client being aware of it.
· Clients wrongly reporting to the rear door of the premises.
· Storage of stocks at temporary locations, often near the exit or on top of lowered ceilings, for example in toilets.
· Rear doors or side doors which, against the rules, are often found unlocked.

Keep in mind that internal theft and employee theft will never stop on its own. Most employees that steal will only get more comfortable with their theft. An employee theft investigation must be conducted to stop the bleeding. Simply firing the employee will not solve the problem. Where did they learn it? Who else is stealing? Keep in mind that an employee theft investigation is generally a very quick process (usually a day or two). Also employees that are involved in internal theft or employee theft associate with others that do the same.

Watch for more parts to come in future blogs!

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

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The loss prevention investigator working to uncover losses

November 5, 2010 by

Overt or covert, the loss prevention investigator is working to safeguard your assets and boost your profits.

The loss prevention investigator was called into a store in a hard hit area of an inner city. The store has been experiencing heavy losses. The management is pretty certain it’s not customer related, but doesn’t really wanna point fingers at any of his long term employees.

The investigator starts from the beginning. He covertly gathers information on who might be involved, what is being stolen, when was the last time merchandise was lost, where did the merchandise come from and why was the merchandise lost (was it really employee theft?) Answering these questions is gonna take some thorough work, but the answers will be found.

The loss prevention investigator sets up shop in the manager’s office. He interviews management first. Creating a list of merchandise that has been taken and a list of the employees that had access to this merchandise, the investigator narrows his list to 3 or 4 employees.

These 3 or 4 employees become the investigators job. He conducts surveillance, sets up covert CCTV equipment and monitors the activities of these employees while on the clock. After about 1 week, the loss prevention investigator believes he has the suspects narrowed down to one or two employees.

The least likely suspect is interviewed first. The investigator talks about his job with the company and explains what he has been doing over the last week. The employee quickly realizes he has nowhere to run and admits to the investigator that he is involved with the theft. He also admits to the investigator that another employee has been working with him on causing these losses. Because the investigator was diligent and left no stone unturned, he already knew the “other” employee was involved.

For more information visit us at loss prevention investigator or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

 

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Reasons to Conduct Background Checks

November 5, 2010 by

Reasons to Conduct Background Checks

More and more employers are conducting background checks as an integral part of their pre employment screening procedure as shown by numerous studies and reports.  One of the reasons for some of the employers are doing this is because of an unpleasant experience with an employee.  Maybe the employee stole; perhaps the employee fought with a fellow employee or customer; or maybe the employee received a DUI while in the company van, and the employer decided that this type of behavior would never happen at his business again.

Most employment screening includes a criminal background check.  This is the most often requested of the background checks and obviously is done to determine if the individual has had any contact with the judicial system, and if so, how often and how serious was it.

A social security trace is often run to reveal any addresses used by the applicant.  Are there any locations that the candidate might need to explain because he left them off his application?  Why would someone do that?  Perhaps to hide a criminal record or the location of a job he’d rather you not know about.

A motor vehicle record is a must for an employee who will be driving on company business at any time.  Even valid licenses may have severe restrictions and withheld privileges associated with them.  A license that looks valid may also be a counterfeit or suspended.  The candidate sure isn’t going to tell you if it is.

Reference checks, professional licensing, and employment verifications are other relevant areas of background checks that may lead to a clearer picture or the applicant’s past activities.

An employer certainly has the right to make an informed decision in hiring a new employee and thorough pre employment screening helps in making that decision.

As with any policy, apply pre employment screening consistently to all applicants considered for a position with your company.

For more information on employee background checks, call 770-426-0547 or click here to be connected.

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Retail Loss Prevention and EAS

November 4, 2010 by Leave a Comment

There are many sounds that bring a smile to my face, but in the retail loss prevention world none is quite as sweet as the incessant chirp of an EAS sensor as it passes by a security tower. That high-pitched tone means that money, which would have otherwise been lost, will now remain within the store. What exactly is EAS, you may be asking? The acronym stands for Electronic Article Surveillance, and EAS is an important part of retail loss prevention .

EAS includes hard tags or stickers which are placed on different pieces of merchandise either manually once it gets to your store, or during the packaging stage by the manufacturer. These tags need to be removed or deactivated at the point of sale by your cashiers. If they have not been deactivated they will be picked up by the security tower and an alarm will begin to sound.

This obviously makes them a problem for most shoplifters… exactly what you want. Keep in mind that professional, and more experienced shoplifters, are aware of these devices and will go to great lengths to remove them. Many of them will carry small cutting tools just for this reason. I once watched a shoplifter open and remove the stickers from 40 DVD’s and videogames (a process which took over an hour) before walking out of the door with the unpaid merchandise.

You also have to consider your more brazen crooks; the ‘grab and run’ criminals who don’t care whether they set the alarms off or not. For this reason EAS is obviously not a cure-all. However, most shoplifters don’t want to be detected. Why? Well, because they want to be able to come back and steal from you again. EAS can be a very valuable tool in protecting your merchandise from these types of criminals and should be seriously considered when developing your retail loss prevention plan.

For more information contact us: retail loss prevention or call 1.770.426.0547

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Conducting Employee Theft Investigations – Atlanta Georgia

November 3, 2010 by Leave a Comment

When conducting an employee theft investigation it is extremely important to establish proof of wrong-doing and to maintain strict confidentiality during the investigation process. We’ve all seen the television police dramas where the suspect is placed in a dimly lit room and detective so-and-so goes in with little more than a manila envelope and a gut feeling and gets the suspect to break down like a blubbering idiot and confess to every crime they’ve ever committed. Trust me, it doesn’t work like that in the real world.

I once had an ex-friend of an employee call the company and inform us that not only was this employee an habitual drug user, but that he had been stealing money from the registers for months in order to support his habit. I had previously assessed this employee’s character and didn’t find the allegations too far-fetched. Now, I could have dragged him in the office immediately and read him the riot act, but that type of “cowboy investigation” is liable to land your company in hot water and you, the investigator, on the unemployment line. Instead, I enlisted the help of one of my top detectives and, while maintaining strict confidentiality, performed an employee theft investigation using several point-of-sale reports and CCTV recordings to build our case.

Then, and only then, was the employee brought in for questioning. Although he did eventually confess, it really wasn’t necessary. I had already built a case so airtight that David Copperfield would have been hard-pressed to escape it. The entire process took just over 4 days. An employee theft investigation is an essential part of protecting your company’s bottom line, but they must always be conducted in a professional and confidential manner. Remember: Take swift action, obtain irrefutable evidence and maintain confidentiality and your employee theft investigation will be smooth as slippers on a slug. (Yeah, I made that up.)

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

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The benefits of a loss prevention investigator or consultant – Atlanta Georgia

November 3, 2010 by

A loss prevention investigator can help out at your business if you have an issue with employee theft.  Statistics prove that businesses have the potential of losing more merchandise, cash or assets to employee theft than they do by customers who choose to shoplift.  However, when an investigation needs to be conducted involving employees, this can be a time consuming and daunting task.

I investigated an internal theft issue involving the theft of electronics merchandise at a major retailer.  The employees were also under-ringing for each other, which means that whoever was acting as cashier did not ring up all of the merchandise that they put into the sack.  By the time the investigation was complete, I had spent over a month investigating, there were eight involved employees, and the loss was identified at about $8000 by the time the suspects were interviewed and turned over to the police.

Loss prevention consultants are experts in this field of investigations.  Their expertise can be utilized to help you conduct an employee investigation, collect evidence, and do employee interviews. A loss prevention investigator is trained in interview and interrogation techniques geared towards the retail environment.  This is an additional benefit so that a complete case, including the statements of the suspected employee, can be turned over to the police for prosecution if so desired.

If you’d like to take proactive measures to prevent customer theft as well, loss prevention consultants can come into your business and take a look at your sales floor.  They will look for ways to improve your layout, for example, to reduce the opportunity for shoplifting.  They can also recommend various security measures that might be beneficial to your corporation.

For more information contact us: loss prevention consultants or loss prevention investigator or call 1.770.426.0547. Atlanta Georgia

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Outsmart shoplifters with Clothing Security

November 3, 2010 by

The one thing a business owner wants is for his or her merchandise to be secure.  There is no profit in shoplifted merchandise – only expense.  Clothing security is especially important since clothing is easily shoplifted and is needed by everyone.

Business owners must take into consideration what type of clothing security they wish to use.  In order to reduce theft and increase profits, security tags on clothes are a profitable investment.  The sight of clothing security tags alone is a valuable deterrent – that coupled with the risk of activating a clothing alarm can speak volumes to the customer that is considering stealing from your business.

If you search the internet for clothing security tags , there are multiple articles and videos on how to remove security tags on clothes .  However, the reality is that clothing security tags are a deterrent.  It is not likely that the potential shoplifter is going to take the time to try and remove a security device from your merchandise.  There are exceptions to every rule – but usually shoplifters want the quick and easy, vulnerable merchandise.  Taking time to remove clothing security tags can draw attention, and attention is a shoplifter’s worst enemy.

Clothing security is your ticket to higher profits!

For more information on clothing security or security tags on clothes or clothing security tags contact us at clothing security or call 1.770.426.256.

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