Are Background Checks Foolproof?

October 13, 2010 by

Are Background Checks Foolproof?

Short answer is no, background checks are not foolproof, and there are various reasons why they are not.

Identity theft can happen almost anywhere.

There was a manufacturing company that I know of that conducted criminal history checks and social security traces on all its employees after hiring them permanently from a temp to hire agency.  One particular employee who had been on the job several weeks was hired permanently and a background check was conducted.  The social security trace indicated that the employee had a previous residence in a western state, leading to uncovering several serious charges and convictions.  In his current state of residence, the check uncovered an open warrant from the previous state.

After some negotiations with the employer, the state investigative agency came to the workplace and took the employee into custody for extradition to his previous state of residence.  Once the individual was fingerprinted, it was determined that he was not the one that the warrant had been issued for.  It turns out that he was an illegal immigrant and had purchased the identification, a driver’s license and a social security card from a “broker”, who provided such things.

The plant manager told me that he had shown up several weeks later with new ID, but was not hired in spite of being an excellent worker.

The company since has required all its staffing companies to run criminal checks on all contract workers sent to their location.

A company can help ensure that it is getting accurate results in its background checks by providing its background company with accurate identifying information, checking identification carefully, and asking questions of the applicant if any red flags appear.

Remember the best policy is to conduct a criminal check in every jurisdiction where the applicant has lived, worked, or attended school.  Many metropolitan areas include several counties which should also be checked.

Even then, it is possible to miss some information, such as a shoplifting charge that occurred while on vacation.

But just because something might be missed is no reason not to conduct the background check.  Most criminal history will be uncovered through comprehensive background checks.

Want to know more about background checks?  Call 770-426-0547 or click here for information.

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The Evils of Corporate Fraud

October 12, 2010 by Leave a Comment

You want to know about corporate fraud ? Well you have but to look in the direction of one of the biggest scandals of the last decade: Enron. In October of 2001 the company announced a $638 million loss in third-quarter earnings. The next month they publicly admitted to overstating earnings for the past four years by $586 million. As a result the company’s stock plummeted costing thousands of employees their jobs, retirement savings, 401K plans, etc. You would think that such a debacle would cause companies to stand up, take notice and put necessary safeguards in place, but in fact statistics indicate that corporate fraud is still on the rise today.

The number of fraud cases between 1998 and 2007 have increased compared to the previous 10 year period. The most common fraud techniques are improper revenue recognition (lying about how much money you made) and overstatement of assets (lying about how much your company is actually worth). The most common motives for this fraud are the need to meet internal/ external earnings expectations, an attempt to hide the company’s financial condition and, my personal favorite, the desire to increase management compensation (ie. I lied so it would look like I was doing a good job and therefore I could justify receiving a raise).

The long-term consequences of corporate fraud are bankruptcy, material assets sales and possibly de-listing from a stock exchange. However, the individual commits this type of crime is motivated to do so by short-term goals. Most CEO’s and CFO’s have their compensation tied to the company’s short-term stock performance so it is in their personal best interest to make things seem brighter than they really are. The fact is that until the boards of directors are held responsible for their actions corporate fraud will persist.

For more information about employee theft or corporate fraud investigation contact us about Corporate Fraud or call 1.770.426.0547

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The Battle against Retail Loss – Atlanta

October 12, 2010 by Leave a Comment

In a perfect world, there would be no such thing as retail loss , shrinkage or theft.  And there would be no need for loss prevention, asset protection, employee theft investigations and security measures.  Businesses would not incur huge losses.  But, unfortunately, theft and loss in the retail environment is very real, and the issues must be dealt with proactively.

Do we live in a world full of thieves?  It would be nice to think that we do not, but there are a few bad apples among us.  There are plenty of people that a business may come in contact with that have every intention of gaining something for nothing – be it shoplifting, employee theft, or vendor fraud.  Who can argue with the possibility of a 100% profit margin?  That temptation alone often overpowers any sense of morals or decency that would encourage an individual not to steal.  This is especially true in tough economic times, as individuals struggle to make ends meet.  The temptation of a quick buck, or acquiring something desirable without spending any money, can often be too great to resist.

Businesses can combat retail loss in a variety of ways.  Training employees to know what to look for in a potential shoplifter is important.  Shoplifters do not want attention – so provide it!  An understanding of organized retail crime (ORC) is also important for managers and loss prevention professionals.  ORC thieves are involved in their own business of acquiring merchandise for resale.  Consider these groups competition, in a sense, except that your business is their supplier.  And you are supplying the merchandise free of charge.

Retail loss is an unfortunate part of doing business, but does not have to be the death of it.

For more information about retail loss or retail shrinkage contact us at retail loss or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta.

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Loss Prevention Investigator and Management Attitudes – Atlanta

October 12, 2010 by

I have been a loss prevention investigator for close to 30 years now. In the course of those years I have conducted over 2300 interviews and interrogations of employees suspected of theft.

There never seems to be a lack of people that feel like they can beat the system. Some do. Most do not, if management is not asleep at the switch. Many times business managers feel like they are “to busy” to consider employee theft. Many are afraid to even approach it. Employee theft is no different than any other business problem. You have to meet it head on and push your way through.

I remember a case where a store manager told me that he didn’t have any staff that would steal “from him”. He had convinced himself that everyone either loved him or were so afraid of him that they would not steal. What made this so incredible is that store paperwork clearly showed that something was really wrong in his refunds.

I conducted an investigation and at the end of two days six employees went to jail for felony theft. They stole through refund fraud, merchandise theft and outright cash theft. The manager who was of the “old school” didn’t last much after that.

My personal opinion is that at any given time one out of ten of your employees are stealing. Most credible studies clearly show that employee theft is higher than that.

But the real issue here is management. If the people in these positions are not qualified, trained or the company does not have enforced policy and procedures in place then there will be inventory shrinkage and theft.

When ever I am giving a talk at a regional or national conference or even for a client I will inevitably have some one come up to me and in an almost challenging fashion say that “I don’t have people that steal working for ME” As I am patiently listening I am thinking how naïve this person is and how long will it be before they need a loss prevention investigator ?

For more information about loss prevention consultants or employee theft contact us at loss prevention investigator or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta

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Clothing Security Are You A Sheep Or A Wolf?

October 12, 2010 by

Remember, the shoplifters are not dumb about clothing security. They know how to steal from you and are good at it. You have to be smarter and in the prevention mode rather than the reactive mode at all times. To get your store and staff in the right position consider the following issues:

Experienced, professional shoplifters will case your store in advance of hitting you. Waiting for them to be in the store and shoplifting puts you behind the curve. These thieves look for employees who are indifferent and clueless. Staff that would rather be on your phone or their cell phone are not really paying attention. For example, are you really paying that good of attention when you are on your cell phone and driving?

Shoplifters are watching to see how your staff handles an EAS clothing security alarm. Do they just wave them through or do they investigate? If one does not occur while they are watching they will make one happen.

Theses thieves will observe your staffing coverage. Do you have enough people to cover the floor? When is the customer to employee ratio the highest? Is there a time when there is only one person covering the floor even if there are not any customers present? Two shoplifters working together can create a distraction while the second one steals.

Another common tactic is for one thief to intentionally trip the EAS clothing security system and while the employee is sorting that out another goes out with the merchandise.

Thieves will also use booster bags. These are shopping bags lined with foil in an attempt to defeat the EAS clothing alarm system.

The key to prevent losses is two fold: Training is paramount! Train all new employees on the EAS clothing alarm system and shoplifting prevention. Retrain employees four times a year to keep the information fresh and to present and discuss issues that have occurred. Do not forget to ask for your staffs input. They may have some great solutions. The second is to keep your EAS clothing alarm system in top operating shape. Is it tuned properly? Are clothing security tags and labels on all products that you specify? Are clothing security tags attached properly? If you are not sure about this yourself contact us we have a great hard tag placement guide we will send you free.

You can either lie down like a sheep and be a victim or you can take proactive and aggressive action that shoplifters will hate but real customers love.

For more information on clothing security or clothing security tags contact us at clothing alarm or call 1.770.426.0547

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Stop shoplifting with security tags on clothes

October 12, 2010 by

Clothing retailers are one of the most susceptible to loss due to shoplifting and can benefit greatly by using security tags on clothes. There are a few benefits to using this type of clothing security.

First, the primary goal is to reduce shoplifting loss.  The less inventory loss a retailer experiences the more profit is realized with the same amount of revenue. Simple math, if a boutique retailer selling $1mil per year with a net profit of 3% and a shrink rate of 3% implements a loss prevention security system with security tags on clothes and cuts losses in half (very realistic if not conservative) the same amount of revenue results in a 4.5% net profit with a 1.5% in shrink.  Significant.

Another benefit to using a clothing security system such as security tags on clothes is that it sends shoplifters away and on to unprotected stores. Less shoplifting activity means less shoplifter traffic that store employees have to deal with as well as less exposure to thievery in action good customers experience while in your store.

Studies show that unprotected stores are 75% more likely to suffer losses due to shoplifting and that shoplifters who succeed one time will come back for more, over and over again.  Even if apprehended shoplifters will return to stores that do not use an EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) system incorporating clothing security tags simply because they are not likely to get caught again.

For more info go to: security tags on clothes 

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Reasons you may want to get help with an employee theft investigation

October 11, 2010 by Leave a Comment

There are reasons why you may want to get help with an employee theft investigation and by help I do not mean calling the police (I’ll get back to that).

When you get an idea you may have a problem with internal theft you likely have a rush of thoughts and feelings about what is happening to you/ your business and maybe even some thoughts about specific employees you feel may be suspect of internal theft. Often times business managers and owners make the fatal mistake of reacting in a way that alerts the thief and allows them to cover tracks and or prepare themselves for accusations.  Sometimes the knee jerk reaction is to point fingers at employees too quickly, those who are innocent.  These reactions can cause some damage to the team and effectiveness of any organization.

Back to the police…calling the police before you have a proper case documented including a written confession can blow your chances of ever getting justice.  Police are simply not trained to be experts at internal theft /  corporate fraud and they are not likely to conduct a corporate fraud investigation or employee theft investigation when they have piles of dangerous criminals committing crimes regularly, missing children to find and so on.  It is simply a matter of not being a priority and I do not mean that in a negative way against law enforcement in any way.

Hiring a professional for your employee theft investigation who knows how to build a rock solid case with proof including getting written confessions is a very smart and cost effective way to get solutions.  And it insulates you from the employees protecting you from creating uncomfortable feelings with your good employees in the process.

To learn more visit: employee theft investigation

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Bad Luck For Shoplifter, Prevent Shoplifting With A Bit Of Humor Attached!

October 11, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Some people should not be allowed out in public unsupervised. This shoplifter is one of them. You have to see the humor in it though. This is a great idea to prevent shoplifting !

Bad luck for shoplifter
(Jun. 24)

A suspected shoplifter who evaded loss prevention officer at a Home Depot in southeast San Diego was apprehended after he ran into a throng of two dozen police officers gathered for a public service event, according to an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The 21-year-old suspect, who was not named in the article, ran out of the store’s parking lot and made a right turn, running in the direction of a gathering of 25 officers, including members of a SWAT team, who had gathered at a school safety event at a YMCA. A radio dispatcher had already alerted the officers, who filed outside, weapons ready, to intercept the suspect.

The merchandise was later recovered in a brown bag, which the suspect discarded along the way.

 

Imagine the look in the shoplifters face when he runs into the SWAT team!
I love it, prevent shoplifting with the SWAT Team and a couple dozen other officers,

For more information contact us at prevent shoplifting or call 1.770.426.0547

 

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One Big Mistake in Employment Screening

October 11, 2010 by

One Big Mistake in Employment Screening

When a company starts doing employment screening, one of the first mistakes made is in deciding what checks to run on employees.  Obviously, an employer doesn’t need to run as extensive a check when hiring an hourly laborer as when employing a CFO.  The mistake that is made is in not spelling out the requirement for each position level, putting it in writing, and makes it a matter of policy.  Having a standard policy for each job level or even each job title makes it a simple matter to apply the checks appropriately, consistently, and fairly.

Employment screening is designed to assure the employer that he is getting the very best candidate available for an open position, but of course each position has different requirements.

For the lower level employee, a credit report or education verification may be unnecessary, while a job reference or criminal record check may be vital.  For a company driver, of course, a Motor Vehicle Record is important, for other jobs, maybe not.

The higher the job level, the more a comprehensive the employment screening process would be expected.

It is important to have the written procedure in place for a number of reasons, the most important of which may be that by applying the employment screening standards consistently and equally, the company has a defense against any allegations of discrimination when applying those standards.  The policy should also be fully compliant with state and federal laws in the application of the background checks.

Don’t conduct your background checks without having a solid plan in place.

To discuss your employment screening program with an expert, click here or call 770-426-0547.

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Conducting Employee Theft Investigations

October 9, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Let’s face it, as much as we may hate to admit it an employee theft investigation is a necessary part of doing business in today’s retail environment. According to the National Retail Security Survey from 2008, managers reported 48.6% of their shrinkage was attributed to employee theft. For those of you, like me, who struggled tooth and nail through high school math that means nearly half of your losses are created by someone you’re paying to be there. So how do we stop it?

First of all you MUST create a concise and easily understood set of rules and regulations. In this, the definition of theft should be clearly explained. These rules must also apply to everyone from the General Manager to the guy/girl who fills the vending machines. There can be no exceptions. It is important that the employee understand that they do have rights, but it is equally as important that the employee realize that you, the employer, have the right to protect your property and your investment from would-be criminals.

Employee theft investigations are extremely sensitive matters and should be handled as such. Preferably a professional, or someone with considerable experience in these matters, should handle the investigation and subsequent interviews. Everyone being interviewed should be reminded of the sensitive nature of the process and in certain cases having the interviewee sign a confidentiality agreement may be a proper course of action.

Once the employee theft investigation is complete and the proper action taken there should be an immediate after action meeting. Why was this opportunity for theft present? What can we do to limit or eliminate future problems of this kind? Remember, a properly conducted employee theft investigation can potentially save your company countless dollars in shrink, but only if done correctly.

For more information contact us about employee theft investigation or call 1.770.426.0547

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