It’s The Little Things – Employee Theft

There is a growing trend among many small businesses and low volume stores that is a “little” concerning. It is the theft of small cash wrap items caused by employee theft.

As an investigator, I am usually tasked with an employee theft investigation only when large or repetitive cash shortages or merchandise discrepancies appear. It is not very common to look at small dollar internal theft cases.

What we are seeing, though, is that many employees are taking small items at the register such as a pack of gum or a candy bar. Sometimes it might be a drink from the store’s coolers. Often, the employee simply forgets to have someone ring those purchases because they were distracted after taking the item.

Most of these employees are cashiers, so they are close to these items throughout the course of their normal shift. They take the items while they are on the clock, which is why they get distracted easily when a customer comes up to pay, or the manager is busy elsewhere in the store.

It might only happen once, or it might be a few times before this employee realizes that no one caught his or her mistake. No one noticed that the pack of gum or soda was never paid for. It is in that moment that the employee will continue to take those items because they know that no one is watching.

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

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