Anti-shoplifting training

Shoplifting Prevention and other News

May 29, 2015 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Preventing or taking measures to prevent a crime is much easier for a company than dealing with the results and the cost associated with dealing with it. Preventing shoplifting deals with a lot of situations that are unique to a particular store or situation, and the measures to dealing with them is different every time. If you are dealing with shoplifting or employee theft, follow the links below for more information about this topic and some measures you can take to prevent theft in your store.

Shoplifting arrests at Eagan Outlet Mall raise question of bias

A majority of those cited or charged with shoplifting at Eagan’s new outlet mall have been people of color.

As soon as developers broke ground at the Twin Cities Premium Outlets in Eagan, police began preparing for an uptick in traffic and activity in the area.

Nearly 85 percent of those arrested or cited in connection with shoplifting calls at Eagan’s new outlet mall were people of color, according to a Star Tribune analysis of nearly 1,000 calls to police in the first eight months the center was open.

The percentage of blacks and other minorities arrested or charged with shoplifting offenses at Eagan’s Twin Cities Premium Outlet was higher than at nearby Burnsville Center, in all of Minneapolis or at a similar outlet mall in Albertville.

6 Low-Tech Ways to Reduce Shoplifting

It’s our instinct to turn to technology first when solving a problem. However, when it comes to preventing theft in your store, low-tech solutions can also be very effective. Using low-cost and free solutions can sometimes even require less employee training and troubleshooting than some high-tech tools.

Here are 6 low-tech ways to prevent theft in your store:

1. Put out the welcome mat. Shoplifters want to be anonymous and make as little contact with store employees as possible. One of the most effective ways to deter shoplifters is to greet every customer that walks into the store. “Don’t just shout “Good morning” over your shoulder, but make eye contact and greet the customer like you are happy to see them,” says Chris McGoey, security expert and founder ofCrime Doctor, a security firm. “Not only is it good customer service, a simple greeting can make potential shoplifters change their mind about stealing from your store because they know you can identify them.”

SHOPLIFTING PREVENTION TIPS

ANDERSON, SC – The City of Anderson Police Department offers the following shoplifting prevention tips. Shoplifting can cost your business thousands of dollars each year. Shoplifters may be any age, sex, economic, or ethnic background. There is no “typical” shoplifter. Often they work in pairs or groups to divert the clerk’s attention while they steal. Certain times of the day when employees are apt to be less alert are critical: Store opening and closing, during the lunch hour, dinner, or shift changes. Shoplifters learn to take advantage of crowded stores during peak hours.Effective prevention begins with an aware and alert staff.

Protective Measures

• Make the shoplifters feel watched. Elevate the cashier’s platform. Install mirrors that enable cashiers and sales people to see over and around displays. Install one-way glass in offices to enable employees to see into the store without being seen from the floor. Install video surveillance cameras.

• Post signs warning against shoplifting. Emphasize that you will prosecute. The best way to discourage shoplifters and keep your business from being tagged as an easy mark is to take a get- tough attitude and prosecute on the first offense.

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Organized Employee Theft

May 29, 2015 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

I seriously try not to be surprised anymore. During any given day, there is no telling what will come across my desk. As an investigator for my company’s Asset Protection department, there are no two days the same. I have two main focuses. One being organized retail theft and the other is employee theft. Ten years in and I haven’t figured out which one I love more. The external cases keep me on my toes, but the employees really do come up with some very clever ways to steal from me. Sometimes the two worlds collide for a case that is truly amazing.

Take one of my stores for example. It was time for their inventory and two days later we get the final numbers. The appliance department shows that it’s in the negative almost $200K. This is impossible. Every piece of equipment delivered to the store gets checked in, so there’s no chance of shipping errors. It’s pretty hard for a customer to stuff a dryer down their pants, so external theft is out. The only other option out there is employee theft. Again though, you would think it would be obvious if an employee was stealing a large bulk item. Unless of course, half the store is in on the theft.

It didn’t take much research after that inventory to find out what was happening. The basic fraud scheme was this. A customer. A legitimate customer would come into the store looking to purchase a new home appliance. After speaking with one of the sales consultants (dishonest employee), the customer would be duped into thinking there is a special clearance item that meets their needs that just happens to be heavily reduced in price. The sales person would then tell the customer that the system was down and that his register was only accepting cash, and that the store was also short on change, so it had to be the exact dollar amount. In all, several steps, but all believable to an honest customer who just thinks they are getting a deal.

Once the sales person would collect the cash (normally about ½ the retail value of the item), they would call an accomplice in the warehouse. A phony pick label would be generated in order for it to be pulled from the warehouse. An AP associate is required to sign off whenever bulk merchandise is loaded, however the majority of this store’s AP staff was unfortunately, in on the scheme. At the end of the night, the cash would be split. For a busy store such as this one, the associates were splitting thousands of dollars a week. This organized employee theft scheme went on, unchecked, for nearly a year.

During our investigation, we found the ring leader of the bunch, who happened to be an AP supervisor for the location. He stated that it happened once for a friend and he saw just how easy it was to make some extra cash on the side. Before he knew it, things had snowballed into a very elaborate, sophisticated and organized scheme. Never before had I prosecuted an employee theft case so large and organized. So organized that the District Attorney charged all involved with Organized Retail Theft, a statute that I had never seen used with employee theft. In total, these 10 or so employees had cost the store nearly $200K in losses. Each one of the employees were found guilty of their charge and due to the dollar values, some of them actually did a few weeks in a state prison.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-thefts devices, employee background checks, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, internal Audit, Loss Prevention Workshop, Periodic inventory, Prevent Shoplifting, Retail Anti Theft Devices, security devices

Warning Signals Of Employee Theft

May 29, 2015 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

As Business Owners we are “hit” with something that we did not or could not see coming. A piece of equipment breaks, a key employee is in an accident and gone for an extended period of time, etc. Many times this also applies to employee theft: We simply did not see it coming.

However, there is a difference with employee theft and the first two examples. Employee theft is usually preceded by warning signals. Many Business Owners and Managers simply do not know what they are or do not see the forest for the trees.

When you look at this list, keep something in mind. One of these things, all by themselves probably mean nothing but in my 35 years of dealing personally with 2300+ employee theft investigations, I have found that most of the time two or more of these factors are present in enough time that a responsible party should have seen the warning signals.

Personal behavior is the key area to watch:

1.Double talk or inconsistencies by an employee who is explaining discrepancies or “errors”.

2.Borrowing, particularly from loan sharks, but also habitual borrowing of any kind.

3.Symptoms of a drug user.

4.Admission of theft from prior employer.

5.Violent temper or other unpleasant behavior, which tends to discourage people from asking questions.

6.Expensive habits such as heavy drinking, drugs, extra-marital affairs.

7.Having more money or spending more than earnings could support:

– Flashes big roll of money

– Buys expensive items–jewelry, car, house, boat

– Has expensive hobby

– Always picks up check at restaurant

– Dresses expensively

8.Disgruntled, dislikes boss or company and complains about being underpaid or overworked.

9.Heavy gambling on horses, cards, numbers, sports, etc.

10.Abnormal fear of, or antagonism toward, security or management personnel.

11.Possession of knife, gun or other weapon.

12.Terrorization of one employee by another.

13.Advocating violence as a way to resolve routine problems.

14.Never takes time off or vacation, comes in during vacation or day off.

15.Concealed family relationships among associates.

16.Chronic employee conversations that cease when management approaches.

17.Employees who never make purchases.

18.Employees who are “wary” of members of management.

19.Constant complainers.

Too often, signals pointing to internal theft, even when noticed, are mistakenly ascribed to chance, error, coincidence, or some other benign circumstance…and the signals are ignored.

Remember, a thief, like a magician, depends on you misinterpreting the obvious…or on his or her ability to confuse you. Don’t be deceived, distracted or misled.

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Take a Bite out of Shoplifting – Literally

May 29, 2015 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Shoplifters are great. Well, not great for business, but great for laughs sometimes. Most of the times, shoplifting incidents are pretty serious business. You’re confronting someone who has just committed a crime. You don’t know their state of mind and you definitely don’t know what they are capable of. I’ve personally been pepper sprayed by a shoplifter as they tried to escape, along with seeing countless managers suffer the same fate. Often suspects immediately want to become physical and more simply will flee the store. Every now and then karma and a little luck is on your side.

I was training a new LP agent last summer in a very active market. It was day four of our training and she had already thrown a half dozen folks in jail. So far, no problems, this particular agent was an attractive young female who didn’t take lip from ANYONE! It was amazing how many shoplifters hit on her… but we’ll save those stories for another time. The clock was ticking away and it was just about time to call it a night when one of our frequent flyers entered the store. I had busted this guy on no less than three previous thefts and he was definitely a runner. I had my new agent begin observation while I contacted the police. At the very least, I was going to charge him with trespassing.

About 15 minutes goes by and like always, the shoplifter starts loading his pants up with electronics. About this time, the police were arriving, so I went outside to inform them of the situation and wait for the thief and my agent to exit the store. Well, she didn’t disappoint. Our thief exits, but completely ignores the agent and takes off running. The next thing I know he’s gone. He’s hiding around the vehicles in the parking lot, but we can’t seem to find him. The officer gets on his loudspeaker and announces that he’s going to let the K-9 unit loose if he doesn’t turn himself in. No answer.

Standing a full 3.5 feet tall and weighing in at about 120 pounds, K-9 Officer Scout is ready for action. This is a game for the pooch and I can tell he’s ready to play. Within seconds of jumping out of the patrol car, he and his handler are on the scent. Like a scene from a movie, out of nowhere, the shoplifter emerges. Only… he doesn’t surrender. In true idiot fashion, he starts sprinting across the parking lot. I don’t care how fast you think you are; you will never outrun a German shepherd whose sole purpose in life is to take you down. And take him down he did. When the handler finally reached the scene the shoplifter had a knife he was trying to stab the K-9 officer with. Not only did this shoplifter go to jail with some pretty serious bite wounds, he also got to feel what 100,000 volts of electricity from a Taser felt like.

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Who is really running my store? A Strong Case for Employee Background Checks

May 29, 2015 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Coming from big box retail, I never realized just how uncommon employee background checks are in terms of smaller businesses, until I worked for one. While it’s standard practice for major retailers to run a pre-employment screening, there are plenty of stores and business out there that simply don’t. This could be a problem. It could be a problem for you, your business, your other employees and your customers. Knowing who you employ shouldn’t be a luxury. It is and should be, a necessity.

One of my first LP jobs was a district manager position for a very small chain of hardware stores. If I recall, they only have about 50 stores. When I first came on, they were building up their LP program and lacked several basic control measures in place. Think EAS, CCTV, exception based reporting and basic physical security measures. Heck, the stores weren’t even equipped with alarm panels. Part of my job was to help build their LP department to better assist the stores in becoming more profitable, assist in inventory reductions as well as limiting a very high turnover rate. After my first couple of weeks, it was clear that in order to help all of those categories, store managers needed to make better hiring decisions and that all starts with a thorough background check.

It didn’t take much convincing and the company eventually found a company to process the screenings for us for a very competitive rate. Part of our new policy was to run the background checks on all of our current store managers. What we found was very disturbing. Out of 50 store managers, nearly 20 of them had extensive criminal records. Records that including prison time, drug and weapons charges, assaults, counterfeiting, forgery, fraud and even murder. These were our store managers! Not surprising, these 20 or so managers all had some of the worst performing stores. Literally, every one of those stores had shrink, turnover and moral issues. Coincidence? I think not.

It took almost two years to fully implement and turnover some of those managers, but eventually the company was able to start with a clean slate. Now, every employee, prior to being offered a position with that company is required to submit to a background check. Anything other than simple misdemeanor traffic violations results in a disqualification of employment. I can tell you that those stores operate more efficiently, there is less shrink and turnover and employee morale high. If your company is not reviewing the backgrounds of your employees, ask yourself, “Who is really running my store?”

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Mystery Shoppers Can Help Your Bottom Line

May 13, 2015 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Brooke wanted to buy a special keepsake to commemorate the birth of a grandchild. She went to a jewelry store in the mall and was planning on spending about $200. There were 2 saleswomen in the store and no other customers. Both of them were having personal conversations on their phones, with one talking about the lack of sales and her concern that she was going to lose her job.

One clerk didn’t acknowledge Brooke, while the other put her finger up in the “just a minute” signal and then turned her back. After looking around for some minutes, and not being waited on, she went to the store next door. Brooke was greeted immediately, helped and spent $250. She repeatedly told the poor service story for months, right up until the store closed.

Everyone has experienced poor customer service in person, on the phone or via a web site, but they probably didn’t complain to the business. When most people are unhappy they show it with their feet and eyes, they’ll leave a store or web site and not return. A customer is 4 times more likely to go to a competitor when the problem is service rather than price or product (Bain & Company).

Obviously, good customer service has a significant impact on the bottom line. A 2% increase in customer retention has the same effect as decreasing costs by 10% (Emmett Murphy & Mark Murphy). Also, it costs about 6 times more to acquire a new customer rather than retaining an existing one. It’s just smart business to try to hang on to them.

One of the ways to evaluate your business’s customer service is to use mystery shoppers. A mystery shopper is an outside person who shops your business (in person, on the phone or via web site), usually purchases a product and evaluates the experience. You set the parameters of the information you want collected — including identifying loss prevention issues.

Mystery shoppers help you determine your problems before they turn into lost revenue. They give you the consumer’s perception of and experience with your customer service, as well as other concerns. It’s an effective way to get real-time feedback. Then, based on the identified problems, you can develop and implement the appropriate corrective procedures and policies.

Smart business owners know the adage that the product gets the customer in the door, but service is what gets her to return. People who contact your business have a need, providing you the opportunity to make a sale. The method of the sale gives you the chance to build positive word of mouth and strong consumer loyalty, which contributes to higher profit margins and a healthy bottom line.

Nicole Abbott is a writer and psycho-therapist with over 20 years of experience in the fields of mental health and addiction. She’s an educator, consultant, lecturer, trainer and facilitator, who has conducted over 200 workshops, trainings, presentations, college classes and seminars.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Seminar, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security and monitoring

Employee Theft and How to Prevent it

May 7, 2015 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Now, research has shown the retail loses more from employee theft every year without knowing how to stop it, than at any other time. Employee theft, shoplifting, credit card fraud, and many other fraudulent practices are plaguing the retail industry without a clear solution to the problem. Local police in many communities across the US are implementing programs to help reduce criminal activities around their communities. To read more about this topic follow the links below.

4 Ways to Protect Your Business Against Employee Fraud and Theft

Q: Which internal accounting controls can help prevent fraud?

A: This is a vast topic covered by countless books and consultants, so let’s narrow it down to employee fraud and theft. Aside from the obvious—conducting regular inventory checks and book audits, reconciling cash daily, and personally reviewing financial statements each month—there are several actions you can take to protect yourself and your business.

1. Establish a code of conduct.

Did you know that Walmart employees are not allowed to accept a bottle of water or cup of coffee from a vendor at a meeting without paying for it? That’s what I mean by a code of conduct. It’s a statement that you will not tolerate unethical or illegal behavior toward anyone—customers, suppliers, employees or the company itself.

While you may not be as strict as Walmart, you should write and post a code of conduct that clearly spells out the rules for employees and the repercussions for not following them. Give the code to everyone upon hire, and periodically thereafter, and require written acknowledgement that they have read, understand and agree to comply with it.

Police: Employee admits to stealing $14,500 from Kohl’s

A Sun Prairie woman admitted to stealing $14,500 from the Madison department store at which she worked, according to a release from Madison police.

Police said Rebecca A. Onstad, 27, said she stole merchandise and faked returns for store credit to support her family during some tough times in the past year.

Onstad worked at Kohl’s at 2602 East Springs Drive.

She was arrested Monday on suspicion of felony theft.

What Smaller Retailers can Learn About Loss Prevention

One of the biggest challenges the UK retail industry currently has to face is shrinkage. While sales are steadily growing – they increased by 3.9 per cent year-on-year in January, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) – stores are still facing losses from the old enemy of theft.

A recent infographic commissioned by SECOM Plc shows shoplifting and more serious retail theft is becoming more and more of a problem. While the number of incidents is falling, their cost to businesses is rising as more valuable items are targeted. In 2014, the cost of crime to the UK retail sector was £603 million, a rise of 18 per cent compared to the year before.

However, this figure does not take into account a number of other factors that have a much greater impact on smaller retailers. Each theft is not equal; stealing an item from one store can cause significant issues, while another might be able to absorb the loss easily.

Many small retailers only employ a handful of people and operate relatively informally, meaning they don’t have many policies in place regarding things like pricing, inventory and employee conduct. It may seem like these things are fairly low priority, but in actual fact having policies like these in place can significantly reduce shrinkage.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, employee background checks, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Prevent Shoplifting, Retail Anti Theft Devices, security devices

What You Need To Know About Background Checks

April 29, 2015 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Many small businesses think twice about hiring a new employee, especially if that business is going through a rough time. The actual cost of hiring a new employee is expensive, and not only because of the salary they will be paying. Recruiting and training alone will be costly, not to mention the time spend for interviewing the possible candidates. Hiring the right candidate can become quite an ordeal, but by doing background checks on an employee before hiring them can save you time and money in the long run.

Class Action: Amazon Violates Federal Law With Employee Background Checks

Amazon.com Inc. and a staffing company that aids the online retailer in its hiring are facing a class action lawsuit, alleging that they have violated federal law because they did not disclose the information found in a background check that was used to deny employment.

Plaintiff Gregory Williams claims in his class action lawsuit filed on Wednesday in Washington state federal court that Amazon and Staff Management Solutions, which is also called SMX, violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Williams claims that he applied for a job with Amazon as a “puller” at one of the online retailer’s distribution centers in November 2013. SMX helps Amazon with hiring at its fulfillment centers primarily in anticipation of seasonal hiring.

As part of the application process, Williams also filled out a form giving SMX the authority “to obtain his consumer report for employment purposes.” That form stated that if anything is found in the background check that could affect his employment that he would be given a copy as well as an explanation of his rights under the FCRA. It also stated that the information can be disputed if the applicant deems that it is inaccurate.

Georgia Background Checks: What you need to know

There are a number of ways for employers to gather information on the background of an applicant for employment. Employers may simply call an applicant’s former employer to confirm the applicant’s dates of employment and title and to try to obtain a more detailed reference from a supervisor. However, more and more frequently, employers are hiring third parties to conduct background checks on applicants who have been offered employment. In addition, depending on the nature of the position, employers are requesting reports about an applicant’s driving record, criminal record, and/or credit history. There are often legal limits on employers obtaining and using this type of information. When employers hire a third party to conduct a background check or obtain reports from outside agencies, such reports are subject to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and state laws. In Georgia, employers must comply with laws concerning criminal background checks and driver’s record information.

Background Check Industry at a Crossroads: Raising Uptime Standards

Why does uptime matter?

In today’s lightning-paced business climate, companies and organizations in virtually every industry are paying more attention than ever to the speed, efficiency and dependability of the systems, software and other support tools that enable them to serve and retain customers and thrive in an increasingly competitive global economy. It’s an era of Google, Amazon and smartphone-enabled instant gratification, and we expect immediate answers to all of our questions and same-day shipment of every conceivable consumer product. And companies’ system availability, or uptime,makes this all possible.

Companies are also under heightened scrutiny from regulators, and from their own internal auditors, to meet stricter accounting and reporting guidelines, to prepare for every possible disaster scenario that could disrupt their business or their customers’ business, and to operate more efficiently in everything they do. Uptime is at the very core of all these concerns.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, Background checks, employee background checks, Employee Theft, loss prevention, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, Prevent Shoplifting, prevent shrinkage, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, surveillance

Background Checks Should be Standard Operating Procedure

April 29, 2015 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

It’s not every day that I bring someone new to my team. I’m a regional Loss Prevention Manager and I manage a very small, but highly motivated and productive team. I need someone to work independently, make good business decisions and get results all with very minimal supervision. I also need someone that is of good moral character and has integrity above all else. Normally, when I have an open position, it will take me weeks to fill. I’m extremely selective and always go with the person that I know will fit into my team the best. So running a background check is one of the first things I do when I have a potential candidate, and it should be something you do as well.

It wasn’t all that long ago when I was looking for a market investigator. The position had been posted for a few weeks and I had already interviewed a group of candidates. I had narrowed it down to three and had to make a hiring decision. They all had tons of experience working investigations, retail operations or law enforcement. I knew who I wanted and made a job offer, which was contingent on the successful completion of a background check. We shook hands and he assured me that his record was clean.

A few days later, my background check company sent the results back to me. I was completely taken back. What seemed like a very qualified, motivated person was a complete fraud. His rap sheet was ¼ mile long and he was recently convicted of several counts of fraud. There was absolutely no way I could bring this person onto my team. Had it not been for a solid background check, this person could have potentially cost me and my company thousands of dollars and untold hours of frustration and heartache. This should be a lesson to any owner out there. It doesn’t matter how clean someone appears to be, how well the interview, or even how great their resume may look, there’s always the potential for skeletons to be hiding just below the surface. Do yourself, and your business a favor and always run a background check on new employees.

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The Truth About Internal Theft

April 29, 2015 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Do you know what small business owners and Loss Prevention professionals have in common? In my career, I have found that there is no other business unit in a retail company more concerned about the financial health of the company than the LP department. Our life goal is to SAVE money, all while finding ways to increase sales and profitability, improve margins and assist in improving operational efficiency. Doesn’t that sound like a savvy business owner to you? Reversely, as a small business owner, you’re plagued by theft. You may also find yourself asking, where is that theft coming from?

If you do some online research, you’ll probably find a ton of sites and quotes that all say internal theft causes more financial damage than external. Well, that’s not entirely true. External theft has steadily been on the rise and causes millions of dollars in loss every year. The same also holds true for internal theft. What these statistics do though, is misrepresent internal theft. Yes, your employees sometimes steal from you, but that doesn’t mean 1 out of every 3 are. What that means is those employees who do engage in theft, are taking you for a LOT more than an average shoplifter. Last year alone, personally, I managed over 650 cases. 540 were shoplifters. The dollar amounts associated with those cases were almost the same in both the internal/external category.

Take this for example. Last year, I was contacted by some inventory control guys regarding a specific electronic device at a store location. We looked at a store inventory report and it showed that this one sku was showing a negative 600 on hand at this location. By investigating transaction records, we found these units had been refunded to the store over a period of time. Further investigation showed that a single cashier had conducted nearly 600 refunds of this particular sku and was able to pocket nearly $65,000 in cash from ghost refunds. It would take a lot of shoplifters to equal that dollar amount, but this was only ONE employee.

What I want owners and managers to understand is the reality of the internal theft problem. Understand that not all of your employees are thieves, but that 1% that will steal from you, will steal over and over again. As an owner, you should have internal control measures in place that limit your exposure to losses, and at the very least, a descent CCTV to review those losses when they are uncovered. While shrink will always be a part of life in retail, you have the power and the tools to make that financial impact as less as humanly possible.

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