loss prevention

Are You Letting Your Employees Steal From You?

July 14, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

Employee theft is one of the most difficult issues a business owner faces. An employee is 15 times more likely than a non-employee to steal from an employer and they are responsible for approximately 44% of business’s theft losses (National Federation of Independent Business). And yet it’s one of the problems owners and managers are least likely to address.

However, the denial method of management doesn’t work causing nearly a 1/3 of businesses to fail due to employee fraud (U.S. Department of Commerce). There are many reasons why owners are resistant to addressing the problem of employee theft. Three of these reasons are centered in the owner’s personal beliefs.

I’m a good guy – Some managers simply refuse to consider the idea that their employees would steal from them. They believe “I’m a good guy, so my people will never steal from me”. They misinterpret the issue of employee theft as a personal issue, a referendum on their character, rather than the personnel, business and legal issue that it is.

It’s not that much – Many loss prevention specialists, accountants and business analysts are aware of the open “secret” in many small businesses. Some owners and managers know and don’t care that their employees are stealing. They think, but don’t actually know, the loss is a small amount and for a variety of poorly thought out reasons believe it’s “not worth dealing with”.

There’s nothing I can do about it – These owners or managers don’t want the responsibilities of their jobs. They develop beliefs which permit them, in their minds, to not be held accountable for their managerial duties. For example, they have convinced themselves thatit’s impossible to find good quality workers, so employee theft happens all the time and everyone does it. In this rationalization, there’s nothing the manager can do, so he’s justified in doing nothing.

One of the most important components to any comprehensive loss prevention program is management’s commitment to and involvement in it. Many times business owners can be the biggest obstacle to a successful program due to their erroneous personal beliefs. Regrettably, many have found that ignoring the vital issue of employee theft leads to drastic consequences.

Nicole Abbott – writer, educator and psycho-therapist

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha High Theft Solutions, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-thefts devices, Employee Theft, loss prevention, Loss Prevention Seminar, mobile POS loss prevention, retail security and monitoring, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention

Omni Channel Retailing

July 1, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

Omni Channel Retailing is the current long-term direction that retailers are going forth with. It basically is the process of integrating all aspects of a retailer into one accessible unit for customers to shop. This is the current way to combine a brick and mortar location with online sales, social media, distribution, and mobile phone apps. By cohesively allowing customers to shop any location, by any means available, sales are maximized exponentially.

Simply put, a customer can purchase merchandise online, or from their phone by searching your company website. The products available come from your distribution channels, and in stock inventory within any of your stores. A customer has the ability to see what your on hand inventory is, make the appropriate purchase, and then decide how they will get the product. The options are usually pick up in store, deliver to home, or deliver (from the distribution center) to a store of their choice.

Omni Channel Retailing is a viable option, not just for the larger companies with hundreds of selling locations. It is actually a great way for smaller businesses to compete with these big box stores as customers have better access to a wider range of your merchandise, when and where the customer needs it.

Having worked with larger companies just beginning these selling processes, I was able to experience their growing pains first hand. The hardest obstacle to overcome was ensuring the proper on hand inventory, so when a customer placed the order we could quickly fulfill it.

I saw too many unhappy customers place an in store pick up order, show up thirty minutes later, only to find out we didn’t actually have their product in stock. Not only were they put out by the inconvenience of needlessly driving to the store, but also they still had to figure out how to get the merchandise they wanted to buy.

As we progressed with the process, we started taking a better approach to our on hand accuracies. As a result, our sales increased, as did our customer satisfaction. Through Omni Channel Retailing, we were able to reach a whole new customer base and increase our sales in ways we never dreamed we could.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: anti-theft devices, anti-thefts devices, Employee Theft, loss prevention, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, Loss Prevention Workshop, Omni channel retailing, retail security, Shoplifting Prevention

A Victimless Crime?

July 1, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

Shoplifting has always been viewed as a victimless crime. It is one of the reasons why shoplifters justify what they are doing. They view their theft as a crime against a faceless company where no one specifically gets hurt. The majority of these shoplifters would never steal from a friend, or commit another kind of home invasion or burglary. That would be violating a specific person, and much harder to morally justify.

When you work retail, you understand just how far from the truth it really is. Shoplifting is not a victimless crime. Its victims are actually frequent and plentiful, starting with the store owners and employees. These are the ones who have to bear the majority of the effects shoplifting has.

To start with, small business owners often do not have the inventory turns needed to effectively diminish the financial impact of stolen merchandise. Unlike companies with thousands of locations that collectively absorb the financial impact of higher cost of goods and lost sales, small businesses rely on their slim profits from maximizing every dollar spent in their stores.

Employees are the next to feel the pains of shoplifting. Hours can be cut, reducing their personal paychecks. Store maintenance, heating and cooling can also be reduced as finances are moved back into inventory replenishment. The overall morale of a store can be reduced, making for an unpleasant place to work.

Customers are the last to feel the brunt of shoplifting, but they still feel it. They are the ones whose time and patience are wasted looking for items the store should have, but doesn’t. They frequently unload their displeasure onto the employees who already have a reduced morale. Customers start taking their sales elsewhere; shopping at stores they can rely on.

Even though a shoplifting crime does not target a specific person, it is by far not a victimless crime.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, Employee Theft, loss prevention, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Training, Loss Prevention Workshop

The Typical Characteristics of Embezzlers

June 23, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

The crime of embezzlement is on the rise. There are many reasons for why it’s on the increase. One of the reasons is that business owners and managers don’t envision the embezzler as a potential criminal. The average embezzler doesn’t fit the idea of a stereotypical offender, therefore, supervision becomes lax. This leaves people and situations not monitored as well as they should be.

Embezzlers share more characteristics with the general populace than with other criminals. As a result, it’s important for managers and business owners to understand the profile of the average embezzler. Here are their most typical characteristics.

Age –They’re usually older than other criminals, past 30, and they begin their criminal activity at a much later age. Those who’re classified as major embezzlers often begin in their early 40s. (2011 Marquet Report on Embezzlement).

Family situation – Most are married with traditional family situations. They usually come from intact and stable families of origin.

Education – As a rule, they have higher levels of education than the average criminal.

Race – The majority of perpetrators are white.

Employment/Criminal History – Nearly all of them are first-time offenders with clean employment histories. Over 80% have never been charged with a crime or terminated from a job. (2012 Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Report)

Job Responsibility – It’s estimated that professional and managerial staff commit 40%, clerical, bookkeepers and other employees commit 40% and senior officers and owners commit 20% of embezzlements.

The size of the loss is frequently related to the position the perpetrator holds. The median loss committed by owners/executives is $573,000, by managers $180,000 and by employees $60,000. (2012 Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Report)

Gender – Until recently 70% of embezzlers were older males who’d attained a position of trust and authority, which provided the chance to commit the crime. But, with more women reaching positions of authority and responsibility, the percentage of female embezzlers has increased to 64% in the last several years. However, men on average steal significantly more than women. (2011 Marquet Report on Embezzlement).

Psychological Issues – Embezzlers usually don’t have an antisocial personality, which is much more common in other criminals. However, they do have mental health issues, most notably gambling problems (30%) and depression and/or anxiety, which may be as high as 80%.

It’s human nature to trust those who we perceive as being like us. Unfortunately, there’ll always be people who’ll take advantage of human nature. Managers can better protect their businesses by educating themselves about the typical characteristics of embezzlers.

Nicole Abbott – writer, educator and psycho-therapist

What are your Loss Prevention Priorities for this year?

June 4, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

The workforce in any retail store has to be aware of the policies and procedures that a company or retail store has to deterred shoplifting, and the steps to take when encountering a shoplifting incident. Your management team has to be the most knowledgeable about what to do and how to proceed during such incidents and the steps necessary to take to make certain the safety of the employees are not jeopardized. Shrinkage due to employee theft is very prevalent in retail and the amount they shoplift surpasses that of the amateur shoplifter, being aware of what is going on in your store can lead to less shrinkage and more profits for your store.

Read more news about shoplifting by following the links below.

Retail loss prevention team priorities for 2014

The challenges facing today’s retail loss prevention teams are increasingly complex and serious, from cyber security to active shooter to workforce training, compliance issues and – unfortunately – even armed gunmen inside stores or shopping malls. And with NRF’s annual Loss Prevention Conference and EXPO coming up in June, we wanted to know what’s top of mind for retail LP professionals. We asked a few of our LP Advisory Council members to weigh in on what their top priorities are for 2014. Three different retailers, three different answers. But in our unofficial small survey, we found one common theme — people.

Retailer Keeps Loss Prevention Low and Customer Satisfaction High with DigitalPersona Fingerprint Solution

DigitalPersona, Inc., a trusted partner for biometric identity verification solutions, today announced that New Look, a leading China fashion retailer, has selected a Point-of-Sale (POS) system enabled with DigitalPersona^® fingerprint technology. After a successful trial at six of the retailer’s stores in February 2014, New Look is set to expand their use of biometrics in 16 of its stores by the end of 2014 — with longer-range plans to equip 100 stores by 2017. The retailer initially selected biometric technology as an alternative to passwords for improving time and attendance accuracy, but found it also enhances loss prevention and customer service.

Stupid Criminal: Doomed robbery

Today’s Stupid Criminals were doomed from the beginning.

You would think if you are going to rob a store, you might want to first look into what that store sells.

Well these Stupid Criminals thought it would be a good idea to rob this store in Dallas, Texas but you see that wasn’t the smartest idea.

Why?

Because what does the store sell? Surveillance cameras of course.

The owner of the security business supply store caught both the criminals on no less than 17 cameras.

Now the robbers did have plenty of warning before they tried to rob the store. There were at least four signs outside the store that told them they were being recorded.

They were able to get away with $10,000 worth of equipment.

No word yet if they’ve been caught.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, EAS Devices, Employee Theft, loss prevention, Loss Prevention Seminar, Periodic inventory, Perpetual Inventory, Shoplifting Prevention

Narcissistic Behaviors

June 2, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

Employee theft is probably one of the hardest forms of theft to detect and resolve. The problem is that these employees have an advantage over you. They know your systems, they know who is observant, and they know when the best times to steal are. Employees also have access to different processes and assets that shoplifters do not have.

An employee who is embezzling money, instead of stealing merchandise, typically will not show indicators that would make you initially suspicious. What we have found over years of investigations and interviews is that these employees do show other behavioral patterns. When combined with certain access to accounts, billing, and cash processing, the behavior should be a red flag to their employers.

The first warning sign is the employee displaying any overtly narcissistic behaviors. The textbook definition is that a narcissistic personality is a person who is excessively preoccupied with personal adequacy, power, prestige and vanity, mentally unable to see the destructive damage they are causing to themselves and to others in the process.

Typically these employees will build themselves, their position and their responsibilities up. They withdraw other employee access to their jobs, saying the other employees simply cannot perform the job functions satisfactorily. The other employees are under qualified, and the employee is the only one who can do the job right.

They will then validate and secure their positions by saying they are the only ones who can do their job. What would you do if I left? No one else can do this, I have to be here. They will often change the way processes are done, or have their own filing system. They will do anything they can to simultaneously confuse anyone who attempts to look in on what they are doing, and validate how complicated their job is; in essence creating their own job security.

What they are actually doing is finding ways to keep everyone else out of their paperwork. If they are embezzling, they are siphoning money by creating false invoices or payments, they can be creating write offs, even when a customer pays in full. They can be floating money from one account to another to cover up the cash they are taking.

The solution is to be wary of any employee who is displaying these narcissistic behaviors. They are building themselves up, while pushing blame onto those around them in an attempt to derail you from becoming suspicious of them. Next, make sure you have a check and balance system in place. There should be a standard way to handle all accounting practices. No one should create their own system. This system should also have a periodic audit to ensure compliance and integrity of your books.

Even though it makes more sense financially to hire only one person to do all of your paperwork and accounting, have a second person split the responsibilities. Accounts payable and accounts receivable (sales, receiving, cash management) functions should be split to lessen the likely hood of an employee embezzling money from you.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, Employee Theft, loss prevention, Loss Prevention Workshop, Periodic inventory, retail security and monitoring, Shoplifting Prevention

Is Your Shoplifting Policy Effectual?

May 8, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

Shoplifting affects everyone. Although it is common sense and the statistics about shoplifting are there to prove the severity of this crime, many retailers still fail to implement rigorous anti shoplifting policies that deterred the shoplifter from entering their store. Last year Wal-Mart implemented the policy that its employees not stop shoplifters if the items are $25 or less. Although Wal-Mart’s founder Sam Walton believed that shoplifting was one of the biggest enemies of the retail industry, the policy may just demoralize Wal-Mart’s workforce.

Read more about this and other news about shoplifting.

Jameis Winston suspended from Florida State baseball team over alleged crab leg theft

When Oklahoma State faces defending champion Florida State in the Cowboys’ season opener in August, will FSU have its starting quarterback?

Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston has been suspended from the Florida State baseball team after being issued a civil citation Tuesday for allegedly shoplifting crab legs from a Publix grocery store. The citation was first reported by Tomahawk Nation.

The two-sport superstar is currently the closer for the Seminoles’ No. 6-ranked baseball team.

“As a result of his citation last night, we are suspending Jameis Winston from the baseball team,” Seminole baseball coach Mike Martin said in a statement issued by the university. “I am confident he will complete his community service obligation and the situation will be resolved soon.”

“I fully support Coach Martin’s decision and will also make sure that Jameis meets all obligations, which I know he will,” Jimbo Fisher said in the statement.

Shoplifting suspect charged with faking receipt

WASHINGTON, Pa. (AP) — A retail theft suspect has been jailed and now faces a new charge after a prosecutor says the Pennsylvania man brought a bogus receipt for the merchandise to his preliminary hearing.

The defense attorney for 34-year-old Adam Arena, of Richeyville, could not immediately be reached Thursday for comment on a new charge of records tampering.

According to the (Washington) Observer-Reporter (http://bit.ly/1hgPBG8 ) Washington County Assistant District Attorney Josh Carroll asked police to arrest Arena after he presented the bogus Wal-Mart receipt Tuesday.

Arena was in court on charges he stole $289 worth of video game and electronics equipment from a store in South Strabane Township on March 19.

Arena presented the receipt — which a store employee said was fake — in attempting to claim he paid for the merchandise.

Shoplifting charges dropped against Muslim woman held in Macy’s detention center for hours

NEW YORK (PIX11) – Juweria Khalid said she was a frequent Macy’s shopper, never missed their popular one day sales and this past October was no different, but little did she know how that day would change her life.

Khalid said after she already purchased a bracelet from the jewelry department, she spotted some earrings she also liked. Since she was already headed to the children’s department to shop for her two-year-old and 10-month-old, Khalid decided to pay for all of her items together on the 7th floor.

With her arms were full of bags from previous purchases, Khalid said she placed the earrings in her purse, fully intending she insists, to pay for her items. That’s when she was stopped by Macy’s loss prevention guards.

“I took out the jewelry and said to them I’m not stealing it. I’m going to buy it on the 7th floor. They never listened to me,” said Khalid.

Khalid was taken to the now infamous detention area of Macy’s, which she described to us as nothing short of a jail with bars. The Muslim woman, who wears a hijab, a Muslim head scarf, was forced to remove it.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices, Employee Theft, loss prevention, Loss Prevention Seminar

Discourage Shoplifters With Good Customer Service!

April 22, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

When shoplifters steal items from a store, it is not only a loss of the capital used to buy the item but the potential earnings from the sale of said item are lost as well. In addition to the hassle caused, the lost income can force business owners to increase prices all around if the problem becomes rampant; the money needs to be made up somewhere and usually it is passed on to the customers in the end. Luckily, there are easy ways to prevent shoplifting when everyone who works at the store is on the same page.

A shoplifter’s worst nightmare is being recognizable. That is why they usually try to stay under the radar and remain out of the way of store clerks and salespeople. Therefore, one of the best ways to deter potential shoplifters is through stellar customer service; by being visible to all customers, you will give the impression that you know what is going on in your surroundings. By promptly greeting each and every customer that enters your store, you will make it known that you are aware of their presence.

However, it is important not to hover over customers as to make them feel like you are overly suspicious; innocent customers will be annoyed whilst seasoned shoplifters may be provoked to find a way to steal just in spite of you. The best way to go about this is to just be friendly and offer your assistance to everyone; let the customers know you are available and ready to help as soon as you are needed. An added benefit to this method is that real customers will feel even more welcomed in your store and thus are more likely to make a purchase.

Every clerk in the store should prescribe to using great customer service in order for this method to be effective. Seasoned shoplifters often stake out their targets before making a move and so they will wait for a “weak link” among the staff to be working; if everyone delivers the same great service, there will be no weak spot for them to take advantage of.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, loss prevention, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Workshop, mobile POS loss prevention, prevent shrinkage, retail security and monitoring

RETAIL LOSS PREVENTION…WHAT MEASURES WILL HELP YOUR STORE?

October 26, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

There are many ways retail loss prevention can be monitored. Have you ever noticed the back of your debit credit card? (I hope you all have any way!!) There is a strip on the back for your signature. This serves a purpose in that the retailer should check for a signature match on a slip when a purchase is made. If no signature is present, the retailer should ask for identification.

I had an interesting experience not too long ago. My company requested I purchase an item on a company credit card. The card was in a male employee’s name with our company name underneath. I’m female by the way! He was unable to go with me to make the purchase. I marched in Home Depot, bought a $500 dollar item, handed them a credit card, not even remotely resembling a male or the signature and guess what? They said thank you, have a nice day and I left with my purchase! Obviously, this is certainly not a good policy for retail loss prevention .

Credit card fraud is a huge problem in actual retail stores. The retailers have become very relaxed on their credit card acceptance policies. One reason is a retailer is not liable for fraudulent credit card charges. It gives them no incentive to check identities of the user.

The second reason they are so negligent is they want to shorten customer’s time standing in a checkout line. I would much rather stand in line for a few minutes longer and ensure that my credit cards are safe than be in a 5 minute time saving hurry!

Would be credit card thieves contribute to inventory shrinkage through many different avenues. Preventing credit card fraud at your locations is one of the simplest ways to maximize retail loss prevention .

Need help finding other ways to secure your business and increase profit? For more information contact us at retail loss prevention or call 1.770.426.0547

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: loss prevention, Retail Loss prevention

Saving the Profit – Security and Loss Prevention within your business – Atlanta

October 21, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Security and loss prevention are important to businesses. A business owner shouldn’t have to go to extreme measures to protect their own assets, but in today’s world it is a necessary factor in operating a business. Especially if you hope to make a profit.

Retail loss prevention is very important for a business to be successful and maximize profits. Shoplifters are extremely bold, and can take more merchandise at one time than a business may profit in one day. I have apprehended a shoplifter that was in the process of stealing $1100 worth of merchandise at one time. Imagine what several of those thefts could do to your bottom line.

Worse yet, it has been proven that employee theft can cost a business more than an external, or customer theft. This is why a good retail loss prevention program must also include procedures that prevent and deter employee theft. I personally investigated a case that involved eight employees, and a roughly $8000 loss of merchandise. While it was good to shut down the employee theft operation, it is frightening to consider the extent of the loss.

Security and loss prevention can be as simple as having good controls in place to protect your merchandise. Proper training of your employees is also part of a good program. Security and loss prevention have to be a part of your business plan if a business wants to succeed in today’s market.

For more information on security and loss prevention contact us at: retail loss prevention or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: loss prevention, Retail Loss prevention, security and loss prevention