Your Store’s Reputation

January 5, 2015 by Leave a Comment

shoplifting4Your store’s reputation is based off of not only customer perceptions, but also how different elements of your community view your store. Beyond your customers, you employees, local law enforcement, criminals, and members of the court system all have a perception of your reputation. How you approach each of these community members plays a big role in how each one interacts with your store.

Customers are probably the easiest to understand. For the most part, they want a clean and safe shopping experience where they are going to get the best value for their money. The value placed on the goods you sell can be either through price reductions, or by offering designer or name brand goods, with stellar employee interaction as part of the shopping experience.

Employees are very similar to customers in their needs. They want a safe and secure place to work. They want to feel valued by their employers. When they see these things, employees are more likely to perform better at their jobs, and take better care of the people entering your store. When employees do not feel safe, secure, or valued, their job performance declines.

Employees are less likely to give good customer service, which can create a decrease in sales over time. It also allows for shoplifters and other criminals greater access to your store’s assets, without the same risk of getting caught. The more these events take place, the lesser of a reputation your store starts to have with the paying customers and your employees.

This can set of a chain reaction where it is now the criminals who favor your store. Your reputation becomes one where it is easy for shoplifters to steal from your store. This reputation will be passed from criminal to criminal and more thefts will begin to happen. The losses will become greater, and more brazen as the risk and fear of being caught diminishes.

Your local police station also has a perception of your store. If you are in a high theft area, but have low case production, they are wondering what is going on in your store. Is your reputation with the local police one of ignorance? Do they think you and your employees are incompetent and unobservant? Or do you maintain a relationship with the local police, and occasionally catch some shoplifters?

When you catch shoplifters, you send a message to your community that you are aware of what is going on in your store, and make efforts to eliminate the criminal element from your premises. Customer’s and employees feel safer and more at ease when they shop. Local police departments are more confident in your store’s level of awareness, as they see more calls and reports being filed from your store.

To maintain your reputation with law enforcement, you also need to show that your cases are reliable when you go to court. A reliable case equates to a stronger reputation for your store within the legal community. When you present shoplifting cases to the prosecuting attorneys and you have solid evidence as proof of who committed which crime, the attorney’s job is much easier. The more often you present solid cases, the better your reputation is within the court system.

Other things you can do to help perpetuate your reputation is to always show up to your given court cases. You should come dressed professionally, and should show up early. This allows you to confer with the attorneys ahead of time, creating a smoother case for everyone involved. You will find that many retailers’ representatives do not show up for court, or do not bring case files or other evidence with them. By doing these things your reputation starts to precede the cases that you bring. Having a consistent history of solid case work and reliability will also filter back into the criminal community, as they can’t plan on your absence to get away with their crimes in court.

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Is Shoplifting Becoming More Violent?

December 30, 2014 by Leave a Comment

shoplifting5The detrimental effect that shoplifting has on profitability in a retail business is monumental. While businesses compete by keeping prices low, shoplifting makes it difficult for those businesses to compete at any level. Retail businesses struggle to survive in any economy, and adding shoplifting issues into their struggle make it almost impossible to be profitable. Spending millions of dollars in security cuts into their profits as well and they do not get rid of shoplifting or employee theft by doing this. All these issues make it impossible for retail stores to offers prices that can be competitive with other stores, or make sense to the consumer. Follow the stories below for more news about shoplifting.

Shoplifters caught on tape fleeing Macy’s

SARASOTA, FLA — Detectives with the Sarasota Police Department are attempting to identify two women who were caught on camera stealing merchandise from Macy’s at Westfield Southgate Mall in Sarasota.

Officers were dispatched to Macy’s on Dec. 20, 2014 in reference to two women shoplifting. The loss prevention officer for the store observed the two women taking items off shelves and concealing them in a purse and other shopping bags. The loss prevention officer called the Sarasota Police Department as soon as he noticed the two women from the office, on camera, all while keeping dispatchers on the phone updated.

When the two women attempted to leave Macy’s, the loss prevention officer asked them to come back into the store and they took off running. No subjects were located but the two women shoplifting were caught on camera. When one of the women started running, she dropped a bag of items worth nearly $1,100.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call Detective Kim Laster at 941-364-7327 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers by calling 941-366-TIPS (8477) or online at www.sarasotacrimestoppers.com

1 suspect still at large after Christmas Eve robbery, assault

Eighteen-year-old Hunter Thompsin Ackerman and 19-year-old Eden Araque were booked into Metro Corrections Monday night after police said they were caught on surveillance video shoplifting at JC Penney.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) — Two of three people wanted in connection with a robbery and beating at the Mall St. Matthews are now behind bars.

Eighteen-year-old Hunter Thompsin Ackerman and 19-year-old Eden Araque were booked into Metro Corrections Monday night after police said they were caught on surveillance video shoplifting at JC Penney.

Police said the trio stole nearly $400 worth of merchandise and assaulted a loss prevention officer when she tried to stop them Dec. 24. According to police records, the employee suffered a broken nose during the assault..

APD reports string of violent shoplifting cases

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —As the holiday shopping season comes to a close, Albuquerque police say they’ve seen a substantial increase in shoplifting cases this December with offenders brandishing deadly weapons.

Officer Tanner Tixier couldn’t provide specific numbers, but says shoplifting cases where an offender threatens a store employee with a weapon have become all too common this holiday season.

“These attacks are becoming more and more prevalent,” Tixier said. During these attacks, Tixier says loss prevention officers who are trained to spot and confront shoplifters are being threatened.

“These criminals have the ability to escalate their violence very rapidly,” Tixier said.

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Conceptualize Dishonesty Using the Fraud Triangle

December 16, 2014 by Leave a Comment

shoplifting7Honest people can have a hard time perceiving and understanding dishonesty in others. Because they have a difficult time conceptualizing it they have a difficult time detecting it. A common lament among managers who have discovered fraud among their employees, vendors and clients is, “I don’t understand how he could do this to me. I had no idea it was happening. I’m just too trusting.”

People too often identify themselves as being trusting, when they’re really being naive. Don’t be naive, protecting your business is vital, many small businesses have been closed due to the fraudulent behavior of their employees, venders or clients. If you don’t want to be taken advantage of it’s important to understand the 3 key factors of the Fraud Triangle.

Before discussing these factors it’s helpful to define fraud, people often have misconceptions about it. According to “Black’s Law Dictionary” fraud is “a generic term, embracing all multifarious means, which human ingenuity can devise, and which are resorted to by one individual to get advantage over another by false suggestions or by suppression of truth, and includes all surprise, trickery, cunning, dissembling, and any unfair way by which another is cheated.”

The 3 factors, which make up the Triangle, are typically present when someone commits fraud. Understanding these elements will help a manager spot dishonesty easier and earlier, because a person who exhibits these thoughts and characteristics is at great risk for deceitfulness.

1. The perceived pressures the person believes they are under.

2. The perceived opportunity the person has to commit fraud.

3. The person’s rationalizations for committing the fraud counter-act their innate integrity.

Here’s an example of how the Fraud Triangle works. Mrs. K has never stolen from her employer and is indigent when others do. She wants to take her immediate family to an expensive reunion. She can’t afford it, but all of her extended family are attending. Mrs. K perceives this as a personal and financial crisis (1st side). She’s the company’s bookkeeper and there are no fiscal controls in place (2nd side). Mrs. K rationalizes that she’ll “only borrow” the money for the trip and then pay it back (3rd side).

She embezzles the money, gets away with it and keeps on stealing. Because usually, once all 3 components are present, when people commit and get away with fraudulent acts they continue the behavior. Also, they may continue behaving dishonestly if they get caught but have no or too few consequences. This is why many managers have found that giving someone “a break” usually backfires on them.

When you understand the Fraud Triangle, and use it as a touchstone for conceptualizing people’s dishonesty, it becomes easier to formulate a defense against deceit. There are many ways to mitigate each of the 3 factors, which can greatly reduce or eliminate the possibility of being taken advantage of. After all, your honesty should be an asset to your business not a liability.

Nicole Abbott – writer, educator and psycho-therapist

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Is Shoplifting More Prevalent During The Holiday Season?

December 11, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (12)Do you know the shoplifting laws in your state? Shoplifting is a crime and many businesses Do prosecute the shoplifter regardless of the amount they stole. Retail businesses and communities across the United States are more vigilant during this time of year due to the number of shoppers and merchandise they have in their stores. If you think you can steal without any repercussion, think again. People that are prosecuted for shoplifting can be charged with misdemeanor theft, and face up to $1,500 fine and six months in jail, although if it is their first offense the fine is usually less. For more news about shoplifting follow the links below.

2 Charged with Shoplifting from Coon Rapids Kohl’s 

Two Anoka County residents are facing charges after allegedly shoplifting from a Coon Rapids Kohl’s and attempting to flee police.

Officers were called to the Kohl’s on the 12700 block of Riverdale Boulevard around 6 p.m. on Black Friday on a report a shoplifting in progress. A loss prevention employee said a woman seemed to be putting merchandise in her purse.

An officer arrived and found a black Ford Taurus driving slowly through the parking lot, which eventually stopped at the front of the store. The suspect woman was then seen leaving the store and getting into the Taurus, according to the criminal complaint.

The officer turned on his squad car’s emergency lights and started issuing commands to the people inside the vehicle, but the driver of the Taurus allegedly continued to try to get away, getting repeatedly blocked by the officer’s squad car before giving up.

The driver of the vehicle was identified as 42-year-old Randal Anthony Daher of Fridley, and the woman was identified as 34-year-old Jennifer Jane Stoffers of Blaine.

The officers said they saw the Kohl’s merchandise in plain sight in the vehicle, the value of which was $594.98.

Norwalk Woman Charged With Shoplifting From Whole Foods

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Police arrested a Norwalk woman on charges of shoplifting from Whole Foods in Fairfield, adding to a growing number of arrests at the grocery store.

Amanda Maxwell, 54, of Westport Avenue, was spotted shoplifting by Whole Foods’ Loss Prevention on closed-circuit television and was stopped in the parking lot of the store at Kings Crossing Shopping Center on Grasmere Avenue, police said.

According to Loss Prevention officials, Maxwell emptied a full cart of food items into reusable plastic bags while shopping near the fish market, police said. She then attempted to leave with $155.46 worth of groceries without paying, according to police.

Great Falls merchants go on guard against shoplifting

Downtown Great Falls’ Amazing Toys owner Dave Campbell said his staff noticed that a $350 Legos set was missing from its perch. They searched the store and found the valuable toy stashed near the front door where a thief planned to retrieve it later.

Dragonfly Dry Goods owner Alison Fried said her staff warmly greets customers, which most shoppers welcome. But some folks, possibly with bad intentions, turn around and walk out the door. She said she has a good camera system inside and outside the store that videotapes 24 hours a day. Fried lets other downtown merchants know who to look for if her store has been hit by a shoplifter.

“We use the team approach,” she said. “We’re a cooperative community downtown.”

“Shrink,” a business concept that includes shoplifting, employee or supplier fraud and administrative errors, cost the retail industry around $42 billion in sales in the United States last year, according to the latest Global Retail Theft Barometer. Worldwide, those factors cost businesses $128 billion.

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Holiday Help

December 5, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (13)The Help Wanted signs, advertisements, and postings are already popping up across the country. Retailers nationwide are starting the process of hiring their holiday help. By hiring them in October and Early November, retailers anticipate that these employees will be trained and ready for the big day after Thanksgiving sales, and throughout the holiday shopping season.

The plus side to hiring temporary help, whether it is during the winter holidays, or the summer garden season, is that the employees are there for the hours and days only when the store actually needs them. Hiring on a seasonal or temporary basis allows the retailers to terminate the employment at the end of the season with little future responsibility in the form of unemployment or severance benefits. This doesn’t mean that it is a one-sided employment relationship.

These temporary jobs are a great solution for people looking to make some extra money to pay for holiday gifts or toys. Teachers who have the summer off can pick up additional work that will not interfere when the school year starts back up. Many temporary workers are hard working, and enjoy the freedom that a temporary position gives them. Other temporary workers do so in the hopes of proving themselves worthy of a permanent position after the season is over.

The downside to hiring temporary help, regardless of time of year, is that many of these employees will not have a sense of ownership or loyalty for the company they are working for. In particular, near the end of their employment these disengaged employees who are about to be let go might try to take a little extra for themselves on their way out the door.

Just as with any other employee theft case where the employee steals because they feel they are owed additional compensation, temporary employees can fall into this same mentality. Perhaps it is because they were not offered a permanent position, or perhaps they feel like they gave up more of their holidays than what they realized they would working these seasonal hours, it is easy for a temporary employee to decide they want more.

With no ownership, a limited time frame of their employments, and a sense of entitlement, many seasonal employees historically end up in employee theft situations. These losses cut into very critical profits, as seasonal/ holiday sales often make or break a store’s financial success for the year. It is also problematic due to the short time frame that these crimes are executed within.

Typically, employees who steal do not want to leave their jobs. They might stay at a particular employer for years, building their safety net and refining their methods. They will usually escalate over a period of time, starting with very small thefts to see what they can get away with. This gives anyone investigating a pattern of shortages discovered over a period of time to look for and follow.

When a seasonal hire decides to steal, they know that they might only have a matter of a few months, or only a few weeks to take all that they can. They might decide to only make one large theft, or multiple small thefts that might not pop up on anyone’s radar. From an investigative standpoint, it is often too late to determine who is causing these shortages. By the time the losses are discovered, or a pattern of theft appears, the employee could have already left their employment.

One of the best ways to prevent these losses is to execute all policies and procedures at 100%, especially during these overly busy times. Any breech of policy is more likely to quickly red flag. Seasonal hires should not be given access to keys, codes, alarms, etc. Leave those to a permanent employee. Finally, conducting mini investigations during the season will help uncover any potential theft risks while they are happening, instead of waiting to find evidence after the fact.

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Is Your Store Equipped To Handle Shoppers and Shoplifters?

December 1, 2014 by Leave a Comment

shoplifting6Loss prevention personnel across the country are busy this holiday season.  Every year, shoplifters take advantage of this time of year to steal millions of dollars in stolen merchandise in the United States, making the retailer to lose profits and consumers like you and me to pay for the stolen goods by paying higher prices.  As a society, the loss of sales tax shoplifters take from communities are harmful to everyone. Read more by following the links below.

Tough penalties for shoplifting

Question: Is shoplifting a serious crime?

Answer: Yes. Every year, during the holiday season, shoplifting becomes a more common occurrence. In Louisiana, shoplifting is considered theft and does not require the item to be removed from the store, as explained by the statute itself.

According to LA R.S. 14:67.10, Theft of goods is the misappropriation or taking of anything of value which is held for sale by a merchant, either without the consent of the merchant to the misappropriation or taking, or by means of fraudulent conduct, practices, or representations. Intent to deprive the merchant permanently of whatever may be the subject of the misappropriation or taking is essential and may be inferred when a person:

•Intentionally conceals, on his person or otherwise, goods held for sale.

•Alters or transfers any price marking reflecting the actual retail price of the goods.

•Transfers goods from one container or package to another or places goods in any container, package, or wrapping in a manner to avoid detection.

•Willfully causes the cash register or other sales recording device to reflect less than the actual retail price of the goods.

•Removes any price marking with the intent to deceive the merchant as to the actual retail price of the goods.

How a Master Shoplifter Stole Thousands of Dollars’ Worth of Merchandise

As long as there have been shops, there have been shoplifters. Some are the grab-and-go types, others work in orchestrated teams, but few can compare to Michael Pollara.

Pollara is a Shakespeare of shoplifting, a maestro in the criminal art.

The 46-year-old has strolled out of hundreds of stores with at least $1 million dollars’ worth of merchandise over the course of his criminal career, according to Florida authorities. Easter Island, China, Africa—Pollara claims to have traveled around the world 25 times, but he says he paid for it all with travel points, not cash from stolen goods.

Pollara would hit toy stores, pharmaceutical stores, department stores, shopping mall specialty stores, just to name a few, according to police. He admitted to police that he worked with many “fences” — a name for criminals who traffic stolen goods, but he also sold some of what he stole on eBay, and he had shoplifting down to a science.

“There’s only five methods,” he said. “Either it’s on you, either, if you’re a female, it’s in the purse, either it’s in a bag or it’s in a shopping cart or it’s in a box.”

Pollara’s favorite shoplifting trick was to empty a box of its contents in a store and then refill the box with many expensive items. He would then purchase the box without the attendants realizing he was actually walking out with stolen merchandise inside the original box.

‘Shakespeare of Shoplifting’ Depicts His Many Retail Store Heists‘

This is a video link.  Follow it by clicking the link above.

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Negative On Hands

December 1, 2014 by Leave a Comment

shoplifting2When you are conducting perpetual inventories, you are constantly assessing your stock levels. By maintaining accurate stock levels, you are ensuring your customers will have access to the merchandise they are looking for. This creates consistent customer service and maximizes your store’s sales potential. Having an accurate on hand inventory also helps you to reduce your cost of goods by eliminating erroneous inventory orders, as well as identifies potential theft issues more readily.

To have an accurate on hand inventory, you need to have a system in place that captures your inventory movement at the SKU level. This system should recognize any time an item comes in or goes out of your store. This should include receipt of product from the vendor, sales, customer returns, returns to vendors, and miscellaneous usage like damages or store use. You should also have a way to manually make inventory adjustments through processes like cycle counts or inventory replenishment audits.

By maintaining these counts and processes, you should be able to look at any given product and know exactly how many of this item you have. This helps you prepare for sales and special promotions, or to satisfy a larger than normal quantity purchase by a customer. Cycle counts are an invaluable tool in ensuring these counts are up to date and accurate.

A cycle count is a manual count done by a store employee to determine if what the store’s computer system says you should have on hand matches with what you actually have on hand. For example, you are preparing an end cap to be filled with “Item A” for an upcoming sale this weekend. Your on hand inventory says you should have 20 of the item, so you go and look to find all 20 pieces. After searching the sales floor, you discover that you can only find 15 pieces. So you take those 15 to the end cap and enter a cycle count adjustment into the computer system to subtract the missing 5 pieces. Your computer now says that you only have 15 pieces, and you have a shortage of five pieces.

After the weekend is over, all of “Item A” was sold. Your inventory tracking system shows that you have -5 on hand. Negative 5? That indicates that you sold more than what you physically had on hand. Hmm. Something is very clearly off.

One very likely possibility is that when the employee was looking to fill the end cap, they did not look in the back stock room to see if there was any merchandise there. During the weekend, another employee found the missing 5 pieces and restocked the end cap for the sale. Because the employee had cycle counted and adjusted the items out of the inventory, a negative was created when the “missing” five pieces were sold.

This is one example of why it is important to maintain an accurate inventory, even when a manual adjustment is made. When the employee made the adjustment, there was the potential to accidentally order more product than what was needed. If the computer system thought that there was less than what you actually had, an order could have been generated to get the stock levels back to where your store should be. Because the product was physically still in the store, you could have been left with extra product that you didn’t need.

Having a negative on hand of an item means that a recount should be made quickly to determine what the error was and have it fixed. Adjusting your inventory back up to the actual stock levels will not create an overage.

This is not extra product that you didn’t have before. Think of it like loosing a five-dollar bill and not knowing where it went. Then the next winter, you pull out your coat, reach into the pocket and find a five-dollar bill. That money did not magically appear. It was your money that you misplaced and later found.

Fixing your negative on hands does not add extra to your inventory, or your bottom line. It fixes your inventory where a shortage was previously created in error.

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Ho Ho Hope Shoplifters Don’t Walk off with Your Merchandise?

December 1, 2014 by Leave a Comment

shoplifting1Shoplifters love this time of year. There are more people in the stores to help conceal their nefarious activities. There is also great new merchandise and a wide selection, plenty of stock in depth helps them also. What can you do?

Many of you are our customers already and have Checkpoint Systems and also utilize Alpha High Theft Solutions’ products. Unlike your unprotected neighbors, you have a serious advantage to control the thieves. The advantage for you is that your neighbors’ unprotected store merchandise is like a magnet to the shoplifters. When presented with equal valued merchandise that is protected by Checkpoint and Alpha or not protected, the shoplifter will certainly go after the unprotected merchandise.

As a Loss Prevention Systems customer who has purchased your system through us, purchases labels or tags or have PM agreements, you are also eligible for ongoing LIVE training. Our “Shoplifting, because LOSS is a four letter word” training will prepare you and your staff to deal with the shoplifter. This training teaches you how to go on the offense with shoplifters while delighting your good customers.

Keep in mind that we suggest that you use this training for existing and new employees. Because it is live we make it interactive.  Therefore it is a great refresher or ideal for a new retail associate. We will conduct these sessions as reasonably often as you need them. Just call us to schedule.

If you are not a Loss Prevention Systems customer and are interested in this training, simply call us for pricing. We will be happy to assist you.

Shoplifting is simply a business problem that we help you deal with utilizing business proven, commercial grade solutions and techniques provided by professionals that know shoplifting. As the founder and CEO of Loss Prevention Systems, I have dealt with shoplifters all the way from apprehending them during my store detective days to the Board room. With a degree in Industrial Security and over 35 years of experience personally, we are there for our customers. LPSI’s commitment goes on long after the sale.
Our shoplifting training covers:
-The law in your state
-Who is the shoplifter?
-How to spot a shoplifter
-How to go on the offense with them while providing a great atmosphere for your good customers
-What to do and not to do, if you have to confront a shoplifter
-And much more.

It is not too late to get on the schedule. Call today!

Have a great and prosperous holiday selling season!

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Prevent Shoplifting During This Holiday Season

November 21, 2014 by Leave a Comment

shoplifting2The security of your retail store during this holiday season is an important part of your business. Shoplifting prevention and employee theft are more critical during this time of year, and having your store prepared for this can be the difference between profits and losses. To read more about this follow the links below.

5 Quick and Low-Tech Tips To Prevent Shoplifting in Your Retail Store

As a small business retailer, it’s not always easy to just throw money at problems like shoplifting and take advantage of all the technology that big box retailers may be privy to. Whether it’s cameras, door scanners, or facial-recognition software, sometimes their big-ticket cost just doesn’t fit with your small business security budget.

But when you recognize facts like shoplifting costing retailers upwards of $13 billion each year, it’s important to identify it as a problem that needs to be dealt with.

So, what’s a boutique owner to do? In this post, I’ll be looking at cost-effective and low-tech tactics that you can start implementing right away.

Let’s dive in.

1. Keep Your Store Organized and Products Well-Placed

How easy should it be to identify whether something has gone “missing” from your store? Empty space on your shelves should be enough of a visual cue to signal something has gone wrong.

Holiday Shopping: More Shoppers, More Theft — Prepare Your Business

The holiday season can be a stressful time for most people, not to mention retailers. With the seasonal shopping season starting earlier and earlier each year, many small businesses are scrambling to order inventory, ensure their shelves are stocked, all the while decorating their storefront in a way that will entice customers to come in and shop local.

While some may complain about the commercialization of the holiday season, there is proof in the “figgy pudding.” According to the National Retail Federation, holiday sales represent approximately 19.2 percent of the retail industry’s annual sales of $3.2 trillion. And that’s not just for the big box stores and e-commerce giants, the upcoming holiday season is extremely important for small business owners. It’s the biggest revenue driver of the year, and can keep a business afloat or sink it. However, the increase in potential shoppers, brings an increase in potential theft. Seasonal shoplifting can be detrimental for small businesses owners, who are trying keep their doors open for another year.

Opiate epidemic

The message, delivered Thursday night to a standing-room-only crowd at the Wood County Educational Service Center, was clear: the opiate epidemic in Ohio, and Wood County, is a community problem.

And the problem must be solved by a community-wide effort.

The Opiate Epidemic Town Hall meeting, presented by the Wood County Opiate Task Force, featured a panel of experts on the subject from a variety of fields.

The issue of opiate addiction has ramped up in Wood County, and nationwide, in recent years. In the U.S., someone dies from an opiate-related overdose every 15 minutes. Some addicts begin with an addiction to prescription painkillers like Oxycontin and Vicodin, obtained legally or illegally, and then move on to heroin – which has become cheaper and easier to obtain.

Heidi Riggs, of the Ohio Attorney General’s Heroin Unit, shared the story of her daughter, Marin, who died in 2012 at age 20 of a heroin overdose. Marin, despite a variety of gifts, dealt with a self-esteem problem that led to her addiction.

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Gambling and Embezzlement – It’s That Time of Year

November 21, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (2)Anyone with a business knows the holidays bring a distinctive set of challenges. For many owners one of the biggest is the increased risk of loss and fraud through consumer theft. Other owners are relieved that they aren’t in those kinds of businesses and believe that they don’t need to “worry about all that stuff”. But, they forget about or ignore employee theft.

All businesses are subjected to the increased possibility of theft around this time of year. The holidays are exactly the time to monitor employees and financials for signs of embezzlement. There are a few reasons why incidents of embezzlement are more likely to start or increase now. One of them, that’s regularly overlooked, is gambling addiction.

The Marquet Report on Embezzlement is the culmination of a 5 year study which looked into employee misappropriation. It found that gambling addiction is one of the top 2 reasons people embezzle. Therefore, it’s important for an employer to be aware of this issue and to know what to look for, especially now.

For most people increased stress is a given in the months of November and December. Gambling addicts respond to stress by gambling more and when they gamble more they lose more. They then gamble more to try to cover their losses, get back to even, or hit the big score. This leads to more losing and the cycle continuing. Inevitably, they run out of money and accumulate debt they can’t repay.

Because of the season money irregularities can become more pronounced in their domestic situation, triggering more stress, lies and gambling. Gambling addicts will go to drastic measures to cover up their addiction. Now, feeling more pressure, they may embezzle for the first time or steal larger amounts.

But, this doesn’t happen in a vacuum, there’re always signs along the way that something is wrong. Some of the signs to look for include the following.

  • Giving flimsy excuses or lying about absences during the day. This can be more pronounced in areas where there’s a gambling venue.
  • Inappropriately defensive or dishonest when talking about spending habits or income.
  • Asking for advances on pay and/or frequently borrowing money from co-workers.
  • Excessively talking about and showing interest in gambling games, venues, beating the system, odds, etc.
  • Suspiciously guarded and controlling of the company’s financial records.
  • Taking financial work home, even though there’s time to do it during the business day.
  • Insisting on being in charge of bills, invoices, payments, receivables, dealing with vendors, etc.

Embezzlement can emotionally and financially devastate an organization. At best it‘s a violation of trust and at worst it can cause a business to go bankrupt. Nobody likes to think about or have trouble this time of the year, but a good manger doesn’t ignore problems no matter what the season.

Nicole Abbott – writer, educator and psycho-therapist

 

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