Where Credit is Due- Internal Theft

A customer who purchases an item, loses or throws out their receipt and later needs to return that item are commonly given a store credit/ merchandise credit. Most customers are generally ok with this because they will either be replacing the item they are returning, or will have other shopping they can do at our store. Employees who complete a return without a receipt are given a store credit also. This can lead to a whole new end game for internal theft.

During an internal theft case, an employee will conduct a fraudulent return. They will be issued a store credit because a no receipt return was done. There is no receipt because there was never a sale to begin with (which is why it is a fraudulent return). The employee will then use the credit to purchase more items.

Frequently they will use their employee discount along with this credit. This can be because they don’t want the cashier to suspect anything when they make their purchase so they use their discount. It can also be out of greed. If they got the store credit for free, why not make it go even further by using the employee discount to get more merchandise even cheaper.

That is were the paper trail of the employee theft investigation begins. We track employee purchases and can also track a merchandise credit’s history. When we see an employee with the credit but no corresponding purchase history, we know something is not right.

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

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase CCTV Systems that can help you stop Employee Theft and Internal Theft problems and help with your Employee Theft Investigation.