Staff Editor — Page 312

How to Prevent Shoplifting

December 10, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

As a retailer it is always in the back of your mind how to prevent shoplifting . However, you can’t really begin to stop it until you understand why it happens. According to research performed by the Urban Institute, shoplifting is usually a crime of opportunity perpetrated by regular customers, particularly juveniles, and is often considered a gateway for juveniles into other criminal activities. Shoplifting tends to be more problematic for businesses located near city centers, high-traffic areas, schools, and areas of concentrated low-income residents. Smaller retailers, especially those without organized loss prevention, are also at greater risk of shoplifting.

Now, chances are you specialize in more than just one item. So, in order to prevent shoplifting you must also be aware of what merchandise the average shoplifter is interested in. Hot items for shoplifters include tobacco products, CDs, video games, earrings, birth control products, decongestants, and brand-named clothing or footwear. Products such as cigarettes and alcohol are susceptible to shoplifting by minors because they are unable to purchase them legally. Birth control products, such as condoms or pregnancy tests, are vulnerable because shoplifters are often too embarrassed to purchase these items.

I know some of you are reading the above paragraphs and thinking “who cares?” You don’t want to know why an individual shoplifts; you just want to know how to stop them. Well, the hard fact is this: anyone can be a shoplifter, and if you spend all your time eyeballing every single person that walks into your store you’re not going to have time to do what you’re actually there to do – make money. Therefore, taking a few minutes to understand the average shoplifter, their motivation and the items they are most likely to try to steal can go a long way to helping you prevent shoplifting altogether.

For more information contact us: prevent shoplifting or call 1.770.426.0547

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The Corporate Fraud Investigator and the Ponzi Scheme – Atlanta Georgia

December 9, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

As a corporate fraud investigator you may be called upon to investigate any number of criminal and company violations. If you’re like me, or most other law-abiding citizens, most of the tactics and schemes used by these white collar criminals are as foreign to you as Chinese sign language. One such device is the Ponzi scheme; it resurfaced in popularity after it was expertly used by Bernie Madoff, the former stock broker and investment advisor who bilked his clients out of $18 billion and nearly $65 billion in gains.

Every corporate fraud investigator should be familiar with this scheme and how it works. A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment opportunity that pays returns to separate investors from their own money or money paid by other investors, rather than from any actual profit earned. In other words, you invest your money with me believing that I’m investing in a company called Wally’s Widgets. At year’s end you see a sizeable return on your investment and believe that Wally’s Widgets is a great company. In actuality the money you received was from subsequent investors, minus my sizeable fee of course. The problem is that eventually I will run out of investors and the scheme will collapse on itself leaving my investors with a shell company (or companies) and no money.

The term comes from a Charles Ponzi who became known in the early 1920’s for using this scheme. He got a great number of people to invest in his business proposition but soon found himself using their money to pay off earlier investors and to support his own lifestyle. The Ponzi scheme usually entices new investors by offering returns other investments cannot guarantee, in the form of short-term returns that are either abnormally high or unusually consistent. This is just one more thing in a long list that a corporate fraud investigator needs to be aware of.

For more information about internal theft , white collar crime , employee theft or employee theft investigation contact us at corporate fraud investigator or call 1.770.426.0547 Kennesaw Marietta Atlanta Georgia

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Checkpoint Security Systems and the positive impact on boosting profits

December 8, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Many companies know the true benefits of Checkpoint Security systems . A few years ago I was working for a Sporting goods retailer that carried a new line of apparel. This apparel line was very desirable and immediately the store experienced high shrink.

The store management was looking for solutions on how to protect his merchandise, ultimately protecting his profits. He searched around for various retail anti theft devices and was directed back to Checkpoint Security systems after advice from a more experienced manager at a different retailer.

Now, Im no salesman but Checkpoint Security systems that I’ve worked with have proven worthy. As another example, I oversaw a small chain of drug stores loss prevention program. Several of these stores had no Checkpoint systems and were experiencing a large amount of theft. Shoplifters quickly identified these stores as an easy target and went to town. They needed a solution, and fast. One of our senior managers had experience with Checkpoint Systems and immediately recommended their installation. After the first day of installation, the store saw a dramatic decrease in the amount of shoplifters that simply walked into their stores and walked out with merchandise, an investment that is sure to help safeguard their profits.

Many of the retailers I’ve worked with over my career hesitated at the thought of installing Checkpoint Security systems in their stores. Much of the concern circled around the appearance and whether or not the system would “look good” in their stores. That all went away after the many instances of shoplifts and grab and runs.

I love to hear the stories from my loss prevention agents when shoplifters activate the Checkpoint Security system , drop merchandise and run. These are an investment I could never conceive doing business without.

For more information about retail anti theft devices , retail theft prevention , checkpoint security systems or anti shoplifting contact us at stop shoplifting or call 1.770.426.0547

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Five Mistakes Employers May Be Making with Background Checks

December 8, 2010 by Staff Editor

Five Mistakes Employers May Be Making with Background Checks

1. Conducting them in house. Nobody knows their business like you do, but to rely on departments within your organization to conduct in house background checks may be pushing the HR Department or administrator out of their comfort zones. These departments also have their own priorities. There is plenty of information available on potential new hires, but it is best to leave it to an expert to find, interpret, and deliver the information you need.

2. Relying on a “nationwide” commercial database from criminal background checks. Commercial databases are frequently incomplete, not up to date, or have insufficient identification to positively point to a particular individual. There is no nationwide database that contains every jurisdiction in the country and are not done in real time.

3. Paying for an “instant on-line” criminal background check. If any net-based search claims to be instant, the results will be outdated and probably inaccurate. Instant results are purchased by private companies from some government agencies and the information is updated infrequently.

4. Misinterpreting results. Knowing the seriousness or classification of a crime can be a determining factor in whether a candidate is hired or not. Be sure the offense is related to the job before you exclude an otherwise acceptable applicant.

5. Not having a policy on background checks. Businesses should have and follow a written policy defining the nature and scope of the employee background check for each level of employee. Having a policy in place assures fairness and consistency in the application of background checks.

Avoid confusion in implementing your employee background check program by clicking here or calling 770-426-0547.

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Prevent shoplifting and catch the profits – Atlanta Georgia

December 8, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

I am a shoplifter. I want to steal from your business. Just try and stop me!

What are you going to do to prevent me from shoplifting in your business? Billions are lost every year to retail theft. The results of this loss can be seen in every aspect of your business: higher prices, inventory shrinkage, lost profit, even business closure.

Prevent shoplifting by fostering an environment in which your employees enjoy their work and want to prevent theft. By having employees who are committed to good customer service, they can provide that attention that honest customers appreciate and we shoplifters despise.

Another way to prevent shoplifting is to look at your sales floor the way that a shoplifter would. Are there blind corners and secluded areas? Do your employees provide good customer service or do they tend to ignore the shoppers? How about your high theft items – are they in a secure area or in a locked case? At the very least, these types of items need to be located where employees can be nearby.

What is considered a high theft item? A business needs to keep track of its inventory versus its sales of products so that a loss can be identified quickly. Once an item is identified as high theft, then measures can be taken to prevent the theft of that merchandise.

Proper staffing is also a way to prevent shoplifting . If there are only a couple of employees in your business at a given time, and it is a large business…this provides plenty of opportunity for shoplifters like me to be unattended.

You can’t provide one employee for every shopper that comes into your business, but adequate staff can prevent shoplifting as well as provide good service to your customers.

The goal? Scare away us shoplifters and bring in honest customers.

Shoplifting loses, profits win.

For more information contact us: prevent shoplifting or call 1.770.426.256 – Atlanta Georgia

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Refunds and Internal Theft

December 8, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Refunds and internal theft have the potential to go hand in hand when you’re dealing with a trained crook. Picture this: An employee sells a television set; a week later the same employee rings a return on that television set. Nothing out of the ordinary, right? No, not until you take a closer look at your inventory and discover that you happen to be short 1 television set. Why? There was no return. The employee simply kept a record of the sale (as a lot of commission sales associates are known to do) and when nobody was looking he rang in a return and pocketed the cash that was supposed to go back to the customer. If nobody is paying attention he/ she could rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars this way.

So, how do you prevent internal theft when it comes to refunds? First of all, insist on a merchandise inspection by someone other than the person doing the sale or the return. It’s important to make sure the merchandise isn’t damaged or in some way altered before you put it back in your stockroom anyway, so why not make it mandatory that it is inspected at the time of the return? Ensure that the person doing the inspection knows what to look for. Make sure the item in the box is the correct model/ brand, etc. Many dishonest employees may be working with someone else. They sell their buddy a $120 toaster and 2 days later he returns one he bought from a rummage sale for $4.

You should always keep an eye on all credit documents. Periodically make phone calls to customers who have made returns to ensure they got their return and to inquire whether there was something wrong with the product, etc. It’s good customer service, but more importantly it’s a great way for you to know whether you have a problem with refunds and internal theft .

For more information about employee theft or employee theft investigation contact us at internal theft or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: employee theft, employee theft investigation, internal theft

An Example of White Collar Crime – Atlanta Georgia

December 7, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

The term “ white collar crime ” is so broad that I figured I’d give you an example I read about recently that will hopefully help you wrap your mind around just how horrible a crime this can really be. For nearly 60 years a non-profit corporation known as The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (or the Claims Conference) has been overseeing German government funds that assist Holocaust survivors.

The FBI recently announced that 6 Claims Conference employees, along with 11 other conspirators, had been charged with a decade-long scheme to defraud the organization and legitimate holocaust victims out of over $42 million.

Here’s how this particular case of white collar crime went down. Driven by crooked Claims Conference employees, former employees and other conspirators recruited people who weren’t eligible for the program to take part in the fraud. To make it appear that applicants were eligible, identification documents were often altered. For example, a birth date was changed to make it appear that applicants were born during or before World War II and fake Nazi persecution stories were often made up. Fraudulent applications were reviewed and approved by corrupt Claims Conference employees. Once the applicants received their money, they kept a portion for themselves but were instructed to pay certain “fees” using the rest. These “fees” were usually paid in the form of cash or money order and always ended up in the pockets of the conspirators.

The FBI’s New York Assistant Director in Charge, Janice Fedarcyk, said that the victims of this scheme were “those who had already suffered at the hands of Nazi persecution only to have their experiences exploited again. This brazen miscarriage of the compensation program is, in its own way, a kind of crime against humanity.” White collar crime is not, as many believe, a victimless crime. Often the least fortunate among us are the ones that suffer the most.

For more information about corporate fraud investigation , employee theft , corporate fraud investigator , internal theft contact us at white collar crime or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

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Scaring away the bad guy with Checkpoint Security Systems

December 6, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Stop Shoplifting ? That’s easier said than done, but you can definitely make an impact on shoplifting and other losses that your business may be experiencing by utilizing retail anti theft devices .

One worthwhile option to consider is Checkpoint Security systems . Checkpoint labels are proven to reduce and deter shoplifting in a business. Shoplifters hate attention, so it is your job as a business owner to provide that attention, the best you can, to every shoplifter that chooses to enter your business. To have it any other way means that your potential profits are walking out your door, along with the merchandise that you paid for.

When a shoplifter is choosing a business from which to steal, they will choose the unprotected business over one that provides good customer service and has retail anti theft devices . That is just common sense – and yes, some shoplifters do have some. Shoplifters also seek out the merchandise that they desire, but do not want to pay for. If your merchandise is desirable, then it appeals to shoplifters as well. Protect it with Checkpoint Security systems .

Retail theft prevention continues to change just as time and technology do. Stay up to date with the best anti shoplifting products that you can acquire. Investing in loss prevention and asset protection for your business creates what every business wants to acquire – profit, and more of it.

For more information about retail anti theft devices , checkpoint security systems , anti shoplifting , checkpoint labels or retail theft prevention contact us at stop shoplifting or call 1.770.426.0547.

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The Mystery of Employee Background Checks

December 6, 2010 by Staff Editor

The Mystery of Employee Background Checks

Actually, there is no mystery in employee background checks. In fact, background checks help in removing the mystery from a potential employee’s background.

Careful employers use employee background checks as part of a comprehensive screening program. The information compiled by the professional background check company includes information obtained from public record resources as well as information obtained from other sources such as previous employers, friends, credit bureaus, and motor vehicle departments.

The employer may obtain some of this information directly, but more and more employers are outsourcing these tasks to a professional background check company that has developed sources and contacts to obtain information quickly and efficiently, as well as having the expertise to deliver the results in a format that is easy to understand, and is available to interpret and explain the results when necessary.

The professional background check company will also be available to discuss the limitations of employee background checks so there is no unreasonable expectation of the information included. Every background check company is regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act as to what information may or may not be included on an employee background check.

The information contained in the employee background check will help the employer remove the mystery by revealing past behavior of potential employees that may directly relate to the duties and responsibilities of the applicant.

Remove the mystery from your employee background checks by calling 770-426-0547 or click here for more information.

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Bringing in the experts: A Loss prevention investigator for your major cases – Atlanta Georgia

December 6, 2010 by Staff Editor

A few years ago I conducted a large internal theft investigation that ended up involving eight employees and had resulted in a loss of over $8000.

When a business experiences a case as complex as one like that, it can be time consuming and may require the expertise of a loss prevention investigator .

I was able to dedicate the time needed to thoroughly investigate this case, but many smaller businesses may not have the time or the loss prevention knowledge necessary to tackle this type of large theft investigation.

And often, when it comes to employee theft cases, they can be much bigger. Employee theft is the cause of more shrinkage than shoplifters because the dollar amount per instance is usually much higher.

A loss prevention investigator can come into your business and conduct the necessary research to identify the cause of the loss, develop a case, and refer it to the necessary authorities. By employing an expert, successful prosecution can be sought and recovery of the loss, in the form of restitution, can occur.

To prevent the types of theft I mentioned above from occurring in the first place, loss prevention consultants can analyze a business and its security measures and help the business establish a loss prevention program.

Often loss prevention consultants can see problems in security and loss prevention measures that the business owner or managers overlook. By utilizing theft prevention measures, the opportunity for employee theft, as well as shoplifting, can be reduced. The opportunity is what you want to reduce or eliminate.

While it is good to prevent shrink, we also have to be able to react appropriately when shrinkage does occur. Loss prevention consultants as well as a loss prevention investigator are trained experts in the field of shrinkage prevention or shrinkage reaction.

For more information about loss prevention investigator or loss prevention consultants contact us or call 1.770.426.256.

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