Conducting Employee Theft Investigations – Atlanta Georgia

November 3, 2010 by Leave a Comment

When conducting an employee theft investigation it is extremely important to establish proof of wrong-doing and to maintain strict confidentiality during the investigation process. We’ve all seen the television police dramas where the suspect is placed in a dimly lit room and detective so-and-so goes in with little more than a manila envelope and a gut feeling and gets the suspect to break down like a blubbering idiot and confess to every crime they’ve ever committed. Trust me, it doesn’t work like that in the real world.

I once had an ex-friend of an employee call the company and inform us that not only was this employee an habitual drug user, but that he had been stealing money from the registers for months in order to support his habit. I had previously assessed this employee’s character and didn’t find the allegations too far-fetched. Now, I could have dragged him in the office immediately and read him the riot act, but that type of “cowboy investigation” is liable to land your company in hot water and you, the investigator, on the unemployment line. Instead, I enlisted the help of one of my top detectives and, while maintaining strict confidentiality, performed an employee theft investigation using several point-of-sale reports and CCTV recordings to build our case.

Then, and only then, was the employee brought in for questioning. Although he did eventually confess, it really wasn’t necessary. I had already built a case so airtight that David Copperfield would have been hard-pressed to escape it. The entire process took just over 4 days. An employee theft investigation is an essential part of protecting your company’s bottom line, but they must always be conducted in a professional and confidential manner. Remember: Take swift action, obtain irrefutable evidence and maintain confidentiality and your employee theft investigation will be smooth as slippers on a slug. (Yeah, I made that up.)

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

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Retail Loss Prevention and Proper Training – Atlanta Georgia

November 2, 2010 by Leave a Comment

You’ve done the right thing in hiring a retail loss prevention staff and given them the proper tools in which to do their job, and none too soon. There’s a particularly seedy-looking gentleman in your store.

He’s dressed unseasonably warm and eye-balling everyone in his immediate vicinity. He’s carrying close to $300 worth of your merchandise in his arms when he ducks behind a rack of clothing; when he emerges again, he’s empty handed. As he exits the store your retail loss prevention associate stops him and what do you know… he’s got nothing. However, what you now have is a potential lawsuit. How do you prevent this?

There’s a sign hanging in my office that reads: “Check your gut at the door”. It means simply that there is no room for gut feelings or intuition in the world of retail loss prevention . Proper training and adherence to that training is the only sure way to not land yourself in hot water. The following are the rules that I’ve instructed my associates to abide by before apprehending a shoplifter. I’d love to tell you that I made them up, but I didn’t. They’ve been around for years, they are time-tested and they work.

  1. Observe the suspect approach the merchandise. (ensuring they didn’t have it with them when they came in)
  2. Observe the suspect select the merchandise from the display.
  3. Observe the suspect either conceal or walk away with the merchandise. If they concealed it, know where exactly it is at.
  4. Maintain continuous visual surveillance of the suspect the entire time they’re in the store.
  5. Ensure that the suspect does not pay for the merchandise in question.
  6. Allow the suspect to exit. Once they’re outside with the unpaid merchandise they’ve actually committed a crime and then can be detained.

Proper training of your retail loss prevention staff can save you a lot of heartache and countless dollars in your day to day operations.

For more information contact us: retail loss prevention or call 1.770.426.0547

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You Have to Give SHRM Credit

November 1, 2010 by

You Have to Give SHRM Credit

There is legislation pending before congress that would remove credit background checks from employers’ pre employment screening programs.  The bill HR 3149, the Equal Opportunity for All Act, was introduced by Rep. Steve Cohen, D-TN, and is currently as of October assigned to committee.

Colleen Parker Denston, Human Resources Director at a Maryland prep school and a member of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) testified on behalf of that organization before the subcommittee considering the bill.

Ms. Denson stated, “There is compelling public interest in ensuring that employers can assess the skills, abilities, work habits, and integrity of potential hires.  Credit histories, like other aspects of the background check process, are but one piece of information HR professionals use to evaluate whether an individual should be hired.”

SHRM surveys on employers’ background checks have shown that the use of credit histories have not increased in recent years, despite changes in the economy.

There seems to be a common misconception among opponents of credit histories used in the pre employment process that a certain credit score may eliminate an applicant from consideration, or that unfortunate circumstances such as medical bills or job loss may affect a candidate’s employability.

In actuality, credit reports for employment purposes are restricted from providing a credit score, and most companies using credit reports for employment screening tend to look at the overall credit picture rather than specific slip ups contained in the report.  Most companies use the credit report only as one small part of a larger snapshot of a candidate being considered in the employment screening process.

For more information on the use of credit reports in pre employment screening, call 770-426-0547 or click here to email.

This blog does not represent any official SHRM viewpoint and is informational only.

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Stopping the loss before it occurs – with clothing security tags

November 1, 2010 by

My team of loss prevention agents that works the sales floor, watching for shoplifters, recently apprehended a group of three people who all stole clothing. Clothing security needs to be a concern for all businesses which sell clothes – these three individuals had nearly $300 worth of clothing concealed among them, inside their bags and, in the case of the male in the group, down the front of his pants.

Clothing is easy to conceal and bunches up small enough to not take up much space.  Even a purse that is not unusually large can hold quite a bit of clothing when the shoplifter wants to use this means of concealment.  Clothing can also be worn out of a business, under a jacket or under the shoplifter’s clothing.

Security tags on clothes are a proven deterrent to shoplifting.  Shoplifters do not want to draw attention to themselves, but they know when they see clothing security tags that they risk a clothing alarm activating.  It is time consuming as a shoplifter to try to remove clothing security tags , so why bother?  There are always other businesses from which to steal.

Shoplifters want that smooth road – the one in which they enter a business, select the items they wish to steal, conceal the items and then leave undetected. Security tags on clothes provide that roadblock to throw the shoplifter off of their intended path.

For more information on clothing security , security tags on clothes , clothing alarm contact us at clothing security tags or call 1.770.426.256.

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A loss prevention agent and the benefits of CCTV – Atlanta Georgia

November 1, 2010 by

As a former loss prevention agent , I can tell you the benefits of having and using CCTV equipment inside of stores.

Several years ago, I was working a small chain of specialty stores. They catered to a high end customer and didn’t really believe that the customers that shop their stores would do anything as “humiliating” as shoplifting.

They were under the impression that all customers in their stores were honest because they had money. Let me assure you, they were wrong.
Within one week of working a store, I had apprehended several shoplifters for various items. Over the next several weeks, the apprehensions continued.

As time went on, the corporate office was so astounded that their customers were stealing; they decided to implement a CCTV system. 6 cameras were installed. 2 overlooking the registers and 4 others strategically placed throughout the stores. The four cameras on the floor were PTZ or pan, tilt and zoom, basically cameras you could move and zoom in on customers. My apprehensions doubled.

As a loss prevention agent , tools are an important factor in boosting profits and protecting assets. Many companies seem to skimp when it comes to camera equipment. Take a chain of stores, 8 stores. These guys sold alcohol and tobacco amongst other merchandise. They had no camera equipment, none. Working these stores as a loss prevention agent made me earn my pay. I was all over these 10,000 square foot stores, watching customers, detaining shoplifters and in many instances, repeat shoplifters.

One on occasion, I was in the back of the store interviewing a shoplifter when I got a call from the front registers that a customer had just stolen all of the money from one of the registers. When I arrived at the front, the employee said as she opened the drawer a man quickly reached his hand in and took all of the bills and ran out of the store. Unfortunately, since the incident happened so quickly, witnesses could not describe him. He got away.

Had the store installed a basic camera system covering the registers and exits, this man would not had gotten away so easy. A trained loss prevention agent could have quickly notified the local police and provided the appropriate video footage.

For more information visit us at loss prevention agent or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

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Ways to Prevent Shoplifting – Atlanta Georgia

November 1, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Ok, so the title is a little misleading. Realistically speaking, there’s no way to prevent shoplifting completely, but there are a number of proven methods that can reduce your susceptibility to shoplifters. First, there’s identifying the shoplifter. They come in all shapes, sizes, colors and ages but there are certain things to look for to help you identify them. Be aware of people wearing excessively baggy clothes or heavy coats when the weather is relatively warm. Beware of oversized purses or backpacks, especially if they appear to be flat or nearly empty. There’s a decent chance the owner intends on filling it with your merchandise.

Keep an eye on your fitting rooms if you have them. Criminals know that they’re one of the few places in the store where you won’t have surveillance. So, limit the number of items a person is allowed to bring in and post a fitting room attendant whenever possible. Be aware of your high risk merchandise. Usually particular brand names, trendy styles or items tend to grab a shoplifter’s attention. Make sure that you too are aware of the trends and pay close attention to the location and accessibility of those items. You have to be proactive and stay one step ahead in order to prevent shoplifting in your establishment.

Restrooms, like fitting rooms, are someplace where criminals know there will be no surveillance. So, be mindful of any individuals attempting to take merchandise into the restrooms with them. Lastly, instruct your associates to greet each and every customer with a warm and open demeanor. Ask if they need assistance and let them know they will be nearby if any questions or concerns arise. I call this the “kill ‘em with kindness” method. Any legitimate customers get terrific customer service while any would-be thief is made aware of your constant and watchful eye. Follow these tips and they will go a long way to helping you prevent shoplifting within your establishment.

For more information contact us: prevent shoplifting or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

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Signals that indicate employee theft – Part 3 – Atlanta Georgia

November 1, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Signals that indicate possible internal theft or employee theft with goods or money

· There is talk of an uncontrolled stream of goods between branches (inter-branch traffic). The argument of the dispatch workers is that these are rush orders that will be administratively processed later.
· An unexplainable rise in returned goods or credit notes, often coupled with the handwriting of a certain employee, or concerning a certain attractive product.
· No check on the actual return of goods.
· Insufficient administrative safeguards or system to control returned goods. · Returns recorded on several staff numbers while only 1 or 2 employees were present at the time.
· An unexplainable rise of the number of cancelled receipts or mistaken till entries. Also the salesperson  suddenly makes multiple mistakes whilst ringing up an amount.
· A rise in cash differences or returns coupled to the presence of a certain employee.
· A rise in the number of  ‘off till’ sales of products with which the client will probably not return such as upgrade tickets, rolls of film, passport photos, batteries, lens cleaner, etc.. The consequence is an increasing shortage in these sectors. The salesperson reckons that the buyer will not ask for a receipt. If the customer does ask for a receipt, striking the ‘total’ key produces a receipt. A signal of this way of acting is the increasing quantity of cancelled receipts and the opening of the till by means of striking the ‘nil’ key or ringing up a small amount with the aim of creaming of the surplus money.
· Returning goods several times with the same receipt with the help of the salesperson, the ‘income’ to be shared.
· Cash differences in exclusively round figures.
· No cash differences.
· Only negative cash differences, often in round figures.
· Cash surpluses always in round figures.
· Off till sales, usually in amounts of $9.95, $14.95, $24.95 or such amounts. Often there is a store of $0.05 pieces near the till to use as change without using the till.
· An emphatic signal of the fraud detailed under 43 is that the till draw is often not closed but frequently found to be ajar.

Many times several of these signals are seen in a single employee. One item by itself may not be internal theft but a error. Look for one or more in an employee. Remember, internal theft or employee theft should always cause you to begin an employee theft investigation . Do not bury your head in the sand, employee theft will not go away on its own. It WILL get worse. Many times employers are resistant to have an employee theft investigation preformed because it will “offend” your good employees. What offends good employees is to see unchecked theft going on around them.

Watch for more parts to come in future blogs!

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

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Checkpoint security tags will save inventory and boost profits

October 29, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Using checkpoint security tags to protect merchandise from shoplifting theft will keep inventory on the shelves, leaving more available for sale, boosting sales and boosting profits.  You can easily increase your net margins by 50% by implementing a loss prevention security method such as using  checkpoint systems  anti theft devices.

Let’s look at an example of how reducing losses will boost profits.  Take a retailer selling $1mil per year with a net margin of 2% and an inventory shrink rate of 2%.  Most retailers not using a system to protect their inventory are losing more than 2% but I want to be conservative in my example.  2% net margin & shrink means $20,000 net profit and $20,000 in shrink.  By using checkpoint security tags you will see at least a 50% reduction in shrink (many see over 75%).  And let’s say there is no bump in added sales even though typically there is a 5 to ten percent bump there simply due to having more merchandise available for buyers.  The 50% reduction in shrink equates to $10,000, which goes directly to the profit margin side of the books.  An added $10k in profit is a 50% increase on profit margin.  So now you land at a 1% shrink rate and a 3% net margin rate.

Again these numbers are conservative.  We have seen shrink rates well over five percent…imagine cutting a six percent shrink rate in half and how that would add to net margins!  Whatever you save from theft is purely added profit…another way to look at it is it takes your profit to replace your lost inventory.  So consider using checkpoint security tags to protect your merchandise and boost your profits. To learn more visit  checkpoint security tags 

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Checkpoint security systems annual report on retail theft

October 29, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Released by checkpoint security systems and the Center for Retail Research on October 19th, 2010, the Global Retail Theft Barometer reports on several factors of retail theft around the globe. I was surprised by one statistic that was almost a complete flip of the US numbers.

In the US employee theft accounts for about 43% of the retail loss numbers and shoplifting about 36%.  Globally the numbers are 43% shoplifting and 35% employee theft according to the University of Florida’s National Retail Security Survey which is considered to be the most comprehensive and accurate in the industry. A variable that is unknown in the US is how employee involvement in aiding shoplifters affects the numbers.

One interesting finding that the global study highlighted was the apparent correlation between increased spending in security measures and a decrease in theft.  Solutions such as checkpoint security systems will deter theft both externally and internally.  Installing a checkpoint security system creates awareness among all employees due to the use of the anti theft devices such as clothing security tags or other security tags on merchandise that are either deactivated or removed for reuse at the cash register.  Using a system involves training on how to handle shoplifters as well which increases awareness on what to look for and how to “service” potential thieves out of the store.

For more info on how to solve retail theft issues including employee theft and shoplifting problems visit: checkpoint security systems

 

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The Importance of Employee Background Checks

October 29, 2010 by

Employee background checks are a must in today’s business climate. It’s your responsibility as an employer to know who’s working for you.

Furthermore, it’s in your best interest to be aware of the real face your company is showing to the public. In this new era with so many social networking sites online you may not even need an in-depth check to know if someone is right for you. I once had a colleague look up a prospective new hire on MySpace. This guy, who had come in for his interview clean-cut, professional and knowing just the right things to say, was in his profile picture posing with a joint, a bottle of whiskey and a 9mm pistol. Nice, right? I’ll give you 1 guess as to whether “thug life” got the job.

In addition to the obvious problems of possible theft, loss of profit and increased employee turnover that can happen as a result of not doing employee background checks , companies can be held liable under the doctrine of negligent hiring. If the court can prove that an employer knew, or should have known negative facts about an employee’s background that should have disqualified him from the job the company can be found at fault.

For example, someone with 6 speeding tickets and a DUI shouldn’t be your next delivery driver. A quick peek into their past can reveal such a driving history. Don’t do one and they cause a 10 car pile-up on the freeway off-ramp and guess who could be found liable? It is in your best interest as an employer, and in the best interest of society at large, for you to do thorough employee background checks on everyone who works for you.

For more information contact us at employee background checks or call 1.770.426.0547

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