Staff Editor — Page 328

Are Background Checks Foolproof?

October 13, 2010 by Staff Editor

Short answer is no, background checks are not foolproof, and there are various reasons why they are not.

Identity theft can happen almost anywhere.

There was a manufacturing company that I know of that conducted criminal history checks and social security traces on all its employees after hiring them permanently from a temp to hire agency. One particular employee who had been on the job several weeks was hired permanently and a background check was conducted. The social security trace indicated that the employee had a previous residence in a western state, leading to uncovering several serious charges and convictions. In his current state of residence, the check uncovered an open warrant from the previous state.

After some negotiations with the employer, the state investigative agency came to the workplace and took the employee into custody for extradition to his previous state of residence. Once the individual was fingerprinted, it was determined that he was not the one that the warrant had been issued for. It turns out that he was an illegal immigrant and had purchased the identification, a driver’s license and a social security card from a “broker”, who provided such things.

The plant manager told me that he had shown up several weeks later with new ID, but was not hired in spite of being an excellent worker.

The company since has required all its staffing companies to run criminal checks on all contract workers sent to their location.

A company can help ensure that it is getting accurate results in its background checks by providing its background company with accurate identifying information, checking identification carefully, and asking questions of the applicant if any red flags appear.

Remember the best policy is to conduct a criminal check in every jurisdiction where the applicant has lived, worked, or attended school. Many metropolitan areas include several counties which should also be checked.

Even then, it is possible to miss some information, such as a shoplifting charge that occurred while on vacation.

But just because something might be missed is no reason not to conduct the background check. Most criminal history will be uncovered through comprehensive background checks.

Want to know more about background checks? Call 770-426-0547 or click here for information.

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Armed Robbery Survival, Loss Prevention Security – Atlanta

October 13, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Why would an armed robber choose your retail location? Because money is available.

Loss prevention security in a robbery situation must be treated very serious. Your security and loss prevention program should always include preparation for a robbery.

Most robberies only take one to two minutes to complete.

IF A ROBBERY OCCURS IN YOUR STORE OR AT THE NIGHT DEPOSIT, REMEMBER THE FOLLOWING:

* The safety of associates, customers and you is always top priority.

* Be completely cooperative.

* Be observant.

DO’S AND DON’TS DURING A ROBBERY

* Do not resist–heroics are uncalled for.

* Keep it short–the sooner it’s over, the better.

* Do give up the money when demanded.

* Do not argue.

* Do not over-react, do not attempt to grab the weapon or call out for help.

* Make every effort to remain calm. Set the example for your fellow associates.

* Be attentive. Listen to the robber and do exactly what you are asked.

* Do not make any sudden movements. Warn the robber of any surprises or unexpected noises.

* Expect strong/foul language. Expect to be told to lay on the floor or ground.

* Be alert. Try to remember details of the robber’s appearance, clothing and/or speech.

* Keep any holdup note, but do not allow people to handle it.

* If possible, watch the robber’s method and direction of escape. Do not go with the robber!

AFTER A ROBBERY, TAKE THE FOLLOWING STEPS:

* Lock the front door or gate. Robbers have been known to return to the store.

* Call the police immediately.

* Close off the area in which the robbery took place.

* Write down everything you can recall about the robbery. Provide this information to the police upon their arrival.

* Do not give the police an exact count of the money stolen. Tell them you will make an exact count and get back to them. You do not want this amount to show up in a police report, then the newspaper.

* Give the police any holdup note.

* Notify your supervisor immediately.

* Fill out a company security and loss prevention report. Forward a copy to your supervisor.

* Refer any media questions to your corporate office or loss prevention security department.

For more information about robbery or loss prevention security contact us at security and loss prevention or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta

The Fine Print – DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY

The information provided is for informational purposes only. It is important that you follow your company’s policies and procedures. The techniques presented although conservative should still be compared with individual state and local laws before proceeding. You should consult your own legal counsel before adopting or using any of the recommendations made. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. expressly disclaims any liability whatsoever, which may arise as a result of adhering to or failing to implement procedures discussed in this material.

Stop shoplifting with security tags on clothes

October 12, 2010 by Staff Editor

Clothing retailers are one of the most susceptible to loss due to shoplifting and can benefit greatly by using security tags on clothes. There are a few benefits to using this type of clothing security.

First, the primary goal is to reduce shoplifting loss. The less inventory loss a retailer experiences the more profit is realized with the same amount of revenue. Simple math, if a boutique retailer selling $1mil per year with a net profit of 3% and a shrink rate of 3% implements a loss prevention security system with security tags on clothes and cuts losses in half (very realistic if not conservative) the same amount of revenue results in a 4.5% net profit with a 1.5% in shrink. Significant.

Another benefit to using a clothing security system such as security tags on clothes is that it sends shoplifters away and on to unprotected stores. Less shoplifting activity means less shoplifter traffic that store employees have to deal with as well as less exposure to thievery in action good customers experience while in your store.

Studies show that unprotected stores are 75% more likely to suffer losses due to shoplifting and that shoplifters who succeed one time will come back for more, over and over again. Even if apprehended shoplifters will return to stores that do not use an EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) system incorporating clothing security tags simply because they are not likely to get caught again.

For more info go to: security tags on clothes

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Clothing Security, clothing security tags, security tags on clothes

Clothing Security Are You A Sheep Or A Wolf?

October 12, 2010 by Staff Editor

Remember, the shoplifters are not dumb about clothing security. They know how to steal from you and are good at it. You have to be smarter and in the prevention mode rather than the reactive mode at all times. To get your store and staff in the right position consider the following issues:

Experienced, professional shoplifters will case your store in advance of hitting you. Waiting for them to be in the store and shoplifting puts you behind the curve. These thieves look for employees who are indifferent and clueless. Staff that would rather be on your phone or their cell phone are not really paying attention. For example, are you really paying that good of attention when you are on your cell phone and driving?

Shoplifters are watching to see how your staff handles an EAS clothing security alarm. Do they just wave them through or do they investigate? If one does not occur while they are watching they will make one happen.

Theses thieves will observe your staffing coverage. Do you have enough people to cover the floor? When is the customer to employee ratio the highest? Is there a time when there is only one person covering the floor even if there are not any customers present? Two shoplifters working together can create a distraction while the second one steals.

Another common tactic is for one thief to intentionally trip the EAS clothing security system and while the employee is sorting that out another goes out with the merchandise.

Thieves will also use booster bags. These are shopping bags lined with foil in an attempt to defeat the EAS clothing alarm system.

The key to prevent losses is two fold: Training is paramount! Train all new employees on the EAS clothing alarm system and shoplifting prevention. Retrain employees four times a year to keep the information fresh and to present and discuss issues that have occurred. Do not forget to ask for your staffs input. They may have some great solutions. The second is to keep your EAS clothing alarm system in top operating shape. Is it tuned properly? Are clothing security tags and labels on all products that you specify? Are clothing security tags attached properly? If you are not sure about this yourself contact us we have a great hard tag placement guide we will send you free.

You can either lie down like a sheep and be a victim or you can take proactive and aggressive action that shoplifters will hate but real customers love.

For more information on clothing security or clothing security tags contact us at clothing alarm or call 1.770.426.0547

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: clothing alarm, Clothing Security, clothing security tags

Loss Prevention Investigator and Management Attitudes – Atlanta

October 12, 2010 by Staff Editor

I have been a loss prevention investigator for close to 30 years now. In the course of those years I have conducted over 2300 interviews and interrogations of employees suspected of theft.

There never seems to be a lack of people that feel like they can beat the system. Some do. Most do not, if management is not asleep at the switch. Many times business managers feel like they are “to busy” to consider employee theft. Many are afraid to even approach it. Employee theft is no different than any other business problem. You have to meet it head on and push your way through.

I remember a case where a store manager told me that he didn’t have any staff that would steal “from him”. He had convinced himself that everyone either loved him or were so afraid of him that they would not steal. What made this so incredible is that store paperwork clearly showed that something was really wrong in his refunds.

I conducted an investigation and at the end of two days six employees went to jail for felony theft. They stole through refund fraud, merchandise theft and outright cash theft. The manager who was of the “old school” didn’t last much after that.

My personal opinion is that at any given time one out of ten of your employees are stealing. Most credible studies clearly show that employee theft is higher than that.

But the real issue here is management. If the people in these positions are not qualified, trained or the company does not have enforced policy and procedures in place then there will be inventory shrinkage and theft.

When ever I am giving a talk at a regional or national conference or even for a client I will inevitably have some one come up to me and in an almost challenging fashion say that “I don’t have people that steal working for ME” As I am patiently listening I am thinking how naïve this person is and how long will it be before they need a loss prevention investigator ?

For more information about loss prevention consultants or employee theft contact us at loss prevention investigator or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta

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The Battle against Retail Loss – Atlanta

October 12, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

In a perfect world, there would be no such thing as retail loss , shrinkage or theft. And there would be no need for loss prevention, asset protection, employee theft investigations and security measures. Businesses would not incur huge losses. But, unfortunately, theft and loss in the retail environment is very real, and the issues must be dealt with proactively.

Do we live in a world full of thieves? It would be nice to think that we do not, but there are a few bad apples among us. There are plenty of people that a business may come in contact with that have every intention of gaining something for nothing – be it shoplifting, employee theft, or vendor fraud. Who can argue with the possibility of a 100% profit margin? That temptation alone often overpowers any sense of morals or decency that would encourage an individual not to steal. This is especially true in tough economic times, as individuals struggle to make ends meet. The temptation of a quick buck, or acquiring something desirable without spending any money, can often be too great to resist.

Businesses can combat retail loss in a variety of ways. Training employees to know what to look for in a potential shoplifter is important. Shoplifters do not want attention – so provide it! An understanding of organized retail crime (ORC) is also important for managers and loss prevention professionals. ORC thieves are involved in their own business of acquiring merchandise for resale. Consider these groups competition, in a sense, except that your business is their supplier. And you are supplying the merchandise free of charge.

Retail loss is an unfortunate part of doing business, but does not have to be the death of it.

For more information about retail loss or retail shrinkage contact us at retail loss or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta.

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The Evils of Corporate Fraud

October 12, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

You want to know about corporate fraud ? Well you have but to look in the direction of one of the biggest scandals of the last decade: Enron. In October of 2001 the company announced a $638 million loss in third-quarter earnings. The next month they publicly admitted to overstating earnings for the past four years by $586 million. As a result the company’s stock plummeted costing thousands of employees their jobs, retirement savings, 401K plans, etc. You would think that such a debacle would cause companies to stand up, take notice and put necessary safeguards in place, but in fact statistics indicate that corporate fraud is still on the rise today.

The number of fraud cases between 1998 and 2007 have increased compared to the previous 10 year period. The most common fraud techniques are improper revenue recognition (lying about how much money you made) and overstatement of assets (lying about how much your company is actually worth). The most common motives for this fraud are the need to meet internal/ external earnings expectations, an attempt to hide the company’s financial condition and, my personal favorite, the desire to increase management compensation (ie. I lied so it would look like I was doing a good job and therefore I could justify receiving a raise).

The long-term consequences of corporate fraud are bankruptcy, material assets sales and possibly de-listing from a stock exchange. However, the individual commits this type of crime is motivated to do so by short-term goals. Most CEO’s and CFO’s have their compensation tied to the company’s short-term stock performance so it is in their personal best interest to make things seem brighter than they really are. The fact is that until the boards of directors are held responsible for their actions corporate fraud will persist.

For more information about employee theft or corporate fraud investigation contact us about Corporate Fraud or call 1.770.426.0547

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: corporate fraud, corporate fraud investigation, employee theft

Why use Checkpoint tags over the copies (and more)

October 11, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

If you are using a checkpoint security system in your retail operation to reduce inventory shrinkage you may have wondered about the cheap aftermarket checkpoint tags available out there on the Internet. Or maybe you are not using a system yet and you are considering the checkpoint security systems product line.

At the risk of sounding cliche, you do get what you pay for…but hold on I have more than that. Let’s take the checkpoint mini hard tag for example, probably the most popular of the Checkpoint tags. If you look closely at the edge of a genuine Checkpoint tag you will see no open gaps and it appears one piece with looking very closely. This makes it impossible to crack open. The cheap tags popularly made in China (and be careful they are advertised as Checkpoint mini hard tags…you have to look closely to see that Checkpoint is not the manufacturer) have a wide very noticeable seal along the edges where the front and back pieced are put together. You can pop these tags open in seconds and remove the internal parts that set of the alarm. The checkpoint tags are impossible to pop open.

Another reason to use genuine checkpoint security systems security tags is that they work consistently to set off the alarm. Cheap imported copies are known for having a low pic rate (pick up in the system) and may only set off the alarm 75% of the time. So you may save $.05 on a cheap tag but lose a $250 jacket because the tag is ineffective or easily defeated.

For more info visit: checkpoint tags

Filed Under: antishoplifting Tagged With: checkpoint security system, checkpoint security systems, Checkpoint tags

Checkpoint Systems Deactivation

October 11, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Deactivation of checkpoint labels is an important part of any successful EAS program – achieves its full potential with radio frequency (RF) technology. No other EAS deactivation technology comes close in a feature-for-feature comparison. For retailers focused on customer service, Checkpoint Systems patented RF-EAS deactivation technology streamlines throughput so that checkout proceeds rapidly and deactivation takes place discreetly.

With deactivation heights unmatched in the industry, RF deactivation ensures that RF labels – no matter what the orientation are deactivated. For retailers, this means the virtual elimination of the number one cause of false alarms: failure to deactivated, common with other EAS technologies. For a retailer’s customers, this means no embarrassing moments as they leave the store with legitimately purchased merchandise.

Checkpoint Systems continues to enhance and refine RF deactivation technology. The only EAS technology to truly integrate scan/deactivation, RF deactivation blends into existing operations without the need to invest in costly check stand renovations or the burden of on-going training. Scanners are available today directly form the manufacture, with built-in checkpoint systems RF deactivation capability.

Checkpoint security systems has expanded the role of RF-EAS deactivation to address other areas of shrinkage. Interlock, which allows deactivation after a valid scan, addresses cashier sliding; POS-scanner verification, which locates non-deactivated labels after the scanning verification process, can alert the cashier that checkpoint labels are not deactivated. Post-scanner verification can also be used to alert the store manager that an internal theft attempt might be occurring, or activate a CCTV system to record the event.

Integrated scan and deactivation from Checkpoint Security Systems revolutionized the security aspects of retail point-of-sale transactions. As one of the many revolutionary and evolutionary developments of RF-EAS technology developed by checkpoint systems , RF deactivation streamlines the retailer’s POS operation. Deactivation heights up to 15 inches above the checkpoint security system deactivation pad are common and increase store staff’s confidence in the systems performance.

Checkpoint Security Systems RF deactivation electronics are integrated into the most popular bar code scanners, from manufactures such as NCR, ICL/Fujitsu, PSC/Spectra-Physics, Symbol Technologies, Scantech and Metrologic. Today, many popular scanners can be purchased with built-in Checkpoint Systems RF deactivation capabilities.

The Counterpoint pad deactivates RF labels at a range of up to 15 inches above the pad. In addition, deactivation at speeds of more than 100 products per minute is possible with integrated scan/deactivation. And, Checkpoint Security System RF deactivation solutions work with Checkpoint Security Systems complete range of EAS sensors. Retailers using RF deactivation are using the power of RF technology to streamline POS operations, speed customer throughput and enhance customer service.

For more information on deactivation or checkpoint labels contact us at Checkpoint Security System or call 1.770.426.0547

Filed Under: antishoplifting Tagged With: Checkpoint labels, checkpoint security system, checkpoint security systems, checkpoint systems

One Big Mistake in Employment Screening

October 11, 2010 by Staff Editor

One Big Mistake in Employment Screening

When a company starts doing employment screening, one of the first mistakes made is in deciding what checks to run on employees. Obviously, an employer doesn’t need to run as extensive a check when hiring an hourly laborer as when employing a CFO. The mistake that is made is in not spelling out the requirement for each position level, putting it in writing, and makes it a matter of policy. Having a standard policy for each job level or even each job title makes it a simple matter to apply the checks appropriately, consistently, and fairly.

Employment screening is designed to assure the employer that he is getting the very best candidate available for an open position, but of course each position has different requirements.

For the lower level employee, a credit report or education verification may be unnecessary, while a job reference or criminal record check may be vital. For a company driver, of course, a Motor Vehicle Record is important, for other jobs, maybe not.

The higher the job level, the more a comprehensive the employment screening process would be expected.

It is important to have the written procedure in place for a number of reasons, the most important of which may be that by applying the employment screening standards consistently and equally, the company has a defense against any allegations of discrimination when applying those standards. The policy should also be fully compliant with state and federal laws in the application of the background checks.

Don’t conduct your background checks without having a solid plan in place.

To discuss your employment screening program with an expert, click here or call 770-426-0547.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Background checks, employment screening