We’ve all got a popular salesperson in our organization who the public seems to love, but are you sure that this person isn’t a vehicle for employee theft ? As a business owner you thank the heavens when you find a salesperson that seems to identify with your customer base and repeatedly provides great service and drives repeat business. However, you need to keep a watchful eye on these “godsends” as well. Find out what they’re doing that makes them so popular with the customers. You may not always be happy with what you find.

I was once briefly acquainted with a saleswoman who we’ll call Jan. When I say “briefly acquainted” what I really mean is that I fired her for employee theft . Jan was the most popular salesperson I had ever seen; customers would stand around the store for hours waiting for her to be free and able to handle their transactions. I soon found out why being serviced by Jan was in everyone’s best interest. Jan was regularly giving extraordinary discounts to customers in an attempt to gain their business and their loyalty. When she couldn’t find a way to give a deep discount she would simply switch the tickets on the merchandise and make the sale that way.

The business suffered extreme losses as a result of her actions but her commissions were through the roof. Pay close attention to any salesperson that gets constant visits from friends or the same customers. Track their point-of-sale transactions and ensure that they’re actually popular for their outstanding customer service and not because they’re giving away the store underneath your nose. Employee theft is a serious problem in every business and it is often because we place our trust in the wrong individuals.

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

Employee theft is potentially one of the most dangerous hazards to the bottom line of any small business. In some cases dishonest employees account for up to two-thirds of all company losses. Yet some companies still don’t take the proper precautions to safeguard their profit margins. Doing so is largely a matter of careful pre-employment screening and selection. Reference checks, credit checks, psychological tests and personal character examinations are all tools you can use to ensure the person you are trusting with your business and its’ success is worth your trust.

Even the savviest employer can be fooled by a dishonest employee. For example, I was helping out a colleague in a nearby town a while back. When I arrived he was in a meeting so I sat in the waiting room for a while. A young man arrived shortly after me and we struck up a very pleasant conversation about the city, the company and life in general. I have to admit I was quite impressed with his eloquence and his knowledge of business. My friend emerged moments later and grimaced noticeably at the sight of the young man. Once we were in his office, my friend explained that the young man was being terminated for lying on his application. He had a substantial criminal history, including two counts of sexual assault against a minor. I was appalled. How could such a fiend seem so… regular? However, the truth is that they often do.

True, there is no sure way to stop employee theft completely, but a pre-employment screening can go a long way to giving you some peace of mind. In the case above the young man was terminated before he had a chance to commit a crime against the company. However, they still spent countless dollars training him, man-hours to investigate and terminate him, then more money to train his replacement. A pre-employment screening could have saved them a lot of trouble and money. Reducing employee theft starts at the very beginning of the hiring process. Good people equal good business.

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

Signals that will expose possible employee theft or internal theft with goods or money.

• Certain salespersons who, with a certain regularity, certainly higher than average, are found to have accepted false or stolen credit cards or other false documents. This often indicates collusion. In exchange for accepting the false card or document the salesperson may add an extra amount to the invoice. The difference is subsequently taken from the till without a loss showing.
• The discovery of non-branch products on the premises can indicate the presence of a private-shop-within-a-shop. For their own account, one or more employees buy products for cash and sell them on. Barmen/maids may also bring their privately bought bottles and sell them at bar prices, pocketing the income.
• A employee that is involved in internal theft is often recognised by his or her own deviant behaviour. Exaggerated preparedness to do extra or work overtime have already been mentioned, but note also a reticence to delegate, or not to take holidays or only take short ones. Delegation or absence could lead to discovery.  Someone keeping everything locked up when other employees would not, or breaking off telephone conversations when someone approaches may be indications of fraud.
• If a company closes for an annual holiday period, the amount the fraudster has ‘lost’ during the enforced holiday period will often be made up during the days after a return to work. The result is a sharp increase in the company’s losses during this period.
• If a sudden rise in telephone or Internet costs is noted, it may be a good idea to ask for a specification or check the computer log. This may reveal visit to pornographic sites or telephone numbers, or surfing the net at the company’s expense.
• Sometimes physical characteristics play a role. The most frequently seen in perpetrators whose motive is prestige is the possession of company keys or a key-card with general authorisation. Such a person derives status with every jangle of their key ring or use of the card.

All types of employees can be involved in employee theft or internal theft . Do not over look someone who does not have access to cash. Could they be submitting falsified expense reports, or stealing your customers credit card numbers. Employee theft and internal theft can also show up in the relationships your employees have with Vendors and Delivery People.

I know I keep saying this but remember it is less expensive to have an over all prevention program in place and conduct an occasional employee theft investigation than the other way around. Most of the time an employee theft investigation only takes a day or two but prevention is still the key.

Watch for more parts to come in future blogs!

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

Signals that may point to possible employee theft or internal theft with goods or money. Do not forget you must train your employees what to look for. They will help you prior to an employee theft investigation .

• An increased frequency of reports of faults in delivered goods.
• Faults noted by the same employee despite other personnel carrying out the same checks.
• Personnel repeatedly fail to follow instructions such as daily bank deposits of cash.
• The seeming forgetting of important daily tasks such as switching on the alarm, closing doors, or storage of expensive property in special cupboards being followed by a break in or ram-raid.
• Branch employees ‘forget’ to report losses or other unusual events or are repeatedly the ‘victim’ of an unfortunate incident or circumstance.
• Checks or opening and closing times show deviations such as extremely early or late times, whether or not on the same day every week.
• Opening the premises during closing times to show round family and friends etc.
• Ringing up packed goods of various quality and cost for the same price.
• Giving the customer various goods but only passing the cheapest article past the scanner. Security measures are removed and all articles are bagged as normal.
• Allowing theft by acquaintances and when the alarm at the exit sounds has a ‘friendly’ (security) colleague carry out the bag check.
• The salesperson attaches a bar code for a cheap article to their wrist and scans this but acquaintances take dearer articles. Also in this case the till display window is often covered or turned away.
• The giving of reductions by the salesperson to the purchaser without this reduction being registered and the article subsequently being returned for the full amount.
• Third parties such as suppliers, collect-clients and drivers are discovered at business locations where they should not be, promptly followed by a report of shortages that are put down to the unregistered visitor.

Employees that steal will not wave a flag that says here I am. You have to watch and be on the lookout at all times. Internal theft or employee theft will be hidden from your view. It will also be made to look like something else such as a mistake. Do not be mislead look for employee theft or internal theft beyond the “facts” you are given. Do not be afraid to ask questions and demand answers. In most cases what you find will then require a quick employee theft investigation to dig the reat out.

Watch for more parts to come in future blogs!

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

These signals will reveal employee theft or internal theft

· Shifting turnover to cheaper products or services by which means the number of sales remains the same but the average sale drops.
· Unexplainably high expenditure patters of one or more members of staff.
· Discovery of offers of your own assortment on notice boards in supermarkets and other places with only a telephone number, whether or not the number of a member of staff. In particular, mobile phone numbers deserve attention.
· Personnel who are always the first to own the newest, dearest and most trendy articles without having purchased this from staff sales.
· Personnel who rebuild their home with materials that the employer sells, without having made use of staff sales.
· The borrowing of company products or tools without proper registration whereby the borrowing may become permanent.
· The lending of goods to employees with a lending ticket without checking that the ticket is not used to take goods every day.
· Personnel wearing clothing made by the employer without having made use of staff sales.
· Unexplainable rises in breakages or losses.
· Higher turnover of items that fall under the heading ‘useful for home’.
· Keeping storage places untidy and dirty despite repeated instructions to make them clean and tidy.
· Employees who voluntarily take upon themselves unpopular tasks such as taking out the rubbish, cleaning after working hours, etc..
· Employees who noticeably frequently find an excuse to “just pop out for a minute” and often carry goods outside.
· Regularly discovering empty packing boxes in the stores in between full boxes, or discovering packing materials in other places.

By now you understand that you must be actively involved when preventing internal theft or employee theft . Prevention is the key. Do not be afraid to look into these situations. That in itself is a prevention technique. Do not wait until it is out of control to have an employee theft investigation conducted. An employee theft investigation is then done if prevention efforts are not successful.

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

These signals can reveal employee theft or internal theft 

· A further point to the two previous points is that the till display is often turned away from the customer or hidden behind advertising material.
· Cashing up at the end of the day shows multiple till openings without demonstrable reason.
· On checking an X or Y till roll, often a 0 strike or the amount of a carrier bag or some other minimal amount can be seen. This may indicate the intention to open the till between sales.
· Between sales openings of a till usually take place at particular times such as coffee, lunch or tea breaks or at times when there are no other people around.
· Surplus cash often indicates the temporary impossibility for the fraudster to take cash that has not been rung up.
· An abnormally high need to change money, or withdrawing more money than is really changed, often has the intention of creaming off the fraudulently created surplus cash.
· A strong rise by one salesperson of the number of sales (increase in bonus) as against their colleagues can mean the sales of extra guarantees or maintenance contracts without the client being aware of it.
· Clients wrongly reporting to the rear door of the premises.
· Storage of stocks at temporary locations, often near the exit or on top of lowered ceilings, for example in toilets.
· Rear doors or side doors which, against the rules, are often found unlocked.

Keep in mind that internal theft and employee theft will never stop on its own. Most employees that steal will only get more comfortable with their theft. An employee theft investigation must be conducted to stop the bleeding. Simply firing the employee will not solve the problem. Where did they learn it? Who else is stealing? Keep in mind that an employee theft investigation is generally a very quick process (usually a day or two). Also employees that are involved in internal theft or employee theft associate with others that do the same.

Watch for more parts to come in future blogs!

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

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

Here is another employee theft investigation that Loss Prevention Systems conducted for a client. An employee theft investigation is usually very quick. We specialize in this area and can solve most of these situations to your company’s satisfaction. Of course the names have been changed to protect the guilty.

Confidential

Internal Theft Investigative Case Report

On September 24th, an employee theft investigation was initiated by Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) at the request of Mr. X, Director of Operations.

Mr. X stated that S. Jones, Head Cashier, had suspected of beening involved in the theft of merchandise.

During an interview with Jones, she admitted to the theft of $990 in merchandise and $1,500 in cash from the store.  Jones stated that she stole merchandise by only ringing up part of a sale when friends would come into the store.  Jones stole cash by doing fraudulent returns and pocketing the money.  Jones incorporated her admissions into a written and signed statement.

During an interview with Suzy Young, Cashier, Young admitted to the theft of $5,400 in merchandise and $3,035 in cash from the store.  Young stated that she stole merchandise by only partially ringing up a sale for friends when they were coming into the store.  Young stated that in collusion with Jones she would steal cash by doing fraudulent returns.  Young incorporated her admissions into a written and signed statement.

During an interview with Debbie Dummy, Cashier, Dummy admitted to the theft of $163 in merchandise. Dummy stated she would steal items of interest to her such as xxxxx by simply walking out of the store without paying for them.  On several occasions she gave small merchandise items to friends in exchange for cash, which she pocketed.  Dummy incorporated her admissions into a written and signed statement.

During an interview with Mary Not-so-bright, Cashier, Not-so-bright admitted to the theft of $200 in merchandise from the store.  Not-so-bright stated that in collusion with Young, she gave away merchandise to friends by only ringing up part of the merchandise and giving the balance away.  Not-so-bright also stated that she stole several items for herself.  Not-so-bright incorporated her admissions into a written and signed statement.

During an interview with David Johnson, Assistant Manager, Johnson stated that he had been removing large quantities of merchandise from both the xxx and xxx stores.  Johnson said that he would ring the merchandise up using the training mode on the register, and then deliver the merchandise to a (client) customer. Johnson would give this customer a 30 percent discount. The customer in turn would then write a check, which Johnson would ring into the register anywhere from 1 to 7 days later.  During the interview Johnson produced one of the checks.  However, the check listed Johnson as the payee. Harris incorporated his admissions into a written and signed statement.

All information and investigative facts developed during this investigation were turned over to Mr X, Director of Operations.

Notes: Routinely our employee theft investigation work turns up more evidence of internal theft by other employees. It is like grabbing a thread and pulling, the cloth unravels.  This employee theft investigation took approximately 2 days to complete including the report.

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