What is normal? Normal is whatever falls within a certain range of acceptability, when compared to everything else. So what is normal for you and your store may not be the same normal in another store. That being said, when it comes to shoplifters compared to customers there actually is a normal range to compare each one too.
Understanding how normal customers act when they go shopping is particularly important to understand and to recognize. By doing so, you are able to more quickly and accurately identify a person who is shoplifting. If you do not have a solid concept of normal shopping activity, you and your employees will likely waste significant amounts of time (labor dollars) watching and following honest shoppers. Even a customer who is only browsing with no intention to buy will fall into the normal customer category of behaviors, instead of into shoplifter behaviors.
Loss prevention seminars are a highly efficient tool and resource to help you and your employees understand customer and shoplifter behavior. A seminar will help to break down what normal activity looks like, and what abnormal would be. The seminar will also help to evaluate when some of these behaviors cross over and how to further assess a situation.
For example, a shoplifter will typically try to avoid any and all interaction with other customers and employees. That is one of the main reasons why customer service is the best defense against shoplifting. That doesn’t mean that all people who avoid employee interaction are going to be shoplifters. Many customers who are window shopping will avoid employees because they know they are not in the store to spend any money.
That doesn’t mean that they won’t come back at a later time to make a purchase, they are just not willing to do so now. Other paying customers will also avoid employee interaction because they do not want to be hovered over, or feel pressured into buying something. They simply want the autonomy to shop alone. So avoiding employee interaction is a behavior that is normal for both a customer and a shoplifter.
Confused yet? Well recognizing a shoplifter starts by taking one action that might be indicative of a shoplifter and then adding on several more actions. Eventually you will see a pattern emerge by the person that is either more conducive to being a customer or being a shoplifter. The more characteristics of both that you understand and can evaluate, the better your analysis of a situation will be.
It is very out of the norm for a paying customer to hide merchandise in their bag when faced with the availability of shopping carts, or store provided shopping bags. An employee can also offer to hold merchandise at the front counter for a customer and the customer will show gratitude in their face and body language. A shoplifter who has been caught putting merchandise into their bag or purse will not show the same body language. They will be more likely to also state that they changed their mind and no longer want the item.
For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia
Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.
What is normal? Normal is whatever falls within a certain range of acceptability, when compared to everything else. So what is normal for you and your store may not be the same normal in another store. That being said, when it comes to shoplifters compared to customers there actually is a normal range to compare each one too.
Understanding how normal customers act when they go shopping is particularly important to understand and to recognize. By doing so, you are able to more quickly and accurately identify a person who is shoplifting. If you do not have a solid concept of normal shopping activity, you and your employees will likely waste significant amounts of time (labor dollars) watching and following honest shoppers. Even a customer who is only browsing with no intention to buy will fall into the normal customer category of behaviors, instead of into shoplifter behaviors.
Loss prevention seminars are a highly efficient tool and resource to help you and your employees understand customer and shoplifter behavior. A seminar will help to break down what normal activity looks like, and what abnormal would be. The seminar will also help to evaluate when some of these behaviors cross over and how to further assess a situation.
For example, a shoplifter will typically try to avoid any and all interaction with other customers and employees. That is one of the main reasons why customer service is the best defense against shoplifting. That doesn’t mean that all people who avoid employee interaction are going to be shoplifters. Many customers who are window shopping will avoid employees because they know they are not in the store to spend any money.
That doesn’t mean that they won’t come back at a later time to make a purchase, they are just not willing to do so now. Other paying customers will also avoid employee interaction because they do not want to be hovered over, or feel pressured into buying something. They simply want the autonomy to shop alone. So avoiding employee interaction is a behavior that is normal for both a customer and a shoplifter.
Confused yet? Well recognizing a shoplifter starts by taking one action that might be indicative of a shoplifter and then adding on several more actions. Eventually you will see a pattern emerge by the person that is either more conducive to being a customer or being a shoplifter. The more characteristics of both that you understand and can evaluate, the better your analysis of a situation will be.
It is very out of the norm for a paying customer to hide merchandise in their bag when faced with the availability of shopping carts, or store provided shopping bags. An employee can also offer to hold merchandise at the front counter for a customer and the customer will show gratitude in their face and body language. A shoplifter who has been caught putting merchandise into their bag or purse will not show the same body language. They will be more likely to also state that they changed their mind and no longer want the item.
For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia
Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.
To stop theft of alcohol from occurring at your business, you have a good bottle security program in place and bottle locks on your liquor, but what can you do to stop your own employees from committing fraud? How do you think a customer would react if they found out that their credit card information was obtained from using it at your business? My guess is that they would be much less likely to return, and your image would be tarnished. Fraud is a year round problem, but it only increase during the holiday season. One reason for this is that everything is hectic during the holidays. Everyone needs more money during the holidays, so right before the season, some of the not so ethical members of society take advantage of the situation and fraud activity increases. The mix of the busy environment, with access to credit cards, and need for extra money may be too tempting for some of your employees.
Restaurants and bars are infamous places for fraud to be committed by the employees. It’s one of the few places where the employee takes your credit or debit card from you, and walks out of sight. At this point, they should just be taking the card and swiping it through the business’s register for approval. This also gives them the opportunity to obtain the information from your card for themselves, either by imprinting the card, writing it down, or swiping it through a device. Unfortunately, you can’t put bottle locks on your customer’s credit cards, so trying to make sure this doesn’t happen at your business would obviously start with background checks on all employees. After that, their activity should be monitored on occasion to ensure they are not taking doing anything out of the ordinary. Ensure the employees are being supervised and don’t have any opportunities to slip away with a card.
I have actually been a victim of fraud myself. I checked my account activity and learned that a purchase for $900 had gone through at a major retailer using my bank card. This immediately shocked me, because I hadn’t even been to that retailer recently, and I still had my card in my possession. I immediately called my bank and reported this as fraud. To make matters worse, the bank froze my account for a few days until they investigated the transaction. Of course it was proven that it was fraud, but it was a very inconvenient experience to say the least. So if I still had my card, how did the thieves use my card in the store?
Most likely, my information was obtained from using my card at a restaurant or other business, and then re-encoded onto another card. It sounds complicated, but it’s very easy for thieves to do this today. It’s as easy as ordering a device online that they can swipe your card with, then store it and put your information on another card. The black strip on the back of the card stores the information they need. Thieves are even placing devices on gas pumps on top of the real device, so when you swipe your card, you are running it through their device as well. If this all sounds a little scary to you, it should. Do all you can to protect your alcohol with bottle security, and then look at your employees to try to stop fraud from occurring in your business.
For more information contact us: (bottle security) or call 1.770.426.0547
To stop theft of alcohol from occurring at your business, you have a good bottle security program in place and bottle locks on your liquor, but what can you do to stop your own employees from committing fraud? How do you think a customer would react if they found out that their credit card information was obtained from using it at your business? My guess is that they would be much less likely to return, and your image would be tarnished. Fraud is a year round problem, but it only increases during the holiday season. One reason for this is that everything is hectic during the holidays. Everyone needs more money during the holidays, so right before the season, some of the not so ethical members of society take advantage of the situation and fraud activity increases. The mix of the busy environment, with access to credit cards, and need for extra money may be too tempting for some of your employees.
Restaurants and bars are infamous places for fraud to be committed by the employees. It’s one of the few places where the employee takes your credit or debit card from you, and walks out of sight. At this point, they should just be taking the card and swiping it through the business’s register for approval. This also gives them the opportunity to obtain the information from your card for themselves, either by imprinting the card, writing it down, or swiping it through a device. Unfortunately, you can’t put bottle locks on your customer’s credit cards, so trying to make sure this doesn’t happen at your business would obviously start with background checks on all employees. After that, their activity should be monitored on occasion to ensure they are not taking doing anything out of the ordinary. Ensure the employees are being supervised and don’t have any opportunities to slip away with a card.
I have actually been a victim of fraud myself. I checked my account activity and learned that a purchase for $900 had gone through at a major retailer using my bank card. This immediately shocked me, because I hadn’t even been to that retailer recently, and I still had my card in my possession. I immediately called my bank and reported this as fraud. To make matters worse, the bank froze my account for a few days until they investigated the transaction. Of course it was proven that it was fraud, but it was a very inconvenient experience to say the least. So if I still had my card, how did the thieves use my card in the store?
Most likely, my information was obtained from using my card at a restaurant or other business, and then re-encoded onto another card. It sounds complicated, but it’s very easy for thieves to do this today. It’s as easy as ordering a device online that they can swipe your card with, then store it and put your information on another card. The black strip on the back of the card stores the information they need. Thieves are even placing devices on gas pumps on top of the real device, so when you swipe your card, you are running it through their device as well. If this all sounds a little scary to you, it should. Do all you can to protect your alcohol with bottle security, and then look at your employees to try to stop fraud from occurring in your business.
For more information contact us: Bottle Security or call 1.770.426.0547
It was another Monday morning. I get into the store and begin my week by running a couple of reports from over the weekend. As the district LP manager, I was responsible for quite a few stores. I was looking specifically for refund fraud. This scheme involves a shoplifter stealing from one location, then bringing that merchandise to a sister store down the road for a refund. The store would issue a gift card if no receipt was present. This was a lucrative fraud scheme. If I could prove the merchandise was stolen with video evidence, I could cancel the gift card. I figure, if I can stop shoplifting as it happens, I’ll at least recoup some of the store funds from those ill-gotten gift cards.
It didn’t take long before I found a case. I was able to find video of the theft, so I contacted a detective I knew. She was my go to for these cases. Since we took a photo copy of a driver’s license, we knew our suspect and they were very easy to close. A few days went by and we met up and I provided her with the case details. This particular case was a guy who was able to remove the anti-shoplifting devices from several pairs of high end ski gloves. He returned those gloves at another store down the road after stealing them from the first location. With an ID in hand, a warrant was cut a few days later and my detective friend was able to make an arrest a few days later. He’s where things snowballed.
It quickly became evident that this was a much bigger case than I could have ever expected. A search of this guy’s house and car revealed about 20 return receipts from my store over the last few weeks, in additional to a device used to remove the checkpoint security tags we used on those high end ski gloves. The detective stated that she was going to interview the guy prior to him being released to see what details he would offer into his actions. Maybe even implicate someone else.
What we learned was stunning. This guy had several shoplifting convictions and a rap sheet half a mile long. He was willing to talk in exchange for some leniency. The DA agreed and he told us of his fence. A fence is a name given to a person, or business that is a front for stolen goods. It could be an EBay seller, or a brick and mortar store front. Our suspect told us he was selling the gift cards, in addition to stolen goods to this fence. He told us it was a convenience store on the outskirts of the city limits. Once this information was gathered it was clear what had to be done. If we were going to stop shoplifting in our store, we had to take out the fence. A plan, over the next few weeks, was developed. My stores would assist the local police in shutting down a major retail theft operation. Front page news here we come!
For more information, contact us: Anti-Shoplifting, or call 1.770.426.0547
It was another Monday morning. I get into the store and begin my week by running a couple of reports from over the weekend. As the district LP manager, I was responsible for quite a few stores. I was looking specifically for refund fraud. This scheme involves a shoplifter stealing from one location, then bringing that merchandise to a sister store down the road for a refund. The store would issue a gift card if no receipt was present. This was a lucrative fraud scheme. If I could prove the merchandise was stolen with video evidence, I could cancel the gift card. I figure, if I can stop shoplifting as it happens, I’ll at least recoup some of the store funds from those ill-gotten gift cards.
It didn’t take long before I found a case. I was able to find video of the theft, so I contacted a detective I knew. She was my go to for these cases. Since we took a photo copy of a driver’s license, we knew our suspect and they were very easy to close. A few days went by and we met up and I provided her with the case details. This particular case was a guy who was able to remove the anti-shoplifting devices from several pairs of high end ski gloves. He returned those gloves at another store down the road after stealing them from the first location. With an ID in hand, a warrant was issued a few days later and my detective friend was able to make an arrest a few days later. Here’s where things snowballed.
It quickly became evident that this was a much bigger case than I could have ever expected. A search of this guy’s house and car revealed about 20 return receipts from my store over the last few weeks, in addition to a device used to remove the Checkpoint Security Tags we used on those high end ski gloves. The detective stated that she was going to interview the guy prior to him being released to see what details he would offer into his actions. Maybe even implicate someone else.
What we learned was stunning. This guy had several shoplifting convictions and a rap sheet half a mile long. He was willing to talk in exchange for some leniency. The DA agreed and he told us of his fence. A fence is a name given to a person, or business that is a front for stolen goods. It could be an EBay seller, or a brick and mortar store front. Our suspect told us he was selling the gift cards, in addition to stolen goods to this fence. He told us it was a convenience store on the outskirts of the city limits. Once this information was gathered it was clear what had to be done. If we were going to stop shoplifting in our store, we had to take out the fence. A plan, over the next few weeks, was developed. My stores would assist the local police in shutting down a major retail theft operation. Front page news here we come!
For more information, contact us: Anti-Shoplifting, or call 1.770.426.0547
It was another Monday morning. I get into the store and begin my week by running a couple of reports from over the weekend. As the district LP manager, I was responsible for quite a few stores. I was looking specifically for refund fraud. This scheme involves a shoplifter stealing from one location, then bringing that merchandise to a sister store down the road for a refund. The store would issue a gift card if no receipt was present. This was a lucrative fraud scheme. If I could prove the merchandise was stolen with video evidence, I could cancel the gift card. I figure, if I can stop shoplifting as it happens, I’ll at least recoup some of the store funds from those ill-gotten gift cards.
It didn’t take long before I found a case. I was able to find video of the theft, so I contacted a detective I knew. She was my go to for these cases. Since we took a photo copy of a driver’s license, we knew our suspect and they were very easy to close. A few days went by and we met up and I provided her with the case details. This particular case was a guy who was able to remove the anti-shoplifting devices from several pairs of high end ski gloves. He returned those gloves at another store down the road after stealing them from the first location. With an ID in hand, a warrant was cut a few days later and my detective friend was able to make an arrest a few days later. He’s where things snowballed.
It quickly became evident that this was a much bigger case than I could have ever expected. A search of this guy’s house and car revealed about 20 return receipts from my store over the last few weeks, in additional to a device used to remove the checkpoint security tags we used on those high end ski gloves. The detective stated that she was going to interview the guy prior to him being released to see what details he would offer into his actions. Maybe even implicate someone else.
What we learned was stunning. This guy had several shoplifting convictions and a rap sheet half a mile long. He was willing to talk in exchange for some leniency. The DA agreed and he told us of his fence. A fence is a name given to a person, or business that is a front for stolen goods. It could be an EBay seller, or a brick and mortar store front. Our suspect told us he was selling the gift cards, in addition to stolen goods to this fence. He told us it was a convenience store on the outskirts of the city limits. Once this information was gathered it was clear what had to be done. If we were going to stop shoplifting in our store, we had to take out the fence. A plan, over the next few weeks, was developed. My stores would assist the local police in shutting down a major retail theft operation. Front page news here we come!
For more information, contact us: Anti-Shoplifting, or call 1.770.426.0547
It was another Monday morning. I get into the store and begin my week by running a couple of reports from over the weekend. As the district LP manager, I was responsible for quite a few stores. I was looking specifically for refund fraud. This scheme involves a shoplifter stealing from one location, then bringing that merchandise to a sister store down the road for a refund. The store would issue a gift card if no receipt was present. This was a lucrative fraud scheme. If I could prove the merchandise was stolen with video evidence, I could cancel the gift card. I figure, if I can stop shoplifting as it happens, I’ll at least recoup some of the store funds from those ill-gotten gift cards.
It didn’t take long before I found a case. I was able to find video of the theft, so I contacted a detective I knew. She was my go to for these cases. Since we took a photo copy of a driver’s license, we knew our suspect and they were very easy to close. A few days went by and we met up and I provided her with the case details. This particular case was a guy who was able to remove the anti-shoplifting devices from several pairs of high end ski gloves. He returned those gloves at another store down the road after stealing them from the first location. With an ID in hand, a warrant was issued a few days later and my detective friend was able to make an arrest a few days later. Here’s where things snowballed.
It quickly became evident that this was a much bigger case than I could have ever expected. A search of this guy’s house and car revealed about 20 return receipts from my store over the last few weeks, in addition to a device used to remove the Checkpoint Security Tags we used on those high end ski gloves. The detective stated that she was going to interview the guy prior to him being released to see what details he would offer into his actions. Maybe even implicate someone else.
What we learned was stunning. This guy had several shoplifting convictions and a rap sheet half a mile long. He was willing to talk in exchange for some leniency. The DA agreed and he told us of his fence. A fence is a name given to a person, or business that is a front for stolen goods. It could be an EBay seller, or a brick and mortar store front. Our suspect told us he was selling the gift cards, in addition to stolen goods to this fence. He told us it was a convenience store on the outskirts of the city limits. Once this information was gathered it was clear what had to be done. If we were going to stop shoplifting in our store, we had to take out the fence. A plan, over the next few weeks, was developed. My stores would assist the local police in shutting down a major retail theft operation. Front page news here we come!
For more information, contact us: Anti-Shoplifting, or call 1.770.426.0547
The Holidays are here, and that means it’s already time to be filling your stores to the brim with boxes and bodies; that is, merchandise and employees of course. Hiring for the holiday season to meet the demands of the fourth quarter is a good tradeoff for those looking to make some extra money for the holidays. As the case goes with an increase in shopping, the influx of customers brings an influx of shoplifters. With an increase in hiring for the season, there is an increase of bad eggs looking to get a job where they can exploit their employers. Obviously this doesn’t mean that all folks looking for seasonal work are rotten, but it is likely that you will encounter at least one or two that can do a great deal of damage through internal theft. Below is a brief list of two impactful forms of holiday hell-raising these bad employees try to cause.
Cash theft is a type of employee theft that I see frequently around this time of year as a loss prevention professional. It is pretty obvious what it consists of: associates taking money either from the till, the fund bags, or the safe. Cash theft is an alluring option for many thieving employees because it is liquid and can be transferred into anything the thief wants like gifts and bill payments. Likewise, those involved in the cash handling process will see a lot of it passing through their hands during the holiday season. It doesn’t take long for them to realize how much your business is taking in, and it makes it easier for a dishonest person to rationalize their desires to take some.
Protect yourself with strict cash controls. Only allow a certain amount of cash to be in the drawer at any given time (also to prevent external cash theft), ensure dual-verification of till amounts by more than one employee, enforce register accountability and hold employees accountable for their tills! If you think it is worth the investment, get a camera surveillance system to monitor employees at the register. Remember, most employees steal cash before they leave the store for a break, lunch, for the day, or forever!
Pass-offs, also known as free-bagging, is another form of internal theft you are likely to see around this time of year. This also constitutes as a form of external theft when the “customer” receiving the unpaid-for goods is in on the scam (and they usually are). Employees can be pretty creative when it comes to handing off free merchandise to their friends at the point of sale. Some employees will ring the purchase, only to process a return or cancellation later for their friends, either refunding a credit card or refunding cash and keeping it for themselves. Other employees might pretend to scan items for their friends (especially if your store has surveillance cameras), when they actually are not, and may take in an amount of money far less than what the merchandise is worth. They may also scan most items, skipping only one or two very expensive items.
The methods are endless. Preventing this form of theft is quite difficult. It is easier to catch it after it happens, than it is to prevent it. Having a surveillance system will deter a few dishonest employees. The next best option is to perform sales audits regularly to catch discrepancies early on. If you notice
The Holidays are here, and that means it’s already time to be filling your stores to the brim with boxes and bodies; that is, merchandise and employees of course. Hiring for the holiday season to meet the demands of the fourth quarter is a good tradeoff for those looking to make some extra money for the holidays. As the case goes with an increase in shopping, the influx of customers brings an influx of shoplifters. With an increase in hiring for the season, there is an increase of bad eggs looking to get a job where they can exploit their employers. Obviously this doesn’t mean that all folks looking for seasonal work are rotten, but it is likely that you will encounter at least one or two that can do a great deal of damage through employee theft. Below is a brief list of two impactful forms of holiday hell-raising these bad employees try to cause.
Cash theft is a type of employee theft that I see frequently around this time of year as a loss prevention professional. It is pretty obvious what it consists of: associates taking money either from the till, the fund bags, or the safe. Cash theft is an alluring option for many thieving employees because it is liquid and can be transferred into anything the thief wants like gifts and bill payments. Likewise, those involved in the cash handling process will see a lot of it passing through their hands during the holiday season. It doesn’t take long for them to realize how much your business is taking in, and it makes it easier for a dishonest person to rationalize their desires to take some.
Protect yourself with strict cash controls. Only allow a certain amount of cash to be in the drawer at any given time (also to prevent external cash theft), ensure dual-verification of till amounts by more than one employee, enforce register accountability and hold employees accountable for their tills! If you think it is worth the investment, get a camera surveillance system to monitor employees at the register. Remember, most employees steal cash before they leave the store for a break, lunch, for the day, or forever!
Pass-offs, also known as free-bagging, is another form of employee theft you are likely to see around this time of year. This also constitutes as a form of external theft when the “customer” receiving the unpaid-for goods is in on the scam (and they usually are). Employees can be pretty creative when it comes to handing off free merchandise to their friends at the point of sale. Some employees will ring the purchase, only to process a return or cancellation later for their friends, either refunding a credit card or refunding cash and keeping it for themselves. Other employees might pretend to scan items for their friends (especially if your store has surveillance cameras), when they actually are not, and may take in an amount of money far less than what the merchandise is worth. They may also scan most items, skipping only one or two very expensive items.
The methods are endless. Preventing this form of theft is quite difficult. It is easier to catch it after it happens, than it is to prevent it. Having a surveillance system will deter a few dishonest employees. The next best option is to perform sales audits regularly to catch discrepancies early on. If you notice expensive, popular items missing, make sure it’s reflected in your sales. If not, start an employee theft investigation.
For more information contact us: Employee Theft or call 1.770.426.0547
