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IN THE NEWS
Ohio State Employee Accused of Stealing $63,000 Nov 08 2007 COLUMBUS, Ohio - Authorities on Thursday said two Ohio State University employees will face charges after they allegedly stole from the school.
While one worker is accused of using a credit card machine to funnel thousands of dollars into his own account, another man is accused of selling items he stole from the Wexner Center over the Internet.
Both employees have since been fired from their positions.
According to police, Troy Niles, a former security guard, used his own name to sell items like microphones on the eBay Web site.
Charges were also filed Thursday against Bennett J. Bowens, who police said used a credit card machine in the Parking and Transportation Department to credit thousands of dollars to his own cards.
"The amount involved ended up being $63,000," said Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien. "The internal audit reviewed the accounts and they noticed the frequent credits to these accounts and they had no explanation for it. When they looked into it, they found the accounts being credited were in his name."
Bowens was indicted on charges of theft in office and telecommunications fraud.
The Parking and Transportation Department said it has implemented additional auditing procedures, including background checks on any employee that deals with cash or credit card information.
"They are now detecting, perhaps, some of the things they didn't have the opportunity to observe in the past," O'Brien said.
The indictments Thursday come after two other recent investigations involving employees accused of stealing from Ohio State.
Both men face the possibility of prison time if convicted. Bus driver, monitor removed from jobs Nov. 2007
CINCINNATI, Ohio - A bus driver and a bus monitor who were contracted to work for the Cincinnati Public School system were removed from their jobs after authorities learned they had criminal convictions that disqualified them for employment, school officials said. The revelations came during background checks on 458 drivers and monitors contracted to work for the district, said the district's spokeswoman, Janet Walsh. The driver had a 2005 theft conviction and the monitor had a 2006 shoplifting conviction. The checks came as the district took advantage of Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Greg Hartmann's offer to perform criminal record reviews on all school bus staff. The background checks revealed that 112 of the 458 on-board bus staff had a record of some type of arrest over the past 20 years. However, upon review most were approved for continued employment after their records showed their offenses were either minor or they were never convicted. Of the 112 with arrest records, 11 who had been convicted of more serious offenses had met state rehabilitation standards permitting employment. Only the two people released from their positions were found to have anything serious in their criminal backgrounds, the district said. Last July, the district began participating in a new state system that performs nightly checks on all licensed school bus drivers to detect any new arrests and convictions that might affect their employment.
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IN THE NEWS
The Complete Information Resource for the Security Industry October 18th, 2007
The State of the Loss Prevention Industry: A recently completed Retail Theft Survey and for just the second time in the past 9 years, the participating retailers reported both the apprehensions and recovery dollars from shoplifters and dishonest employees increased in 2006. Shoplifting apprehensions and recovery dollars were up an amazing 11.2 percent and 13.9 percent respectively, while employee theft apprehensions increased almost 7 percent and their recovery dollars were up over 16 percent. The losses are simply staggering!
The 19th Annual Retail Theft Survey covers 23 major retail companies, representing 14,118 stores, with retail sales exceeding $537 billion (2006), and reports thieves stole over $6.0 billion from these retailers in 2006. It should be noted that the survey participants are large retail companies who practice true loss prevention strategies, yet they still apprehended over 530,000 shoplifters and dishonest employees in 2006, and recovered more than $116 million from those apprehensions, an increase of 10.6 percent and 15.15 percent respectively. [Full table data appears at the bottom of this article.] Below are some of the highlights from our 19th Annual Retail Theft Survey: Shoplifting
• In 2006, survey participants apprehended 463,682 shoplifters, reflecting a sizable increase of 11.21 percent from the prior year (416,956).
• Dollars recovered from those shoplifter apprehensions totaled over $59.6 million in 2006, an amazing 13.96 percent increase over 2005 recoveries ($52.3 million). This was the 6th straight year of shoplifting recovery increases.
• Dollars recovered from shoplifters where no apprehension was made increased for the 10th consecutive year. In 2006, this increase was 2.43 percent.
• The average shoplifting case value in 2006 was $128.71, which was a 2.48 percent increase over 2005's average case value ($125.60).
Employee Theft
• In 2006, survey participants apprehended 66,507 dishonest employees, an increase of 6.57 percent over 2005's apprehensions.
• Dollars recovered from dishonest employee apprehensions totaled over $56.6 million in 2006, a substantial increase of 16.44 percent over 2005's recovery dollars ($48.6 million).
• One out of every 27.9 employees was apprehended for theft from their employer in 2006. (Based on comparison data of over 1.85 million employees.)
• The average dishonest employee case value in 2006 was $851.44, a 9.26 percent increase over 2005 ($779.27). Why did shoplifting apprehensions and recovery dollars both increase so dramatically in 2006? We asked the survey participants and they gave us four primary reasons: • With an increase in organized retail theft, they focused more attention on the shoplifting issue.
• They had additional loss prevention personnel on the floor looking for shoplifters.
• There was more of a focus on and much better use of CCTV in their highest loss departments and areas.
• More emphasis on employee training and awareness and award programs for reporting possible shoplifting activities, resulted in more calls/leads from the sales floor. We also asked our survey participants why they experienced an increase in both dishonest employee apprehensions and recovery dollars in 2006. They gave us the following five primary reasons: • They had new or improved Point-of-Sale exception reporting software which helped them to more readily identify dishonest employees.
• They focused more time and effort on internal theft cases.
• An increase in the training and education of their loss prevention personnel in regards to identifying employee theft cases.
• Promoted their award programs for employees who report dishonest activities/employees.
• A poorer quality of applicants resulted in more dishonest employees being hired in their companies. With shoplifting apprehensions and recovery dollars up substantially, retailers need to re-focus their efforts on the prevention side of shoplifting, and then the apprehension side when prevention doesn't work. Retailers need to continue working with the Federal Government and each other in an effort to combat organized retail theft (ORT). This growing problem requires a team-effort approach and sharing of data between retailers. The level of training for both loss prevention personnel and sales floor associates needs to be heightened to combat ORT. These shoplifters are not typical thieves; instead they work in 'teams' to defeat the very best of systems/controls and sales staff service techniques. Physical deterrents such as fixtures which limit access to large quantities of a product; or more products being protected with an EAS tag through items being source tagged by the manufacturers are areas that we need to continue pursuing and addressing. The first step to reducing employee theft starts at the point-of-hire; that is, do not hire the "bad apple". A company's pre-employment screening process needs to be at least as thorough as their competitor's or they will find themselves hiring applicants who have been rejected by other companies who are doing a better job in the screening process. A company is only as good as it's employees, so it is wise to spend the money 'up-front' screening out the "bad apples", than it is to spend it later trying to catch or identify the dishonest employees. A thorough pre-employment screening process (ie. "honesty testing", criminal background checks, drug testing, previous employer reference checks, credit check, SSN trace/verification, etc.) is the first and most beneficial step to reducing employee theft. Training, awareness and award programs for reporting dishonest activities have proven very effective in reducing employee theft for a number of years. In addition, the use of Point-of-Sale exception based monitoring programs continues to grow as does the interface of CCTV with these programs. In summary, the seriousness of retail theft is a much greater problem than many people realize. The theft losses experienced by retailers are driving consumer prices higher, hurting our economy, and even forcing some retailers to close stores or go out of business. Therefore those retailers who continue to invest in their employees, theft prevention systems, and give the area of loss prevention the focus and attention it deserves, will keep one step ahead of the thieves. |
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NEED TO KNOW FIVE STEPS TO PREVENT
FRAUD IN YOUR BUSINESS Every year, businesses all over the country lose billions of dollars to employee fraud. And while the big companies make the headlines, small and medium-sized businesses are equally ¯ and sometimes more ¯ at risk, primarily due to a lack of awareness or a false sense of security.
The fraud prevention tips below offer smart small business owners steps to protect their business' financial assets as well as their reputation.
*Screen applicants thoroughly before hiring them. Hiring the right employees is the best way to stop fraud before it happens. It's a good idea to perform background checks on potential employees. You'll want to screen the applicant's criminal history, civil history, and drivers' license violations, and verify his/her education, past employment and references.
Since employees experiencing financial difficulties may be more prone to committing fraud, think about requesting a credit check as well. Before performing background and credit checks, be sure you understand and comply with any legal requirements for obtaining the applicant's consent.
*Implement internal controls to reduce fraud risk. Many small businesses depend on one person to process payments and invoices, make bank deposits, handle petty cash, and reconcile bank statements. This is asking for trouble. Your business should implement a system that spreads and, if possible, rotates the financial duties of the business among two or more employees.
Store bank checks in a secure location and carefully review your bank statement each month, taking special care to look for checks made out to cash, employees, or suppliers you don't know. It's a good idea to have your bank mail your company's statements to your home address, so you're sure you receive them before anyone else.
Insist that all employees, especially those with financial responsibilities, take a mandatory vacation of at least one week of consecutive days. Fraudulent employees will often resist taking a vacation out of fear that whoever does the job in their absence will uncover the fraudulent activities.
*Be a role model and lead by example. An effective way to prevent fraud in your business is to create a positive work culture. It is important that the business owner and senior management serve as role models of honesty and integrity. If the individuals at the top take a careless approach toward company policies and procedures, they are inviting their employees to do the same ¯ or worse.
Set clear standards from the beginning by implementing a company wide written code of conduct, and make it clear to employees that the company has a zero tolerance policy for employee theft. To maintain credibility, be sure to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation of every incident.
*Implement an anonymous theft reporting system. Every company should establish a system that makes it easy for employees, vendors and customers to anonymously report suspected fraud activities. Be sure employees understand what constitutes fraud and that all reports are treated confidentially and without reprisal.
Consider hiring a CPA to conduct both regularly scheduled and surprise audits. Audits can serve as a deterrent because when employees are aware that there will be checks of their areas, they are more likely to stay honest. A CPA can also help you set up and maintain effective internal financial controls.
PREVENT IDENTITY THEFT
1) Protect your business premises with locks and alarms.
2) Shred it do not just throw it away.
3) Know who has access to business records and keep then under lock and key.
4) Use caution on the phone, know who you are giving detailed information too.
5) Limit access to your computers by using revolving passwords.
6) Protect your computer from hackers use firewalls and keep your system updated.
7) Be cautious of the Internet, make sure you only give information on secured sites.
8) Limit the access to your information, don’t keep password accessible.
9) Consistency is the key, create and enforce a company wide security policy.
10) Immediately eliminate access for ex-employees, change passwords, locks and let your clients know too!
THE JOB OF PRIVATE INVESTIGATIONSIf you’re thinking about becoming a private investigator you may want to know what you’re getting yourself into. The working conditions are not always easy or pleasant. The hard truth is, private investigators and detectives can and do work very irregular and long hours because of the need to stake out a person’s residence or if they’re following someone. The same goes if they’re conducting interviews, not everyone they need to speak with works the same hours and are therefore not home at the same time. Many times a detective will need to speak with someone at their place of employment. If they’re working the graveyard shift at a hospital that means the investigator is up some very late hours. Don’t plan on getting a lot of sleep while an investigation is ongoing. This doesn’t mean that an investigator doesn’t spend some time in the office. Quite often the work he needs to do involves doing computer searches and making phone calls to the person or company that hired him or even to people he needs to interview. Investigators who own their own agencies and have other investigators working for them may spend most of their time in the office and have very normal business hours. Of course owning your own agency is not something most investigators start off by doing. That is something that usually takes many years to work up to unless they just happen to have a lot of money to begin with. When an investigator is away from the office, the environment he or she works in can range anywhere from a four star hotel suite to the back of an alley or a seedy bar. They may meet with respected businessmen who earn billions of dollars a year or a prostitute working the local street corner. A private detective sees every walk of life and every place imaginable, and some not so imaginable. Sometimes they will have to mix in public and be in plain view and others; they will be totally alone when observing their suspect. Sometimes the work is very safe and at other times they are literally taking their life in their hands. Some of the work does involve confrontation with a suspect. That is why many private detectives also have a license to carry a gun. All too often they are forced to use violence to subdue a violent suspect. This makes a detective’s job extremely stressful at times, especially when being assigned to be a bodyguard for some famous celebrity who has received death threats. An investigator must be constantly on the watch for any potential threat to his client. Not all the work a detective does is stressful or dangerous. Sometimes assignments are as simple as just following some lady’s husband to see if he’s meeting with the local town bimbo. Once the suspect is spotted in the meet and photos are taken, which the procedure is usually in cases like this, the investigator simply returns to his client, photos in hand and his job is done. Yes, being a private investigator is far from boring. Just make sure you’re prepared for anything. |
