The FYI Files - http://www.fyipi.com
FYI HEADS UP: U.S. lawmakers introduce workplace privacy measure
By Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON, July 20 (Reuters) - "Legislation introduced on Thursday in both houses of Congress would require companies to tell employees if they monitor their computer, Internet or telephone use. The legislation would require employers to inform their employees once a year if they are watching, what they are watching and what they do with the information when they have collected it."
Read the article at:
http://www.zdii.com/industry_list.asp?mode=news&doc_id=RTN206044395252&pic=Y&ticker=
FYI INVESTIGATIONS,INC. specializes in nationwide pre-employment screening, fraud investigations and investigative research.
The FYI Files - http://www.fyipi.com
FYI Heads Up:
Social Security numbers could no longer be sold, displayed, distributed,
stamped on drivers' licenses, or required for cashing a check or obtaining
other services under a bill proposed in the House on Thursday, July 13,
2000.
The legislation, sponsored by members of both parties in the Ways and Means Committee, would ban all sales of Social Security numbers, prohibit government agencies from displaying the numbers, remove the numbers from government checks and prohibit their appearance on licenses, vehicle registration and other identification records.
To find out more go to:
http://capitolhillblue.com/./2000/07/14/knigt/2005-0147-IDTHEFT.FL.asp
In light of recent receipt of counterfeit bills I am considering using counterfeit
detection markers in our locations. Has anyone found this to be an effective tool
or is it more of a hassle, as the customer may have received the bill from someone
else? Thanks for any information you can share on this.
dott@samandlibby.com
In response to a recent reader's inquiry on laws relating to stopping persons that have activated EAS devices:
Forget about laws pertaining to detentions. Many EAS systems are far from
foolproof; falsely activating from something as simple as a couple AA
batteries in a pocketbook. Besides... laws vary from State to State on
detainment. Doesn't your company have a written policy on detentions and
wrongful stops?
Your concern for the law should focus on yours and your companie's potential
civil liability should you make a mistake. The expense and bad press from one
wrongful stop or detention could easily be costly enough to your company that
you would have been better off allowing 500 real thieves to slip by. A good
motto to follow is: "Never let your company make the evening news for
anything bad". EAS systems are little more than a pyschological deterrent to
casual shoplifters. Serious thieves will steal you blind if your reliance is
on EAS devices.... Wrap some tin foil around sensors or place a magnet
against them if you don't believe me. The other problem with these detection
systems is that they don't tell you anything until you have already been
ripped off and the perp is out the door.
The decision to stop or not stop a possible shoplifter should be a simple
matter of business economics. Financially; God help you if you're wrong.
Bottom line is... If you didn't see it happen or, better yet, film it
happening.... It didn't happen.
Concentrate on preventing the attempt in the first place and you won't have
to worry about apprehension.... That is, limit opportunity while at the same
time increasing the liklihood of detection and both your losses and potential
exposure will plummet. Exceptional customer service initiatives are and, will
always be your best defense ( it's tough to steal when you're being waited
on). Think of all the money you'll save your company in lost time from Court
appearances, potential lawsuits, injured employees, etc. Your job is not to
catch crooks.... Your job is to encourage thieves to steal from the
competition. Think about it. SJL0830@aol.com
I will be visiting the U.S. (Orlando, 01/14/00 to 01/20/00 and San Diego,
(01/22/00 to 01/25/00.
I would be interested in meeting American colleagues and discussing Loss
Prevention subjects. If you can assist, please advise. Messages can be left
on my NEW e-mail address "retailintel@telstra.com.au". Regards,
Graham Turner.
I am looking for information or assistance from a security director within a computer company. My background is in retail and am now in a computer industry situation. any suggestions would be of great help. i.e.: to ensure information security, package check e-mail access etc. Thanks npt@dmv.com
I currently am working with Criminal Justice students around the country at universtities. As we all know, getting the experience before the degree is vital when searching for an LP job after graduation. If anyone knows of any entry level LP positions in the Denver Metro area, it would be greatly appreciated. I will passing any information received on to local students who are interested. Thanks.
I am looking for anyone who is in the retail furniture industry. LP is not a department that is commonly found in the furniture industry and finding peers to discuss issues has been difficult.I would be interested in discussing programs, staffing and the primary focus of the department (ie: internal theft, warehouse security, auditing, etc.).
I am a LP Mgr. for company dealing in softlines. I am in search of
information on "credit card skimmers" which are devices you can connect
to a palm top or other mini palm type devices that will retrieve credit
card information when the card is scanned. It was shown on Dateline
tonight; they even said they could be found on the internet.
I would like information as to what the device really is, what it is and
was designed to be used for, how they are used, where they can be
purchased, how much, are they shady machines or are they reliable,
etc... Basically I want information on these things so I can be aware
and so I can train people about these.
Thanks,
Curtis
yayo@bigfoot.com
I am looking for information on case law examples of when "interviews go
bad". Ideally the situation would be a result of un-trained or under
trained field personnel performing interviews on associates resulting in
litigation.
Also, can anyone give me an example of an LP statement for an associate
handbook which is not of the candy-coated variety. I am looking for
something that is straight forward and to the point on the action to be
taken when an associate is caught.
Please send to ken.west@gadzooks.com
I'm an Inv. for an upscale department store in the Atl. location. I recently shut down a problem refunder and thought what I found might help to highlight some Sales Associate training issues for all of us.
Our computer-based refund tracking system tracks using dl#, last name and zip code, or system generated refund number. However, the only way someone can be tagged as a "suspect refunder" is via dl#. This presents a problem if the suspect uses multiple dl's or your Associates enter the number inncorectly. In this case I found that Associates were entering "GA" in front of or after the number rather than in the space provided on the screen. This prevented the system from identifying a problem.
After a lot of research I found this supect to have used multiple addresses,
her married and maiden names and variations of her real dl# to hit us for
over $5,000 in phony refunds in a 12 month period.
All without reciepts, despite Associates having been trained to call LP if
someone attempts a return without a reciept. Using a Haynes Directory,
telephone numbers and recognizing an identical MO, I managed to identify our
suspect as the sister of a female I arrested last year for ticket switching,
shoplifting and refund fraud. I feel quite sure they are still at it at
other stores in this area. They specialize in Womens "Plus" sizes. Contact
me if you want details.
There is also a refund ring operating out of St Louis, MO and Decatur, GA. They are doing womens sportswear and accessories. They are possibly stealing the merch in St Louis and using the same reciept to get refunds in the atlanta area.
I've also seen several really good fake Prada handbags in the last year, unsure if it's a ring or if they just wanted to see if they could pull one over on us.
Finally, I wonder if anyone has any real, hard info on the southern Irish
Travellers (from N Augusta, SC). Have you ever caught one shoplifting, what
was their MO, were they from a "name" family, etc.
After having seen and observed literally hundreds of Travellers over tha
last 6 years, I've yet to observe one commiting any crime in any store I've
worked in (other than wearing white shoes after Labor Day). Just wondering
if anyone else has.
Scott
Perfidty@hotmail.com
I am an occupational health nurse attempting to get information on companies who
are drug and alcohol screen in California.
Could you please answer a few questions for me?
What is the name of your company?
Which of the following screenings are done by your company in California?
How many employees does you company have in California?
If you have any question please e:mail or call me.
I really appreciate your help!
Hey Guys-- I'm looking for info on Laws pertaining to # 1- When a customer
walks thru a EAS system with NO shopping bags, and the alarm sounds, what is
my Legal right to detain--# 2an employee is about to leave my store and I
think but not positive, they might have something under their shirt or down
their pants. Keep in mind Legal right
rascolp@aol.com
I am currently working with local universities and many students are interested in the Loss Prevention field after graduation. As we all know, it is imperative that students are able to get work experience before they graduate. Unfortunatley I keep hearing the same questions, "where do I go to get the experience in the field?". If you know of any LP internship or entry level positions in Dallas/Ft.Worth which will work with a students schedule, please let me know. Thanks.
I am interested in finding out how other retailers are handling mipps versa
checks.( they are the computer generated checks). Are they accepting them or
is there something special when you are taking them.
Thanks, Ned12345@aol.com
NEW YEARS EVE PREPARATIONS:
I am putting together plans for LP staffing and emergency prep for my stores for New Years and would appreciate any input as to what other stores are doing - Most of my stores are free standing as opposed to mall locations and are located in urban centers.
Thanks
Phil
philmooney@earthlink.net
Baby Formula theft is on the rise in the southeast. If anyone is
experiencing problems with this product and has valuable information, feel
free to share so that others don't become targets. Thank's.
LP MAN
I work in a union environment and I am looking for information on their
rights to representation. I am very familiar with Weingarten laws already.
What I really need is case history, specifically for cases in which the
representative interferes with the investigatory interview. If you know of
particular cases or web sites that are useful, please email me.
KLlpman@aol.com
I would like to know it anyone out there is using Microsoft Access in their
LP department. We are stating to update our databases and systems using
Access. I would appreciate any help, ideas, or cautions you may have.
Thanks Jim Cox.
JWCOX@catocorp.com
I am looking to purchase a used camera (pref. color), power adapter and pinhole lens. Anyone interested in getting rid of one or even two or three please let me know.
Thanks,
Curtis
yayo@bigfoot.com
I am looking for alternative sources for servicing Sensormatic EAS and CCTV
equipment.
Does anyone know any companies that do this type work?
Email: roger_starcher@belk.com
I am interested in starting an organization for Retail Loss Prevention Professionals in the Greater Cincinnati Area. Anyone interested in being a member or assisting in the formation of such an organization please e-mail me at Charles.Clouser@uc.edu. Thanks.
I am looking to purchase 17 wireless covert color camera systems. These sytems need to be complete, i.e. 2 camera/lense variations, VHS VCR, set-up monitor, power supplies, cable, case, etc. Please contact me if you know of a reputable company that sells these packages. I have already obtained several bids ranging from $2000-5000. Thank you.
Greg
erglpusa@aol.com
Posted: 08/15/99
I am interested in purchasing a used pair of Motorola 2-channel SP-50's. If you have any information please e-mail me. Parks406@aol.com.
I am looking for any information or experiences involving the acceptance
of credit cards and asking for ID with it. There is confusion as to if
it is against the law to ask for ID or not. I know it is against the
law to write down credit card information, but to ask for ID for owner
verification?
Please send any information, facts, links, etc. Thank you.
jdasbn@earthlink.net
I'm trying to find any information regarding people acting as advance scouts working with shoplifters by "marking" certain fixtures or locations in a store by leaving items such as toothpicks or plastic spoons on the floor, or on the fixtures. I am starting to find this problem in my district within the southern US states such as Louisiana, Miss., and Alabama. Has anyone out there run across this problem, or heard of this situation in another fashion?
I've just been hired on as the new Loss Prevention Manager for a women's wear boutique chain. My mandate is to set up the loss prevention function for a 120 store chain, sales of over 100$ million CDN. My background is in large scale retail, where an established structure exists. Now I must create the structure and need some ideas. What I'm looking for are reporting structures or org charts for similar chains. I need to know how this function fits within smaller companies, i.e. does the function report to finance, or operations, or is it a stand alone function. I am most interested in companies such as the Gap, or similar type clothing company.
Thanks
Andre St-Pierre
Andre_St-Pierre@jacob.qc.ca
I am looking to acquire used Sensormatic EAS pedestals (preferably the UltraMax series) as well as Sensormatic Rapid Pads. If you can point me in the right direction I will be very appreciative. I represent a chain of 160+ stores throughout the Midwest and Western US. Top $$ will be paid for quality equipment. Thank you! N2GOP@aol.com
I work for a major specialty company within the LP Distribution dept. We are experiencing a high volume of fraud with orders placed via phone and Internet using international banks for Visa/Mastercard. We are experiencing difficulty obtaining a bank member to verify card user information. The operators will either refuse to verify the cardholder info. or in many cases unable to communicate with our authorization dept. due to a language barrier. Nabanco has only been helpful in that they will provide the phone number of the issuing bank. However, we are not able to proceed further. Does anyone have any information that would help? What other services are available to verify international bank cards? Is anyone else experiencing these situations?
Sansio@aol.com
Carmen Sanchez
Does anyone have any information regarding laws and/or court rulings prohibiting or restricting the taking of a written statement from juveniles. If you have any information or experience with this issue, contact Pay007@ix.netcom.com
Good Morning,
As one of many loss prevention practitioners offering corporate clients in Australia a loss prevention advisory service, I'm currently conducting some research on fraudulent & counterfeit sales dockets or receipts. I'm looking for statistics really, rather than individual occurrences.
I don't really need basic information. I know that employees can steal rolls, and I know that internal controls help prevent and yes, we are aware of most of the pro-active strategies that will assist in preventing internal fraudulent activities. What I'm really after is evidence that proves that counterfeiting of sales dockets is a major problem.
I've seen some USA reports that suggest that up to 2% of gross sales are lost due to instances of counterfeiting receipts. Personally, I don't think there is any real evidence to support such a high figure. I doubt the source, but some of my clients believe them. The figure of 2% of gross annual sales seems to me to be a more generic figure based on total shrinkage loss a retailer might expect. Some general USA shrinkage survey results tend to support that theory.
I would appreciate some input on any empirical data, information, statistics on the degree of counterfeit docket fraud - anywhere?
Many thanks
Denny van Maanenberg
RETAIL RISK MANAGEMENT SERVICES
Melbourne, Australia.
retailrisk@onaustralia.com.au
I work for a large retail company and am having a problem with theft of draperies, i did not realize this, but draperies are expensive. does anybody else have this problem and if so what are you doing to prevent it? please e-mail any suggestions to Erakovichjr@hotmail.com
I work at a Midwestern retailer. We recently had a problem with a group that was returning $250 garage door openers. Here's the short version: within two hours they returned three of these garage door openers (GDO) to three different locations, each time using what appeared to be a valid receipt. They used different names each time, but video confirms that it was the same people. They then came back to my store and purchased another GDO with cash (I observed the transaction--they paid full price), left the store and came back twenty minutes later to return it. When they came back the second time we asked them for ID, but they refused to give us any, stating that they had a valid receipt from our store. They also insist on keeping the receipt as it has other items on it. They returned the same model GDO each time. We use thermal paper for our receipts, making them harder to duplicate, but it is possible. Does anyone have any ideas as to what they are up to? I suspected that they were double receipting us, but when the guest keeps the receipt we use a highlighter to highlight the item returned. This is supposed to make double receipting more difficult. If anyone has any ideas please contact me at: tglp43@hotmail.com
Recently we caught a janitorial associate stealing from us by using her trash can to conceal and take the merchandise out later. A review of the unobserved shoplifting reports showed us that this same associate found anywhere from 30% to 80% of the total unobserved shoplifting every month. Since she is gone, our unobserved totals have plummeted. I don't know if everyone is using some kind of form to track which associates find the unobserved and where they find it, but if you are, you should review them thouroughly for that one associate who either a) is stealing from you daily or b) you need to put on your LP team! This janitor worked with us for ten years. I wish I had thought to check those forms earlier.
Jay Johnson
Army and Air Force Exchange Service, Schweinfurt, Germany
We are in the process of automating our LP offices in our stores. I know that
a major retailer has an automated reporting format for their shoplifting
cases and I am already in contact with them. However, I am in search of any
other companies that are using "on-line" reporting of LP shoplifting cases,
internal cases, or operational cases/recoveries. If you are currently using
an automated process for your reporting or know of an "off-the-shelf" program
that will meet my needs, please contact me by email. Thanks
email address: thennessee@aol.com
"This was posted anonymously... Pretty interesting scam... are you vulnerable?"
I work at a primarily mid-western retailer. I recently recovered some merchandise which an individual had price switched using a method which I had never seen. The subject/group had apparently scanned various UPCs on a home computer scanner, and printed them on address labels. They then placed the new UPCs over the existing ones on more expensive merchandise. A $300 vacuum cleaner rang up as a $19.99 hand vac, and a $200 allergen filtering system rang up as a $9.99 (replacement) filter. We also have utilized a "tear and scan" tag system for large, bulky items for some time now. These are easily switched, or torn from less expensive merchandise and handed directly to the cashier. A subject may take the tag from a $59.99 television and place it on a $499.99 television. He/she then tears the less expensive tag from the more expensive item and hands it to the cashier. Most cashiers don't notice since the item rings up as "filter", "hand vac" or "television". The monotony or repetitive nature of their jobs leave cashiers particularly susceptible to these scams as they won't always match prices with items, especially if the items show up as something similar (i.e. "hand vac"---"vacuum cleaner").
"Just as proof the every cloud has an even darker lining, consider this;
- Danno
I know everyone has to do quarterly alarm testing, but how often do you check the integrity of your doors? My store was old and the doors gave out easily, so really look at being proactive and checking the structure as well as the alarm points. Lastly, if you have perimeters that is great, but also get motions inside every door that enters your store. That way you have a second line of defence if the first fails.
Good luck and please feel free to contact me.
Thank You.
xray3d@lightspeed.net
I would be interested in any information from people already using the system in stores. Please e-mail any information or experiences you might have had.
Anything I can "paste" into them to lighten them up and grab people's attention.
Hopefully any images etc sent will not infringe anyones copyright !!!
Maybe a "resource" page of jpeg images, etc would work well on this web site
Hello ! I work as a Loss Prevention specialist for a company that runs a chain of convenience stores across Lithuania. As many other retail organizations all around the planet we also suffer from the acts of dishonesty that are caused by our own employees. At the moment we are trying to improve our control routines as much as possible. However, once the dishonest person passed all screening and background checking it is just a matter of time when he is going to start stealing from his employer. We see Mystery Shopping or Integrity checking as one of many options to discover dishonest sales people within our organization. Private business is pretty young in Lithuania, though. Lithuania became independent in 1991 and there is a lack of knowlegde about many things. So I would be grateful for any information regarding Integrity checking : whether it is effective or not , how it must be conducted and so on. Thanks !
My e-mail : ltasap@statoil.com
Audrius Sapola
Safety & Security Manager
Dave Nelson
LPM
Danny Watkins
Director, Loss Prevention
One Price Clothing Stores
I am a Loss Prevention Manager for a small sporting goods chain. I am considering using one of those "Integrity" pre-hire tests to try to weed out bad applicants. I would like to know who is using them? Are you happy with the results? Can you e-mail me some companies I can contact? Thanks for the help!
Duane Fletcher
DfletchLPS@aol.com
I am interested in obtaining information on the average how many "Bad Stops" are reported annually with in your company. This information is going to be used to teach our agents (for the company I work for) the ramifications of a non productive stop. Any information that can be given to me in regard to bad stops, be it URL's for research on this topic, or anything to do with bad stops would be appreciated. Thank you in advanced.
Kenneth T. Nakano
Regional Loss Prevention Investigator
Greg
erglpusa@aol.com
Thank-you
Devin C. Ellis
Loss Control Manager
Thanks.
Bob Ingersoll
The subject actually opens several such accounts and in many cases using different computers. He then steals other CC numbers and begins making online purchases with the stolen CC information. The property is delivered under a fictitious name to the relative or friend of the employee so that in the event the shipment was tracked they can claim that the delivery was obviously made in error. The recipient can also simply claim that someone is playing a nasty practical joke on them. To take it one step further, the employee only ships property to the same address once or twice and then assumes a new identity and logs on as someone else and makes a purchase for other items to be sent to yet another address.
Most deliveries are scheduled to go to inner city addresses where local police are overburdened and most likely do not have a great number of investigators trained in economic crime. The local police are also not too willing to devote resources to investigate as the store is located in one county and the delivery addresses are located inside a major metropolitan area. It is also difficult to show any tie between the store employee and the multiple delivery addresses.
There are a few other twists that the subjects have used to help disguise their identity, but, to say the least they were pretty slick. I only stumbled across this because of reports from several customers that their CC's were used to make fraudulent purchases. While only a few customers could actually pin the subsequent fraudulent use of the card to the visit to my store, the writing was on the wall in terms of the number of reports we received. One thing that hindered the investigation was the fact that Visa has no real centralized repository for reporting fraud. Each card is issued by its' own member bank and therefore any fraud is reported to that bank. American Express, was able to review the card usage of all alleged victims to determine is a visit to our stores was the common denominator between victims.
In an effort to keep this short, I'll stop here. Keep in mind that there is a lot more to this. This is a really great scam. Except for a few lucky breaks and the fact that one of the players got very stupid and greedy, this could have gone on for a very long time.
If anyone has any experience in the best way to obtain the ISP and DSN numbers from the computers that dialed into these web shopping services, please advise. Thank you.
Secur711@erols.com
Mark Nevins
Devin C. Ellis
Loss Control Manager
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