Fraud Accounting/Theft Investigation

Solution Preview

Prevention Methods include:

1) Watch out for loose change, match sticks, or bits of paper with markings on them around the cash register area. These are often used by cashiers to help them remember the amount of extra money in the till that is to be pocketed later. For example, a nickel means five dollars, a penny one dollar, and so on. When questioned about the loose change, the cashier can simply say a customer forgot her change. Match sticks or bits of paper can be dismissed by cashiers as trash.

2) Be extra suspicious of cashiers who keep a small calculator close to the cash register. These can be used to keep a running total of the amount of extra money in the till.

3) Make sure customers can see the amount rung up on the cash register. If the display is turned away from their view or is covered, this could mean the cashier is under-ringing purchases in order to pocket the money later.

4) Look out for an excessive number of "NO SALES." These can be used as a way of opening up the cash drawer when there is no one around to take out money and pocket it.

5) Also watch out for an excessive number of "VOIDS." This could mean the cashier is cancelling sales that actually occurred in order to pocket that amount of money.

Investigation Methods inlcude:

Quickly Promote Confidentiality. The first step an employer should take when an economic loss is discovered is to counsel with those members of management impacted by the loss or involved in the investigation and reinforce in them the necessity of privacy and confidentiality in the investigatory process. No investigation is facilitated by the premature disclosure of information to the wrong party. This is especially true of workplace investigations-as the following discussion will reveal.

Identify those Employees (At EVERY LEVEL of ...