____________________________________________________________________

 30 percent of business failures are the result of theft or embezzlement

 Employee theft and dishonesty costs U.S. business over 40 billion dollars each year

 Losses stemming from internal computer breaches cost Fortune 1000 companies an average of $450,000 annually

Examples of Business theft include:

 Forging Receipts- Salespersons can charge a shopper one sum, ring up a receipt for less, and keep the difference.

 Hiding Receipts- Employees can keep cash and receipts without raising suspicion when bookkeeping is sloppy and little supervision exists.

 Incremental Theft- Employees can pocket small sums of money, such as fees or petty cash, without raising suspicion.

 Stealing Merchandise- Stockroom and warehouse employees may steal products before they even make it to the shelves.

 Fictitious Payrolling- Personnel managers may authorize salary for fictitious workers and pocket the cash.

 Overbilling Expenses- Managers with expense accounts may submit the same expense twice or exaggerate actual expenses incurred.

 Purchasing Fraud- Employees sometimes create fake suppliers and subsequently pay themselves, without providing any goods or services.

One way to avoid theft and embezzlement is to conduct thorough employee background checks on all candidates that will be placed in your company. Employee background checks will help identify possible thieves before they are hired. Credit history checks can also help to identify candidates whose financial position may motivate them to steal.