working with regional police is something that has proven successful for Brouwers and Cosmo Music . There are a couple notable instances of theft he shares where the person was caught and the store was able to get its products or money back by engaging local police , as well as Crime Stoppers in one instance and a local City News reporter in another .
In the first case , a man stashed a $ 900 guitar pedal and $ 4,500 trumpet into his backpack and walked out the front door . The security alarm at the door was triggered but the man kept going . A staff member went after him but when the man didn ’ t stop , there wasn ’ t much they could do . Like most businesses , for safety ’ s sake , Cosmo Music ’ s policy is to not physically engage any suspected thief .
In another case , a stolen credit card was used to buy a $ 950 Roland DJ controller and a young woman arrived to get it via curbside pickup . Typically for curbside pickup , the store checks the ID of the person picking up the products and either writes down or takes a picture of their car ’ s licence plate . The woman said she took public transit , and so instead she agreed to take a picture with the DJ controller ( though she was wearing a mask because of COVID ).
“ I got a hold of this and when I have enough information , I go after them ,” says Brouwers . “ So , I filed a police report with York Regional Police and the detective that I work with quite often , she is amazing . She tracked it down , put it on Crime Stoppers and somebody reported it and she has since had a court appearance and had to pay restitution . So , we ’ re getting our money back and she ’ s got a criminal record now . So yes , I would say for sure , pursue the ones you can .”
That said , before anyone gets any ideas about vigilante justice and social media manhunts , it ’ s important to know this fact ; it ’ s illegal to share images of anyone online without the consent of the person or the police . Importantly , Brouwers and Cosmo Music were working with regional police before any photos and information about the thieves was shared online .
“ It ’ s not advisable because people make mistakes , but it ’ s also not advisable because there is an element of privacy that is legally attached to a photo ,” O ’ Keefe says about distributing photos or video of suspected thieves . “ In order to share private information , you need to have explicit or implied consent from the individual . And because you ’ ll never get consent from a bad guy to share their photo , it becomes a situation where , yes , they stole from you , but you also committed an offense by posting personal information without consent .”
In the end , Wanka says the lessons they ’ ve learned aren ’ t complicated , but just come down to vigilance . “ I would just say , ask a lot of questions . Always be wary of online , especially out-of-province , sales . Do your homework and be a bit of a detective on the phone . I think there ’ s a way to be personable and polite and get the information that you need . You don ’ t have to be aggressive and rude and weird . I think we ’ ve gotten pretty good at that ,” he says . “ And we ’ re really honest with people . If there is an out-ofprovince sale , we just say , ‘ Listen , we were in a situation where things got really bad for us , we got scammed , and we need as much info from you as possible ,’ and everyone who ’ s legit has been totally willing to offer it up right away with no problems and it ’ s usually a match . There ’ s been a couple times where it ’ s not and we just say , “ Sorry , we can ’ t sell you this ’ and they just say ‘ okay .’ So , just be honest with the customer , I think , is the best thing you can do .”
Alan Friedman ’ s Top Facts & Tips on Internal Theft & Fraud Prevention
Alan Friedman , senior partner with the accounting firm Friedman , Kannenberg & Co ., calls internal fraud “ the dirty little secret of retailing .” So , here are his tips for identifying the problem .
INDICATIONS OF FRAUD IN YOUR STORE
1 . Store owner who insists no fraud exists in his or her store 2 . Vendor payments are made without proper documentation 3 . Vendor payments are sent to unknown and / or unusual places 4 . No reconciliation of key financial ( general ledger ) accounts 5 . One bookkeeper with incompatible duties who rarely takes a vacation 6 . Constant out-of-stock status or confusion in a particular department 7 . Manager with complete control who resents intrusion and displays erratic behaviour 8 . No control over exceptions ( i . e . customer returns , backorders , etc .) 9 . Employees whose lifestyles are inconsistent with their earnings 10 . Store with minimal owner and / or management oversight .
ALAN FRIEDMAN ( RIGHT ) WITH COLLEAGUE DANIEL JOBE PRESENTING AT NAMM U
HOW TO MINIMIZE INTERNAL FRAUD
1 . Segregate incompatible bookkeeping duties 2 . Maintain perpetual inventory records and safeguard inventory 3 . All shipping , receiving , transfer , and sale documents are signed and dated to assign and fix responsibility to an employee 4 . Never purchase inventory by cash 5 . Take frequent inventory counts in teams of two , and reconcile all discrepancies 6 . Owners MUST be active in their business and show employees they care about the safeguarding of assets .
For more information on these and other tips , watch Alan Friedman ’ s video on internal retail fraud at bit . ly / NAMMUfraud .
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