Theft in the workplace is a very real problem in the U.S.   Research shows that a large percentage of employees will steal from their companies at some point in their career.  The theft is usually brought on by unstable financial situations like our country as a whole has been living through for the past 4 years.  It can also be a result of employers underpaying staff, failing to give out raises or bonuses or any positive reinforcement.  It’s often not that the thief needs the products, but rather that they feel contempt for their employer and this is the only power they have to feel better about the situation. 

Items stolen in the workplace can range from paperclips and envelopes from the office, clothing from the retail shop that an individual works in, or food from the sandwich store.  It doesn’t have to be big tickets items or major financial fraud, but all the little things add up! 

To help avoid employee theft or put an end to it, the following tips can be useful:

1) Use Background Checks – start by making a good hiring decision.  Be sure to utilize the background check and employee references.  Don’t just go with your gut.  Many thieves come across as nice, warm, trustworthy people.  

2) Create a positive work environment – employees who are happy and feel that they are treated well, are less likely to steal. 

3) Encourage a sense of ownership – employees who feel connected and part of the success of a business will be less inclined to take anything from it. 

4) Explain policies and procedures – inform all employees about your rules regarding fraudulent behavior.  Educate them on your ethics policies and how any crimes will be prosecuted.  Let them know that you will perform unannounced audits to control the possibility of theft. 

5) Institute job rotation – some companies catch fraud when an employee is out sick and someone else has to fill in for him.  If possible, try to rotate positions.

6) Follow-through on any violations – don’t let anyone get off the hook for unlawful behavior.  Show your employees that you will protect your business by prosecuting any fraudulent activity.  All employees, regardless of their position in the company, will be held accountable for their indiscretions.  

7) Rewards – whenever possible, keep morale up by giving employees rewards.  This can be as small as a gift card to Itunes, or baseball tickets or cash.   Again, if employees feel appreciated, they are less likely to steal.  Also, establish a reward policy within the company for information that leads to the recovery of any stolen property or money. Create an easy way for employees to relay this information to you without worry of being overheard by others.

If you have been indicted for stealing, petty theft or shoplifting, take online theft classes designed to fulfill court ordered requirements.   Online classes are interesting and informative for all ages and do not require a high level of computer skills. Quality courses contain all the current information, techniques and tips that you would find in a classroom course, but at the click of a button on your Internet based computer.  They are an affordable, relevant and easy way to fulfill your court requirements, in a private environment and at your own pace.

You might be surprised to learn that in this high-tech age we are living in, old-school bank robberies still occur.  With the progression of manufacturing and technology, every bank is completely decked out with surveillance cameras and security buttons and many banks have their tellers behind a bullet resistant Plexiglas type wall.  However, thieves still go for it and in 2009 the FBI reported over $45 million dollars was stolen and about 140 people were injured in about 6,000 bank robberies across the country.  

From an economic standpoint, robbing financial institutions doesn’t pay very well.  Research shows that the average take in a U.S. bank robbery is an average of $4,330 per person.  It increases if the robbers have guns, but not by much.  

In California bank robberies tend to be higher in banks that are near freeway onramps.  With that in mind, today a group of suspects robbed a Bank of America this morning in the Canyon Country area and hopped on the freeway for their getaway.  A pursuit ensued which ended 80 minutes later in South Los Angeles as the black SUV was finally forced to a halt due to traffic. 

It seems like almost everyday, the local news in L.A. is showing a police pursuit down the 405 freeway.  The unique twist in today’s pursuit was that the suspects began to toss cash from the car.  Some bystanders thought it looked like Robin Hood had stolen from the rich and was trying to give to the poor.  The local police chief put the kibosh on that line of thinking.  He said that they were regular bank robbers who most likely were throwing money out the window to create diversions and roadblocks for the police.  Thankfully, no injuries have been reported.  Two suspects were arrested at the end of the police chase and investigators are still pursuing two more that had fled earlier on foot. 

In another story that occurred last week, a knife-wielding suspect robbed a US Bank branch in Los Alamitos for the third time in 14 months.  He demanded money from tellers and threatened them with a large butchers knife.  He has not been apprehended yet, but the police have a good description of him.  And, last week in another case, a Bank of America in East L.A. was robbed by 2 gunmen who first kidnapped the branch manager from outside her home, and then took her to the bank before opening hours.  They told her to go inside and throw a bag of money out the back door.  These suspects have not been caught yet either. 

The end result of these risk-taking adventures is that once caught, bank robbery is considered a federal crime that carries with it a federal punishment.  Bank robbery is generally severely punished with a long imprisonment.  Along with imprisonment, many jurisdictions will mandate theft classes.  The purpose of these classes is to teach thieves what the impact of their actions are on society, how to control their impulsive behavior, empathy and consequences of theft.  Classes are available online from any Internet based computer. They provide convenience for those who don't have transportation or are unable to get to a particular school.  They are generally meant to help criminals assimilate back into a society with an understanding of how their behavior impacts those around them.  

Online Identity Theft is rampant in today’s society.  In 2008, almost 10 million people in the U.S. became victims of this crime. It is a quick and easy way for a thief to anonymously get a hold of your personal information.  Most of these criminals are never caught, but the government has increased penalties to try and deter future identity thieves. We have talked about the do’s and don’ts of releasing private data and here is a perfect example of when not to get involved.  This is an e-mail message recently received from COX INTERNET<[email protected].  It was titled Account Holder.  Upon clicking on the message, the following contents appeared: 

Account Holder 

We have been monitoring this account through our server's log file

and noticed that this account is been accessed from different distinct

location simultaneously as against webmail policy, for security purpose

we will be shutting down this Account.

To retain access to this account kindly confirm owner's legitimacy by

filling out the outlined Information's below or your account will be

suspended within 72hours.

Username: ..............

Password: ..............

Location: .............

Failure to update this account within 72hours upon receipt of this warning

will be tantamount to losing this account permanently.

We apologize for any inconveniences concerned with this message.

Sincerely,

Tony Falano

Administrative Engineer

Cox Webmail 2012.

This is a common scam.  It was sent out to an unknown number of Cox clients, with the hope of getting some to fall for it.  It asks for your username, password and address.  Once thieves gain access to this information, they can hack into your e-mail and other online accounts that use the same password.  This is a common hook for online identity theft. 

If you look closely at this memo, you will note that it contains words that are misspelled and there are a number of grammatical errors.  Furthermore, large corporations like Cox would never send out an e-mail stating that they are going to shutdown your account without including a contact phone number to call and follow-up with.  And, the letter was not on Cox letterhead and did not have any links back to the official Cox website.  The reply to is [email protected], not a Cox e-mail address. 

If you receive e-mail like this, you can report it to the company so that they are aware it is out there and to local police.  At the very least, do not respond and delete it immediately. 

The Identity Theft Act of 2004 increased the maximum penalty for identity theft from 3 years, up to 5 years in prison.  If information is stolen through Phishing, 2 more years can be added to the sentence.  In conjunction with jail time, courts are increasingly mandating that theft education classes be taken as part of the retribution as well.  If you have been convicted of a crime and need to fulfill this obligation, take theft classes online.  First, check to make sure that your particular jurisdiction will accept online classes.  If so, they are available from any Internet based computer and be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  This makes it convenient so you don’t have to miss work or school.  The length of the course varies based on court requirements.  Upon successfully passing the final exam, a certificate of completion is issued.  This is the paperwork you need to prove you have taken the course.  

Has your information been stolen by an online scam? Also known as carding or brand spoofing, the idea behind the term Phishing is to throw out bait to millions of online users and see what sticks. While most will ignore and delete this e-mail that comes into their inbox, a few fall for the scam and the thieves profit from their ignorance. Be aware of Phishing as it is a fraudulent attempt to steal your personal information that is usually carried out using emails.

In this online identity theft, the fraudster sends an email to the user and falsely claims to be an established enterprise. The email tricks the user in clicking on the inserted link that takes him to the website of the company. However, this website is actually fake and is a copy of the original one. Creating such websites that are an exact replica of the original is not too difficult. Generally, the user is prompted to enter the related user name and password citing a good reason. These include system update, loss of data, upgrade to premium membership and system breakdown to name a few.

The details asked are usually related to credit card, bank account and social security numbers, to name a few. Sometimes, a kind of warning is also included in the message that calls for an immediate action, which if not taken may lead to blocking of an account or other serious consequences.  Once entered, the details are stolen.  The fraudster uses the information for shopping, taking out cash and basically robbing the unsuspecting individual.

Keeping yourself safe and secure in case of a phishing attack is not really difficult. Here are a few points that can be of great help.

1) Check the Email ID

The phishing mail would be from a fake account that closely resembles the actual email id. However, a careful consideration can help you figure out the difference. Ignore the mail completely.

2) Do Not Click on Links Inserted in the Mail

Instead of clicking on the links inserted in the mail, it is better to open a new window in the browser and type the related URL. This would help in preventing a visit to the fake site that is a copy of the original and save you from the attack.

3) Check the Site URL

Even if you have clicked on the inserted link and are prompted to provide the login details, check the URL of website carefully. It would be a little different from the actual one. A few alterations might include a spelling difference, use of dots instead of slashes and addition of an extra word in the URL.

4) Check the Site Security

A fake site asking for login details would not have a secure access. Identifying the same is also easy. Those which have a security certificate begins with 'https:' while those without one would have 'http:' at the beginning of URL.

5) Do Not Fill In Information

Instead of filling in forms asking for detailed information, it is better to call up the bank or other related organization and confirm if they have asked for any such information.

Caught for Illegal Phishing? Read on.

The average life of a phishing site is very short. The anti phishing filters tracks the same in no time, and the criminals have keep on making new ones. The law enforcement authorities also keep a close eye on frauds these days and are constantly in hunt of catching these tricksters. If you have been caught and are facing legal action for tricking a user of his identity and using the same for purchasing something, you will most likely be required to take a theft education class as a part of the punishment. These classes are available online and come with a number of related benefits. Firstly, you can take these from the comfort of your home. All you need is an Internet connection. In addition, they contain the latest rehabilitation related information and cost a lot less as well.

With the increase in the number of people using their credit cards and debit cards to complete online purchases, the number of cases of online identity theft has also seen a remarkable rise.  In fact, according to the FTC, if you are between 18 – 29 years old and live in Los Angeles or Phoenix, your chances of identity theft are higher than the national average. By using the stolen data, they complete online ordering of goods of their choice. That is why it has become extremely important for people who regularly order products online to check their monthly statement very carefully. If you are one of the millions using your credit or debit card to make purchases and also to make bill payments, be sure to take the time to glance over your monthly statements carefully for unauthorized deductions.

Although consumers need to be vigilant about keeping their information private on Facebook and other online social media sites, it also interesting to know that 68% of identity theft still happens by old-fashioned methods like someone going through your mail, or a purse being lost or stolen out your car.  In fact, I’ve noticed that at the 24 Hour Fitness locations in our area, there are new, very visible signs warning people to hide their purses out of sight, as there has been an increase in break-ins. 

If you review your monthly credit card statement and find that you are the victim of identity theft, take a deep breath and get ready to take action.  It is advisable to keep a list of all the credit and debit cards in your wallet.  Begin by calling all banks, credit cards, gas cards and department stores to alert them and cancel your cards. Talk to your bank to stop payment on any recent check transactions.  Report stolen debit and ATM cards and close bank accounts that may have been accessed.  Transfer these savings and checking accounts into ones with new numbers.

Be sure to take time to change passwords you have set up online.  If a thief has your personal information, they may be able to guess your passwords and get in to more critical information.   Once you have finished calling all the credit bureaus, than call the local police where the identity theft took place.  Furthermore, over the next month, keep track to make sure that you are receiving all your normal monthly bills and bank statements.  If you are suddenly missing something it could be because the thief has redirected the mail to another address.

You might find this process frustrating and time consuming but don’t give up.  The longer you wait to contact banks and card companies, the more liability you incur for any theft or fraudulent activity.  While you are going through the process, take copious notes and keep all documentation in case authorities need more information at any time. 

If you have been caught for criminal theft activity and need to take a class to fulfill a court mandate, try www.theftclassonline.com.  These are high quality online classes, designed by a practicing licensed therapist.  They are extremely convenient and are available from any Internet based computer 24/7.  They will make you think about the actions you have taken and give you direction on how to stop your criminal behavior and change your life in a positive way.