Business

Caring Hands was a non-profit organization providing mental health care and substance abuse rehabilitation services in Pennsylvania. Ms. Graham, one of Caring Hands’ social workers, visited clients’ homes to provide social services for families and children. Ms. Graham would compile case notes and information for families and children and submit timesheets to Caring...

When a company’s inventory count comes up short, the hunt for the missing inventory begins. Are employees are stealing from the warehouse in the middle of the night? Is a dishonest bookkeeper recording fictitious purchases and pocketing the difference? Possibly. But while employee theft may be the reason, less nefarious causes might be...

Mary, Dr. Martin’s “second wife”, worked as the doctor’s office manager for thirty years. Mary knew Dr. Martin’s habits. She managed the practice, had access to company and personal credit cards, performed banking and even picked up Dr. Martin’s dry cleaning. A trusted employee, Mary was efficient. Mary was nice. But Mary was a thief –...

Richard Hy, a New York policeman, found out the hard way that joking on social media about stealing cocaine from the evidence room was a bad idea. Hy was suspended without pay. A waitress was recently fired for posting complaints about a customer on Facebook. A woman lost a job offer at  Cisco because of...

Tips are one of the most common fraud detection methods. In 2016, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners analyzed more than 2,000 cases of occupational fraud in 114 countries. In approximately 39% of cases, the fraud was discovered by receiving a tip. Organizations with reporting hotlines are more likely to detect fraud than organizations without...

Crime tends to require three elements: motive, desire and opportunity. Employee theft is no different. Being aware of the reasons leading up to employee theft and learning to identify likely perpetrators can give employers a leg up on protecting their companies from theft.

Motive & Desire

Employees who steal usually have their motives. For example,...

Make no mistake. Payroll fraud is real. Recently, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) found payroll fraud occurred in 27% of all businesses, nearly twice as often in small businesses. Worsening the outlook, payroll fraud lasts for an average of three years, with businesses taking a median hit of $145,000.00. That’s three years...

India is the world’s second-fastest growing economy. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, India’s consumer market is expected to quadruple over the next twenty years. For U.S. small businesses, India holds the promise of tremendous opportunity. As the number of U.S. companies doing business in India increases, the number of Indian policy holders is expected...

In Asia, there is a popular fidelity claim involving the person-in- the-middle scheme. These schemes have increased as more foreign companies enter the market in Asia due to the rapid economic growth and significant consumer market. Language differentials, lack of access to sales channels, requirements of joint ventures, ownership and control by citizens of the...

Running a small business isn’t easy. Small business owners are plagued by concerns: from keeping the business flowing and growing to making customers happy to handling incoming and outgoing expenses to finding, keeping and paying good employees. Many small business owners lie awake at night worrying about how much is in the business bank account....