Employee Theft -3 wc blog 574
Training To Reduce Employee Theft-3
Want To Run A Profitable Store? Get Training To Reduce Employee Theft
When I started out as a Loss Prevention Manager I knew about employee theft from my work as a Loss Prevention Associate for another retailer. I had experience assisting in a couple of dishonest employee investigations so I knew it could be a problem. What I didn’t realize was how big a problem it could be and why training to reduce employee theft was so important for me. I mean let’s be real, I had 4 ½ years of Loss Prevention experience under my belt what was there to learn? As it turned out I went off for four weeks of training at another store in order to learn about all of the aspects of the company’s Loss Prevention program. From hiring and managing a team to learning their procedures for shoplifter apprehensions to how to initiate and investigate employees I found out there was more than I imagined.
Many readers are store owners and managers and may be thinking that this is an article for Loss Prevention Managers not for them. WAIT! Don’t stop reading! This is an article for you because you are most likely the owner of a small to medium size business and will not have a Loss Prevention department. You need to know that if you have people working for you then at some point you will have an issue with employee’s stealing from you. You have to be able to recognize theft when it transpires and know what steps to take to deal with it. Unfortunately without someone to help you learn how to identify it you could experience grievous losses before you can stop it in time. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. offers training to reduce employee theft so that you won’t be caught off guard. Through live seminars and online training sessions store managers and owners can get the information they need to take keep dishonest workers from taking advantage of them.
Providing you with some of the lessons I learned as a new Loss Prevention Manager will hopefully be helpful to you as a manager of a retail business.
• The value of employee orientations in deterring employee theft. I had never thought about it prior to my job and, to be honest, it took some time for me to see the value in it. What I learned was, by including Loss Prevention in employee orientations, expectations were clearly defined. New workers knew what was expected of them and consequences if they were caught. It was during this time we also made sure new hires understood what would be considered theft and fraud. From stealing cash and merchandise to fraudulent refunds and even time card theft, all were considered employee theft and would not be tolerated.
• Conducting Background Checks. While I did not conduct them, our company did. I learned, by working with the Human Resources department manager, how many people will get caught lying about criminal pasts. Background checks uncovered their dishonestly and prevented these people from getting hired and potentially stealing from the store.
• Prior to my training, I did not understand the importance of putting controls in place. Requiring employee bag checks at the end of a shift and receipt checks of purchases was an important tool in stopping theft.
• Not allowing employees to wear coats at a register and not permitting food or drinks while working wasn’t intended to be a punishment. Coats gave a place to hide cash or merchandise at a point of sale. Food and drinks, aside from being a distraction, were easy to steal at the register and a receipt could just be retained from an earlier purchase.
These were just a few of the lessons I learned, and I came to the job with a Loss Prevention background.
Dishonest employees can be creative in the methods they use to steal. Training to reduce employee theft is necessary if a store owner is going to be able to identify and stop theft activity. Let Loss Prevention Systems Inc. be your resource for training to ensure you keep your store operating profitably.
Employee theft is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
When I started out as a Loss Prevention Manager I knew about employee theft from my work as a Loss Prevention Associate for another retailer. I had experience assisting in a couple of dishonest employee investigations so I knew it could be a problem. What I didn’t realize was how big a problem it could be and why training to reduce employee theft was so important for me. I mean let’s be real, I had 4 ½ years of Loss Prevention experience under my belt what was there to learn? As it turned out I went off for four weeks of training at another store in order to learn about all of the aspects of the company’s Loss Prevention program. From hiring and managing a team to learning their procedures for shoplifter apprehensions to how to initiate and investigate employees I found out there was more than I imagined.
Many readers are store owners and managers and may be thinking that this is an article for Loss Prevention Managers not for them. WAIT! Don’t stop reading! This is an article for you because you are most likely the owner of a small to medium size business and will not have a Loss Prevention department. You need to know that if you have people working for you then at some point you will have an issue with employee’s stealing from you. You have to be able to recognize theft when it transpires and know what steps to take to deal with it. Unfortunately without someone to help you learn how to identify it you could experience grievous losses before you can stop it in time. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. offers training to reduce employee theft so that you won’t be caught off guard. Through live seminars and online training sessions store managers and owners can get the information they need to take keep dishonest workers from taking advantage of them.
Providing you with some of the lessons I learned as a new Loss Prevention Manager will hopefully be helpful to you as a manager of a retail business.
• The value of employee orientations in deterring employee theft. I had never thought about it prior to my job and, to be honest, it took some time for me to see the value in it. What I learned was, by including Loss Prevention in employee orientations, expectations were clearly defined. New workers knew what was expected of them and consequences if they were caught. It was during this time we also made sure new hires understood what would be considered theft and fraud. From stealing cash and merchandise to fraudulent refunds and even time card theft, all were considered employee theft and would not be tolerated.
• Conducting Background Checks. While I did not conduct them, our company did. I learned, by working with the Human Resources department manager, how many people will get caught lying about criminal pasts. Background checks uncovered their dishonestly and prevented these people from getting hired and potentially stealing from the store.
• Prior to my training, I did not understand the importance of putting controls in place. Requiring employee bag checks at the end of a shift and receipt checks of purchases was an important tool in stopping theft.
• Not allowing employees to wear coats at a register and not permitting food or drinks while working wasn’t intended to be a punishment. Coats gave a place to hide cash or merchandise at a point of sale. Food and drinks, aside from being a distraction, were easy to steal at the register and a receipt could just be retained from an earlier purchase.
These were just a few of the lessons I learned, and I came to the job with a Loss Prevention background.
Dishonest employees can be creative in the methods they use to steal. Training to reduce employee theft is necessary if a store owner is going to be able to identify and stop theft activity. Let Loss Prevention Systems Inc. be your resource for training to ensure you keep your store operating profitably.
Employee theft is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Return Fraud is a common problem for retailers and often it is difficult to distinguish a fraudulent return from a legitimate return. Finding methods to reduce the risk of a fraudulent return can be even trickier. Those who commit return fraud often use the same reasons for a refund that honest shoppers use for their refunds and exchanges. Here is a list of the most common reasons for merchandise returns from https://chargebacks911.com/knowledge-base/9-reasons-why-consumers-return-products/ chargebacks911.com:
- The customer bought the wrong item
- The product is no longer needed
- The product did not match its description
- The customer wasn’t familiar with the product
- A gift purchase was incorrect
- The customer didn’t want the item
- The product was damaged upon arrival
- The merchant shipped the wrong item
- ***The customer engages in wardrobing
Reasons 1 through 8 are understandable, I have had to return items for some of these reasons and working in retail I have assisted customers by ordering something for them through our warehouse. I have had customers who received the wrong item even when I correctly input the information in the computer, it happens from time to time. I found it interesting that the number 9 reason on their list was wardrobing. This is one of the most difficult forms of fraud to combat because reasons 1 through 8 are frequently used to get away with reason 9. I will go into more detail on it in a moment but I want to assure you that wardrobing CAN be prevented by using Shark Tags.
This would be a good time for me to clarify what wardrobing is for readers who are not familiar with the term even if they are familiar with the practice. Have you ever had a customer bring in an article of clothing for a return a day or two after they purchased it? They probably had the receipt, the manufacturer labels were intact and hanging from the garment and they may tell you one of the excuses I listed above. You may have been suspicious of the return because the clothing smelled like it had perfume or other odors on it such as food. There may even be a little stain somewhere and the customer stated that it was there already and they must have missed it when they bought the item. Everything is in line with your store policies so you give the refund to keep the customer happy. You may have to damage the product out of stock and try to get some vendor credit back but you still lose money. What you didn’t know was that the customer had worn the item to a party the night before and taped the tags inside a sleeve or down the neck so others wouldn’t see them. You didn’t know the customer had no intention of keeping the items they just wanted to appear to have a new outfit. You are the victim of wardrobing. Shark Tags prevent this activity because they are attached to clothing in a highly visible place and have to be removed by the customer when the customer gets the item home and decides to keep it. Stores using the Shark Tag make policies that clearly let consumers know that no refunds are given for merchandise which has had a Tag removed. Because they are red the tags are going to stand out like a sore thumb if someone were to attempt to wear a garment with the tag attached. If a shopper needs to make a return for reasons 1 through 8 and the tag is intact you can be certain you are not the victim of this type of return fraud.
Every retailer wants to provide a good customer service experience and sometimes that means the return policy has to be a bit on the lenient side. Allowances must be made for purchasing errors, poor gift choices or products not meeting buyer expectations. On the other hand that does not mean that store owners need to go so far in their leniency that they are being taken advantage of and becoming victims of return fraud. Retail anti-theft devices can help prevent fraudulent returns due to theft and Shark Tags can prevent fraud due to customers taking advantage of refund policies. Help keep your shoppers happy by keeping prices lower when you don’t have to be concerned marking up products to offset costs due to fraud. Use Shark Tags and stop the bad guys from eating up your profits.
For more information about wardrobing, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Employee Background Checks-4 WC Blog 498
Pre-employment screening-4
The Cost Of Not Conducting Employee Background Checks
Are employee background checks really necessary? With tight budgets and an unemployment rate that is hitting new lows, hiring can be difficult especially for small retailers. National retail chains are now starting their entry level employees at $9 and $10 an hour in order to fill cashiering, salesfloor and stocking positions. Some offer a shift differential to employees who work overnight or early morning hours. Those same retailers can also cut prices to the point that it makes it difficult for the mom and pop shops to compete with them and keep customers. In this competitive environment it becomes increasingly difficult for the small and medium shops to not just retain help but hire new workers. On the surface it would seem that pre-employment screening would increase that difficulty. A prospective employee may be swayed to another job by the prospect of higher pay or a quicker start date. What about the cost of conducting those employee background checks? Is it even in the budget? I would like to pose another question to retail owners who are on the fence on this. Can you afford not to conduct checks?
Employee background checks conducted by a company that specializes in them will identify potential applicants with criminal histories or other anomalies in their past. A pre-employment screening can be customized to what the prospective employer wants to be sure is NOT on an applicant’s record. A delivery company may be concerned about a driving record. Someone who is going to be working around heavy equipment probably should not have an arrest record for drug or alcohol related offenses. A quality check will look at where an applicant has indicated they have lived on their application. Why is this important? If a person is moving around a lot they could be running from a criminal past. Maybe they are trying to avoid bill collectors. That carries its own concerns do you want to hire someone with financial problems? There are a number of other items that can be checked and the details can be discussed with the company you hire to do your checks.
At this point you may be thinking that you have an application in hand and you will conduct an interview so you should be able to determine whether a candidate will be okay. If this is your position consider this story from whotv.com, “Fort Dodge Sex Offender Accused of New Charges Against Minors”, October 10, 2017 by Kelly Maricle. According to the report a hospital worker was charged with three counts of sexual abuse 3rd degree (2nd offense) and three counts of sex offender registry violations against minors. http://whotv.com/2017/10/10/fort-dodge-sex-offender-accused-of-new-charges-against-minors/ How did a registered sex offender get a job in a location where he would be in contact with minors? There is no indication whether employee background checks were conducted by the hospital. If there was not a check conducted then it seems there would be negligence on the part of the hospital. If a pre-employment screening WAS conducted then one has to ask just how detailed was the check or how good was the company that completed the check?
In case you aren’t quite convinced you should check out your prospective new hires before you bring them on board, check out this story about a retail employee. In a July 12, 2017 story on wqad.com, “A Des Moines County jury found him guilty in February of theft and burglary for stealing the safe and more than $4700 in cash from the hardware store where he had been working.” The story reported that he was, “sentenced as a habitual criminal because of his previous convictions.” http://wqad.com/2017/07/12/man-gets-15-years-for-stealing-safe-money-from-his-employer/ Again the question I have to ask is did this retailer complete a criminal history check before bringing this man on to their staff?
It may seem to you that you can’t afford to conduct pre-employment screening but you have to evaluate what your cost may be by not clearing applicants before they join your team. Let Loss Prevention Systems Inc. help you stay profitable and safe by checking out your candidates prior to you giving them a job offer.
Employee background checks are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Are employee background checks really necessary? With tight budgets and an unemployment rate that is hitting new lows, hiring can be difficult especially for small retailers. National retail chains are now starting their entry level employees at $9 and $10 an hour in order to fill cashiering, salesfloor and stocking positions. Some offer a shift differential to employees who work overnight or early morning hours. Those same retailers can also cut prices to the point that it makes it difficult for the mom and pop shops to compete with them and keep customers. In this competitive environment it becomes increasingly difficult for the small and medium shops to not just retain help but hire new workers. On the surface it would seem that pre-employment screening would increase that difficulty. A prospective employee may be swayed to another job by the prospect of higher pay or a quicker start date. What about the cost of conducting those employee background checks? Is it even in the budget? I would like to pose another question to retail owners who are on the fence on this. Can you afford not to conduct checks?
Employee background checks conducted by a company that specializes in them will identify potential applicants with criminal histories or other anomalies in their past. A pre-employment screening can be customized to what the prospective employer wants to be sure is NOT on an applicant’s record. A delivery company may be concerned about a driving record. Someone who is going to be working around heavy equipment probably should not have an arrest record for drug or alcohol related offenses. A quality check will look at where an applicant has indicated they have lived on their application. Why is this important? If a person is moving around a lot they could be running from a criminal past. Maybe they are trying to avoid bill collectors. That carries its own concerns do you want to hire someone with financial problems? There are a number of other items that can be checked and the details can be discussed with the company you hire to do your checks.
At this point you may be thinking that you have an application in hand and you will conduct an interview so you should be able to determine whether a candidate will be okay. If this is your position consider this story from whotv.com, “Fort Dodge Sex Offender Accused of New Charges Against Minors”, October 10, 2017 by Kelly Maricle. According to the report a hospital worker was charged with three counts of sexual abuse 3rd degree (2nd offense) and three counts of sex offender registry violations against minors. http://whotv.com/2017/10/10/fort-dodge-sex-offender-accused-of-new-charges-against-minors/ How did a registered sex offender get a job in a location where he would be in contact with minors? There is no indication whether employee background checks were conducted by the hospital. If there was not a check conducted then it seems there would be negligence on the part of the hospital. If a pre-employment screening WAS conducted then one has to ask just how detailed was the check or how good was the company that completed the check?
In case you aren’t quite convinced you should check out your prospective new hires before you bring them on board, check out this story about a retail employee. In a July 12, 2017 story on wqad.com, “A Des Moines County jury found him guilty in February of theft and burglary for stealing the safe and more than $4700 in cash from the hardware store where he had been working.” The story reported that he was, “sentenced as a habitual criminal because of his previous convictions.” http://wqad.com/2017/07/12/man-gets-15-years-for-stealing-safe-money-from-his-employer/ Again the question I have to ask is did this retailer complete a criminal history check before bringing this man on to their staff?
It may seem to you that you can’t afford to conduct pre-employment screening but you have to evaluate what your cost may be by not clearing applicants before they join your team. Let Loss Prevention Systems Inc. help you stay profitable and safe by checking out your candidates prior to you giving them a job offer.
Employee background checks are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
The store I work for is preparing for inventory and that preparation has made me think about electronic article surveillance and other things that make a difference in store shortage results. As a Loss Prevention Manager with 13 years of experience and an additional 5+ years of Retail Loss Prevention Associate experience I have a number of pointers I would like to share. My tips are just those, tips and suggestions but they served me well in my work in big box retail stores so they can help you too. What are some of the issues that can have a negative effect on a store inventory and what are the solutions?
Problem: The biggest obstacle to ensuring you have great inventory results is a failure to use clothing security tags and electronic article surveillance towers in your store. Without merchandise protection shoplifters and dishonest employees are free to steal and there is no way to recover these losses.
Solution: Install electronic article surveillance towers at your points of entry and exit. Also, use clothing security tags on all of the merchandise your store sells.
You may be wondering what good this will do in preparation for this year’s inventory if it isn’t going to have an immediate impact. I will discuss that after I clarify what hard tags are and how they work.
Clothing security tags are retail anti-theft devices that are attached to merchandise and will activate alarms in electronic article surveillance towers. Tags can be hard tags that pin to merchandise and require a specially designed detachment tool to remove them. They also come in a soft label version that is peeled from a roll and adheres to product packaging or manufacturer tags. This type of tag cannot be removed but has to be deactivated at the point of sale where the pads are usually located. Both styles of tags provide a visible deterrent to shoplifters who might try to steal the products. As mentioned the tags also set off alarm towers when the protected merchandise is carried into the detection area of the towers. Alarms elicit employee response and merchandise is recovered from the bad guys. I should also note that they aid in preventing accidental loss when a cashier misses Bottom of Buggy items that are tagged.
What other obstacles can impede great store inventories? Other things I have encountered over the years include:
Problem: Insufficient store preparation. Failing to look through all the places merchandise can fall or become hidden.
Solution: Take the time to look under fixtures and on top of display cases for merchandise that may have fallen or been placed there by a customer. Also do a thorough inspection of stockroom areas for possible stray items. Cash register stands are notorious for small items dropping into nooks and crannies. I have found merchandise tossed on top of sunglass fixtures and inside of trash cans we sold. I have also found stashed goods in drink coolers and desk drawers. Rule of thumb, if it opens look inside of it.
Problem: If you have merchandise on peg hooks and items get mixed up you could wind up with incorrect inventory counts. For example a peg hook may have a certain type of pen on it. If the first pen pack is not the same as the others and the inventory crew scans it and only counts the pieces behind it for a total quantity it will throw off inventory numbers.
Solutions: Have someone go through a few days before inventory and inspect all of the peg hooks. If you have too many pegged items, split the job up but get it done. Even if the packages are the same prices the store inventory counts will be off.
Problem: Theft on inventory night by inventory or store personnel.
Solutions: Be sure all items have clothing security tags on all merchandise and have someone monitoring the electronic article surveillance towers. Should an inventory team member or a store employee attempt to steal, you will have a chance to recover it at the towers.
Problem: Counters who are inaccurate.
Solutions: Be sure to have random audits of all areas. I suggest focusing on last year high shrink departments and high dollar departments such as jewelry.
While all the problems you could come across can’t be listed this is a good starting point. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. is also a great resource for information and technology to help you prevent theft and fraud in the future. They can help you improve your shortage results and make your store more profitable.
Need information on clothing security tags? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Employee theft- 4 WC Blog 591
Stop Shoplifting-3
What Does Employee Theft Look Like?
Just the other day I was listening to my daughter tell me about a new store manager that has been hired for their retail building. As she was talking to me I realized she was telling me about a problem I am aware of but had never considered it in terms of a type of employee theft. The new store manager is addressing the issue right out of the starting gate and I must say I am impressed. The issue that has plagued this particular store is that of changing employee availabilities. Employees in retail should be hired with the expectation that they will work varying shifts, nights, weekends and holidays. A new person may be hired with the understanding there is a specific day or time of day once or twice a week they cannot work. This could be for school, childcare or a second job but that limitation should not be for weekends off or no night or evenings at all. The sad thing is I have seen it all too often, a candidate is hired, starts the job and within a few weeks or months they are changing their availability. This was the problem my daughter’s store was contending with and it was stripping the management team of night and weekend coverage. The store manager’s had been approving these requests. This issue had a snowball effect and had the unintended consequence, in my opinion, of making it more difficult for the store to stop shoplifting.
Training to reduce employee theft of any type is a must for any retailer interested in maintaining a profitable store. Theft comes in many forms, as you can see above. Being able to identify and deal with those problems before they get out of control is important. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. has specialized training available to store managers. This training will provide managers with the necessary skills to significantly reduce their exposure to dishonest employee activity and shoplifting. These skill sets lead to reduced shortage and more profit.
In what sense was permitting workers to change availabilities a form of employee theft you may ask? It was not (and is not if you are contending with it yourself) overt like passing merchandise to a friend. It is not the same as stealing cash from the register and pocketing it. It is stealing from the management team the ability to adequately cover the store with enough people. It is stealing from other employees by requiring them to work the less desirable shifts and the weekends while the employee who is permitted to restrict their availability gets the preferred time slots. It is stealing from the morale of the entire team as people get short-tempered and snippy with each other and customers.
How does it become more difficult to stop shoplifting when availabilities are permitted to be restricted? The same people are constantly placed on the weekend schedules and when one or two of those employees call out for a shift there may be no one to replace them. That reduces floor coverage and while I have limited experience with it I have seen a pronounced impact in my daughter’s store. She has closed the store with herself and one other employee on more than one occasion. She has told me of problems with finding multiple tags from clothing on the floor after suspected shoplifters have left the store. With too few people, the staff cannot adequately provide sufficient customer service to deter the thieves. There are not enough people so one can stay near the doors in case of a clothing alarm activation. Limited availability does impact merchandise shortage due to shoplifting.
So what has this new store manager started in his first week in the store? He has told the entire team that for the first six months of employment no availability changes are permitted. Requests for availability modifications have been met with employment terminations for two people so far, as I understand it. I say bravo to the manager for getting a major problem under control.
Even if you don’t want to consider allowing availability changes to be a form of theft, other things like time card fraud and price manipulation are. Training to reduce employee theft can help managers navigate the sometimes murky waters of what is and what is not theft. It can also enlighten you to methods your employees are stealing from you and you did not know it. Likewise, training to identify and stop shoplifting will also add to the store’s bottom line. Let Loss Prevention Systems Inc. be the portal to all of training your management team will need to lead a fair and profitable team.
For more information about employee theft contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Just the other day I was listening to my daughter tell me about a new store manager that has been hired for their retail building. As she was talking to me I realized she was telling me about a problem I am aware of but had never considered it in terms of a type of employee theft. The new store manager is addressing the issue right out of the starting gate and I must say I am impressed. The issue that has plagued this particular store is that of changing employee availabilities. Employees in retail should be hired with the expectation that they will work varying shifts, nights, weekends and holidays. A new person may be hired with the understanding there is a specific day or time of day once or twice a week they cannot work. This could be for school, childcare or a second job but that limitation should not be for weekends off or no night or evenings at all. The sad thing is I have seen it all too often, a candidate is hired, starts the job and within a few weeks or months they are changing their availability. This was the problem my daughter’s store was contending with and it was stripping the management team of night and weekend coverage. The store manager’s had been approving these requests. This issue had a snowball effect and had the unintended consequence, in my opinion, of making it more difficult for the store to stop shoplifting.
Training to reduce employee theft of any type is a must for any retailer interested in maintaining a profitable store. Theft comes in many forms, as you can see above. Being able to identify and deal with those problems before they get out of control is important. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. has specialized training available to store managers. This training will provide managers with the necessary skills to significantly reduce their exposure to dishonest employee activity and shoplifting. These skill sets lead to reduced shortage and more profit.
In what sense was permitting workers to change availabilities a form of employee theft you may ask? It was not (and is not if you are contending with it yourself) overt like passing merchandise to a friend. It is not the same as stealing cash from the register and pocketing it. It is stealing from the management team the ability to adequately cover the store with enough people. It is stealing from other employees by requiring them to work the less desirable shifts and the weekends while the employee who is permitted to restrict their availability gets the preferred time slots. It is stealing from the morale of the entire team as people get short-tempered and snippy with each other and customers.
How does it become more difficult to stop shoplifting when availabilities are permitted to be restricted? The same people are constantly placed on the weekend schedules and when one or two of those employees call out for a shift there may be no one to replace them. That reduces floor coverage and while I have limited experience with it I have seen a pronounced impact in my daughter’s store. She has closed the store with herself and one other employee on more than one occasion. She has told me of problems with finding multiple tags from clothing on the floor after suspected shoplifters have left the store. With too few people, the staff cannot adequately provide sufficient customer service to deter the thieves. There are not enough people so one can stay near the doors in case of a clothing alarm activation. Limited availability does impact merchandise shortage due to shoplifting.
So what has this new store manager started in his first week in the store? He has told the entire team that for the first six months of employment no availability changes are permitted. Requests for availability modifications have been met with employment terminations for two people so far, as I understand it. I say bravo to the manager for getting a major problem under control.
Even if you don’t want to consider allowing availability changes to be a form of theft, other things like time card fraud and price manipulation are. Training to reduce employee theft can help managers navigate the sometimes murky waters of what is and what is not theft. It can also enlighten you to methods your employees are stealing from you and you did not know it. Likewise, training to identify and stop shoplifting will also add to the store’s bottom line. Let Loss Prevention Systems Inc. be the portal to all of training your management team will need to lead a fair and profitable team.
For more information about employee theft, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Tablet Theft-5 WC Blog 514
i-Pad Theft-3
Bug Tag-4
Take A Balanced Approach To Prevent Medical Tablet Theft
Computer tablet theft and iPad theft in hospitals are an increasing threat as the use of personal hand-held computers grows more prevalent in the medical field. There are new applications for computer tablets to improve the care of patients on a regular basis. I recently came across a new use for computer tablets that aids in the prevention of fall accidents in hospitals. This new technology involves special socks with sensors in them that monitor the movements of a patient. In a story from Cincinnati.com, Dec. 8, 2017 by Anne Saker, titled “How can we prevent falls? Hospitals could find an answer in Cinc-designed ‘smart’ socks”, Ms. Saker reports on a patient in a Madison County hospital. The patient was wearing a pair of Palarum socks, “made by the renowned French textile company Perrin” designed to help prevent patient falls before they can happen. The socks have sensors in them that can send a signal to a nurse monitoring the patient who is wearing the socks. “Using a Palarum tablet computer in a patient room or at a main desk, a nurse tells the monitor about the patient, including weight…When the socks detect downward pressure past a certain threshold, the filaments in the fabric signal the monitor on the sock. The wireless alarm goes out to the three nurses closest to the patient.” https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2017/12/08/how-can-we-prevent-falls-hospitals-find-answer-cincinnati-designed-smart-socks/904983001/
Sensor socks and a computer tablet that can save patients from potential falls, that is incredible! I hope you noticed as I did when reading the article, the nurse tells the monitor about the patient. That means private patient data is in these computers and therein lies to risks associated with mobile device theft and i-Pad theft in hospitals. Bill Bregar, the CEO of Loss Prevention Systems Inc. (LPSI) recognizes the dangers associated with computer theft from medical facilities of all types and has an answer for them with the Bug Tag.
A simple design, the Bug Tag is a small device that uses electronic article surveillance (EAS) technology to prevent theft. The tag is attached directly to the back of a mobile computing device with an adhesive sled. The facility has EAS pedestals installed at all entrances and exits (and even outside of restrooms if so desired) and in the event of an attempted tablet theft the Bug Tag sends out a signal that sets off alarms in the pedestals before the perpetrator even gets to the door to walk out. The lights and alarms of the pedestals alert employees who respond and recover the tablet or i-Pad. Concerned that a criminal could just remove a tag from a unit and still commit i-Pad theft? No need to worry, the tags have tamper alarms built in that will sound their own warning if a criminal tried to pull one off of a device. The wonderful part about the use of these anti-theft devices is that they allow for total freedom of movement within a facility for care providers they just keep the devices from being taken out.
There a readers who may be scoffing at the idea that a tablet theft is really all that big a deal. Most hospitals and clinics are going to encrypt their devices, right? Besides, we are talking about socks here, how much information can a criminal get other than a patient’s shoe size? There are several things readers should consider. First, we are only addressing one use of mobile devices in the medical field here. The proliferation of handheld computers is enormous in medicine. They are being used by doctors to video conference to remote locals to aid in treatment of patients. They are being used by doctors and nurses to check on patients rather than carrying the old charts around. It wasn’t long ago I was in a hospital emergency room and the doctors were doing rounds with interns carrying i-Pads or tablets and discussing patient statuses. I have signed into a waiting room at a care clinic on an i-Pad rather than registering with the old forms. All of that patient information becomes available to criminals when a tablet theft or i-pad theft takes place. If encryption were a cure all then I would ask the skeptics, why does DHHS levy severe fines on medical facilities that have mobile and computer devices stolen? Would it be necessary to penalize if there were no risk of patient data loss?
Whether it is protecting a patient using special balance socks and a computing device or any other medical computer using a Bug Tag is a step in the right direction. Let LPSI help you get started in preventing tablet theft with EAS pedestals and tags.
Get more information on a Bug Tag, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Computer tablet theft and iPad theft in hospitals are an increasing threat as the use of personal hand-held computers grows more prevalent in the medical field. There are new applications for computer tablets to improve the care of patients on a regular basis. I recently came across a new use for computer tablets that aids in the prevention of fall accidents in hospitals. This new technology involves special socks with sensors in them that monitor the movements of a patient. In a story from Cincinnati.com, Dec. 8, 2017 by Anne Saker, titled “How can we prevent falls? Hospitals could find an answer in Cinc-designed ‘smart’ socks”, Ms. Saker reports on a patient in a Madison County hospital. The patient was wearing a pair of Palarum socks, “made by the renowned French textile company Perrin” designed to help prevent patient falls before they can happen. The socks have sensors in them that can send a signal to a nurse monitoring the patient who is wearing the socks. “Using a Palarum tablet computer in a patient room or at a main desk, a nurse tells the monitor about the patient, including weight…When the socks detect downward pressure past a certain threshold, the filaments in the fabric signal the monitor on the sock. The wireless alarm goes out to the three nurses closest to the patient.” https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2017/12/08/how-can-we-prevent-falls-hospitals-find-answer-cincinnati-designed-smart-socks/904983001/Sensor socks and a computer tablet that can save patients from potential falls, that is incredible! I hope you noticed as I did when reading the article, the nurse tells the monitor about the patient. That means private patient data is in these computers and therein lies to risks associated with mobile device theft and i-Pad theft in hospitals. Bill Bregar, the CEO of Loss Prevention Systems Inc. (LPSI) recognizes the dangers associated with computer theft from medical facilities of all types and has an answer for them with the Bug Tag.
A simple design, the Bug Tag is a small device that uses electronic article surveillance (EAS) technology to prevent theft. The tag is attached directly to the back of a mobile computing device with an adhesive sled. The facility has EAS pedestals installed at all entrances and exits (and even outside of restrooms if so desired) and in the event of an attempted tablet theft the Bug Tag sends out a signal that sets off alarms in the pedestals before the perpetrator even gets to the door to walk out. The lights and alarms of the pedestals alert employees who respond and recover the tablet or i-Pad. Concerned that a criminal could just remove a tag from a unit and still commit i-Pad theft? No need to worry, the tags have tamper alarms built in that will sound their own warning if a criminal tried to pull one off of a device. The wonderful part about the use of these anti-theft devices is that they allow for total freedom of movement within a facility for care providers they just keep the devices from being taken out.
There a readers who may be scoffing at the idea that a tablet theft is really all that big a deal. Most hospitals and clinics are going to encrypt their devices, right? Besides, we are talking about socks here, how much information can a criminal get other than a patient’s shoe size? There are several things readers should consider. First, we are only addressing one use of mobile devices in the medical field here. The proliferation of handheld computers is enormous in medicine. They are being used by doctors to video conference to remote locals to aid in treatment of patients. They are being used by doctors and nurses to check on patients rather than carrying the old charts around. It wasn’t long ago I was in a hospital emergency room and the doctors were doing rounds with interns carrying i-Pads or tablets and discussing patient statuses. I have signed into a waiting room at a care clinic on an i-Pad rather than registering with the old forms. All of that patient information becomes available to criminals when a tablet theft or i-pad theft takes place. If encryption were a cure all then I would ask the skeptics, why does DHHS levy severe fines on medical facilities that have mobile and computer devices stolen? Would it be necessary to penalize if there were no risk of patient data loss?
Whether it is protecting a patient using special balance socks and a computing device or any other medical computer using a Bug Tag is a step in the right direction. Let LPSI help you get started in preventing tablet theft with EAS pedestals and tags.
Get more information on a Bug Tag, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
