The 2013 NAED Theft and Fraud Research is now available, and the good news is the numbers are down from the last research in 2010. Another big change is back in 2010, employee theft was the most common loss for distributor, but that has now shifted to shoplifting by customers.
The research shows 81% of distributors report a product was stolen in the past two years, which is actually down 1% from 2010. 24% of distributors report having equipment stolen in the past two years, and money was stolen from 30% of distributors. All of those numbers are also down from the previous research in 2010.
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As far as which products are stolen most often, 63% of distributors say copper wire was stolen by employees, which is down from 78% in 2010. 63% say customers shoplifted copper wire in the past two years. Half of the distributors say electrician’s tools were stolen by their own employees, down from 75%. They also report customers shoplifted tools at 64% of distributorships. And 42% say batteries were stolen by employees, which is down from 63% in 2010. Only 20% reported customers shoplifted batteries from them. The NAED research shows the high cost of copper, and the easy resale, make it the most targeted item for theft.
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Here is some of the disturbing news from the research. Over the past two years, 82% of distributors reported employees stole merchandise from the warehouse, while 59% say an employee stole from the service counter. The NAED research shows a stronger need for more security in warehouse areas.
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The 2013 Theft And Fraud Research also tells of ways to recover damages after an employee is caught stealing. One way points out that since courts are so full with other crimes, distributors are demanding 10 times the cost of the stolen goods in exchange for not pressing criminal charges.
The research also looks at ways to prevent check and credit card fraud, the best security monitoring devices, what actions need to be taken once employee or customer theft is discovered, how to make sure you are hiring the right people, and how long employees have worked at a distributorship before the theft happened.
You can see the entire NAED Theft and Fraud research by clicking here.
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