Pub. 2 Issue 2

15 SUMMER 2014 Almost 50 percent of those tips come from employees, so don’t just put up a poster in the lunch room. Actively talk about your tip line with employees and vendors who work with your dealership. Make the tip line part of new-employee and new-vendor orientation. Can you prevent fraud by screening employees carefully? Un- fortunately, the answer to that question is a strong “no.” Most people who commit fraud are first-time offenders, and many of them have worked for a particular employer for years before beginning to steal. It’s more helpful to rely on employee moni- toring, the presence of risk factors, and the warning signs than it is to rely on screening. Ninety-two percent of the time, fraud is preceded by at least one behavioral trait that indicates potential trouble. In 64 per- cent of the cases, there were multiple indicators. What should you be looking for? The following list, compiled for the 2014 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse, identifies what to watch for, and includes the most recent per- centages of perpetrators who demonstrate the behavior: • Someone living more lavishly than seems reasonable (43.8 percent) • Financial problems (33 percent) • A particularly close relationship with a vendor or customer (21.8 percent) • Control issues and an unwillingness to share job duties (21.1 percent) • A “wheeler-dealer” attitude (18.4 percent) • Marriage problems, divorce, or other problems at home (16.8 percent) • Bad temper, suspiciousness, or defensive behavior (15 percent) • Addiction issues (11.6 percent) • Complaints about not being paid enough (9.4 percent) • Previous problems with employment (8.9 percent) • A refusal to take a vacation (8.6 percent) • A pressured work environment (8.4 percent) • Social isolation (7.4 percent) • One or more complaints about not having enough authority (6.5 percent) • Pressure from family or peers who want an employee to succeed (6 percent) • Unstable life circumstances (5.9 percent) • Previous legal problems (5.6 percent) You can’t stop people from making bad decisions that could do substantial damage to your dealership, but you can do a lot to improve your chances of detecting problems and putting a prompt end to any theft that might take place. In a still-uncer- tain economy, that is good news for any business. Reach your target audience a ordably. advertise get results TOM HANSEN Advertising Sales 855.747.4003 tom@thenewslinkgroup.com 