Internal Theft Tour 2009

Mike Joseph and I have returned from Bilioxi, MS and Harris, MI stops where we presented our Internal Theft training seminar to hundreds of casino managers and directors. The training was well received and generated a lot of thought and feedback. Both Mike and I continue to be astonished at the the amount of employee theft and fraud that occurs in today's casinos. We heard story after story of how employees devised various methods to steal. The amounts of money and/or value stolen routinely are staggering! Cases now result in the tens of thousands and a growing number are in the hundreds of thousands, and some in the millions!

Our next stop is San Diego in January 2010. If you want to learn how to stop employee theft on your property contact us at www.djbosspi.com or internalthefttour.com.

Security Surveillance

One of the ways to combat the crime occurring in Las Vegas nightclubs and pools is to train the surveillance people assigned to monitor these areas. It is a best practice to assign this task to the casino security or surveillance team as opposed to allowing the people/company running the nightclub pool.

Training our security surveillance personnel to operate the cameras properly and effectively to allow detection of drug use/sales, prostitution, fights, gang activity, etc., is absolutely necessary!

Well trained security surveillance personnel can substantially reduce the incidence of this activity.

See:

http://igi.unlv.edu

or

www.djbosspi.com

Costs of Fraud and Theft in Gaming

See link below. This article discusses a recent arrest made of some slot cheaters in Pennsylvania. It is amazing to me that these crimes grow so large. A few years ago we lost tens of thousands of dollars to these types of scams. today, its hundreds of thousands of dollars!

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_646772.html

Kudos to the trooper who caught this! Great case of something just didn't look right.

Another way to catch these types of scams is to operate your surveillance room proactively. There are a number of techniques that can be employed to detect these scams before they get to be so large.

We've designed a training seminar to provide this type of information. See us at http://trainingingaming.com/seminars.html

See you there!

Derk

Internal Theft

Internal theft and fraud is continuing to grow in our industry. I continue to come across or hear about new scams or old scams with a new twist. The economy has exposed numerous schemes that have existed for long periods of time but were hidden behind profits during the good times. It is becoming more and more apparent that companies have a significant employee theft problem and don’t know how to fight it.

Just think about recent headlines reporting employee theft incidents that have occurred in gaming in the last few years: slot employees in New Mexico stole $500,000 to $1 million through fraudulent jackpots; slot technicians at a property in Las Vegas stole over $1 million by setting up false jackpots; dealers across the country colluded with players using false shuffles to steal over $18 million! Times have changed!

The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners in their 2008 Report to the Nation states that organizations lose 7% of their annual revenue to fraud. Additionally, the report says the average fraud continues for two years before it is detected. As our gaming industry is somewhat unique as compared to other more “normal” businesses, we may lose even more that the average to internal theft and fraud

Just because we expect employee theft to occur doesn’t mean we have to sit back and take it. Using the right personnel, resources and programs we can detect it more often and decrease it significantly. Most gaming properties already have most of the resources needed; awareness, proper training and techniques can easily be added to the mix.

Gaming properties already have security, surveillance, loss prevention, risk management and audit departments in place. Traditionally these departments are focused on the gaming end of the business and should continue to do so. However, as internal theft and fraud continues to rise and its costs escalate, it is imperative we also focus on the other areas and departments within today’s gaming properties.

Along with Michael Joseph, International Gaming Specialist, we developed and will present Internal Theft Tour 2009. In this dynamic and hard hitting two day presentation we have put together the information, techniques and best practices you need to immediately attack internal theft and fraud where it exists on your property and implement techniques to detect new scams before they cost your company thousands!

Sign up today to reserve your seat for this event. You can’t afford to miss it!

Players Club

Thefts and frauds in casino Player’s Clubs continue to make the news. Losses in amounts of $100,000 or more are not uncommon. These frauds often continue for up to two years before they are detected. The longer they exist, the more they cost! As we’ve discussed in the past these clubs bear our strict attention.

However, watching these clubs is not as easy as we’d like. Placing cameras to watch employees in the club doesn’t provide us the information we really need. The crimes that are taking place are usually done through the club’s computer terminals meaning to catch them you must use a computer also!

Almost without exception some type of alert or report is generated when a club employee manipulates the system to obtain points, cash, comps or prizes fraudulently. The primary reason many of these frauds are not detected quickly is because our personnel assigned to protect this vital area are not trained in the appropriate means to do so.

There are techniques that can be used by a proactive surveillance team (or loss prevention team) to detect the scams and frauds that are being used today by internal fraudsters. In most cases I’ve seen the scam could have been caught the first time it was attempted. When your team can detect these illicit activities, you will prevent the loss of tens of thousands of dollars and your property’s reputation.

One of the most important things you must do is to daily review the clubs transaction activities and reports. Reviewing this critical information regularly will increase your ability to detect an existing or potential scam.

Contact me at info@djbosspi.com if you have any questions.

Internal Theft Tour

My friend Michael Joseph and I are now putting together our Internal Theft Tour 2009. Currently we are scheduled for the IP Casino and Resort in Biloxi, MS for October 20th and 21rst, the Island Resort and Casino in Harris, Michigan and in January, 2010, the Sycuan Casino and Resort, in San Diego, CA.

The Internal Theft Tour is a can't miss event. We'll be providing information on current scams employees are doing or are involved that are costing casinos thousands of dollars.

Sign up for this important event at www.trainingingaming.com.

See you there!

Digital Technology

I recently hosted a digital training class for surveillance directors at the International Gaming Institute. It was well attended. The class was presented by Robert Prady, one of the most knowledgeable technical people I know. Rob did a great job explaining what digital technology is, what it can do and what it can't.

One thing I learned that was that there are breakdown points and components that must be monitored. Drives are one, but too little bandwidth is another. Rob provided some key tools to design enough bandwidth into the system.

Be on the lookout for more of these presentations!

Laughlin Class

I'm continuing to update our Proactive Training Series. Our next training program will take place at the Pioneer Hotel and Gambling Hall in Laughlin, NV. We've added to the series two critical topics: "Conducting Successful Surveillance Audits" and "Interpreting Statistics and Trends". Both of these presentations were put together at the request of previous attendees requesting that we delve into these topics more deeply and specifically.

Contact us at www.djbosspi.com for further information.

Strategies to Reduce Internal Theft and Fraud

One of the things I've noticed when doing my loss prevention and surveillance training across the country is that most security, loss prevention, and surveillance professionals don't know two things: 1) internal theft and fraud is a huge problem (probably our biggest problem) and; 2) internal theft and fraud can be attacked proactively and tremendously reduced.

In order to address these areas we've put together a class at the International Gaming Institute at UNLV. The class is called "Strategies to Detect and Prevent Internal Theft and Fraud" and is scheduled for September 14 - 16, 2009.

In the class we will cover the causes of employee theft, its costs, types of internal theft and fraud that occur in all departments, and the strategies and techniques you can use to detect and reduce internal theft in the workplace.

This is a great class and you will walk away with information you can use immediately to protect your company or business.

For further information go to www.djbosspi.com. This is a class you shouldn't miss!

Thunder Valley Casino

Just returned from providing a training presentation at the Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, Calif. What a first class operation! I was impressed with their beautiful and well maintained facility and the people that work there. Everyone from the front line employee to the top executives was friendly, positive and outgoing. The food was wonderful! We were treated royally! We will return just to visit.

Our training class was well attended and accepted. I found the people attending the presentation to be extremely knowledgeable and open minded. We had a lot of fun covering the fundamentals of surveillance operations and internal theft and fraud. I can't wait to go back again. We made a lot of friends.

Player's Clubs

During my recent excursion across the country training and working with surveillance people in many different jurisdictions one thing is coming across strongly; Player's Clubs are suffering theft and fraud at an alarming rate.

I spoke with a number of surveillance directors and every one had been hit with some type of scam in their Club. In each of these scams and frauds employees were involved.

If you check the news you will find a number of recent incidents involving Players Club theft and fraud. The losses are not minor. I've seen a range of $10,000 to more than $1 million!

Clearly we must address this issue. I'd love to hear from you!

In the last few weeks I have visited a number of gaming jurisdictions and spoken with many of you folks on the front lines. The message I continue to hear is that internal theft continues to rise and we are not providing enough training to stop it or even slow it down.

What I also see is that criminals are usually better at what they do than we are at what we do. They are usually exceptional both at stealing and covering it up. If they didn't get greedy many criminals would never be caught!

Employees who steal from the company are criminals, they can be adept at their theft and preventing its detection. But they can be caught.

Use the surveillance trade craft we've often discussed to catch your employees; proactive operations, audits, reporting of exceptions, and others. If you can get inside the curve of employee theft you can reduce it!

Nightclub Issues

Nightclubs, especially in Las Vegas, are a hot topic. The Nevada Gaming Control Board is clearly concerned about what happens within them and the apparent inability of their management to maintain control.

Having shopped a few nightclubs I've seen first hand some of the issues NGCB has raised. Drugs, prostitution, individuals who've had way too much to drink, internal theft, to name a few.

The biggest problem I see is that way too much money is changing hands. Employees of the nightclubs are making too much money and are continually trying to make more. It seems like everyone is corrupt and that anything is okay as long as you 'grease" someone for it. This practice allows illegal activity to flourish, and pushes the price up for a normal customer who just wants to sit down, have a few drinks, and listen to music. To do that you must now pay for "Bottle Service" Who invented that anyway!

It is sad that it is our customers are being hustled like this and it doesn't make Las Vegas look good either!

The only way to control these clubs is to control the hustling and "kickbacks." These clubs need managers who can't be corrupted and who will ensure their employees are on a short leash!

Your thoughts?

Thoughts from the ACFE Conference

Attending the ACFE Conference reminded me how important staying current with whats going on in other industries is. While we have our particular types of crime, so do they. Yet even though we experience crime differently, it still is pretty much the same when you look at it.

I know that's confusing but let me explain. Other industries suffer from identity theft through account frauds, online fraud, etc. We in gaming can suffer from identity theft and fraud through our players clubs and credit transactions, to name a few. Just variations on a theme!

Attending conferences such as the ACFE conference also reminds me that training is critical to my success. In today's fast moving world you have to quickly identify what scams are going on now and how to stop them immediately before your company loses a bundle.

Computer technology while making our jobs easier also makes the criminals easier; he/she can steal more, faster! This one reality alone has changed our jobs (surveillance, loss prevention, security) forever.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

ACFE 2009 Conference Las Vegas

I an attending the 2009 Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Conference here in Las Vegas. Well over 2000 fraud fighters have gathered here to learn, network and talk about occupational fraud. You already know my feelings that fraud is a major threat to any business in any industry.

I've already learned a great deal, caught with some old friends and made new contacts.

I will share new and updated info in upcoming blogs. In the meantime please check out http://www.acfe.com/

Training Program in Mississippi

Just returned from a successful training presentation we did at the Horizon Casino in Vicksburg. A great group of surveillance directors, managers and agents showed up, as well as members of the Mississippi Gaming Board.

We spent a day going over proactive surveillance, internal theft and fraud, and current trends in player club thefts and frauds. A lot of of time was spend learning about threat analysis and countermeasures, a very worthwhile subject for us all.

To learn more about internal theft and fraud I recommend you read the Association of Certified Fraud Examiner's 2008 Report to the Nation located at www.acfe.com/resources/publications.asp. Click on Reports. Great information.

Training Schedule

Our training schedule has been updated through December. We've added training in Laughlin, Oregon and California. Please let me know what type of training you'd like to see. I am open to your input.

Today we leave for Vicksburg, Mississippi to make a training presentation. I am looking foward to seeing old friends.

Our newsletter should be posted today or by the latest tomorrow. You can sign up for this free paper at www.djbosspi.com

The Economy and Employee Theft

I just completed an article (Internal Theft in Gaming: A Reflection of the Economy for Security Management Magazine, September 2009) along with my fellow members of ASIS International's Gaming and Wagering Protection Council. The article's theme is that employee theft increases as the national economy goes down.

If you think about it, that is, unfortunately a true statement. Employees in the gaming industry, as well as other industries, are being laid off or their hours/days reduced. However, their monthly expense doesn't change. We must all continue to pay our mortgages, car payments, food bills etc.

In gaming, where a good portion of the employees depend on tips to augment their income, tips are way down because people aren't coming to Las Vegas as often right now or spending as much. While most employees are honest and hard working, there are always some who steal even in the best of times, and now because of the economy, those who feel they must steal to pay their bills.

This is important for gaming executives to note because in today's world, it is not the advantage player or cheat that will hurt you. It is the person already inside your operation; your employee.

Welcome to my new blog. I've decided to join the new world of blogging and networking after realizing that there is a whole world out there that I haven't reached out to because of my lack of computer savvy. So please bear with me as I get up to speed.

Today, I just wanted to let readers know that I'm out there. My name is Derk J. Boss. My wife Cheri and I own and operate DJ Boss and Associates, a Nevada licensed private investigations firm specializing in gaming surveillance evaluation and training, loss prevetion for gaming and retail operations and secret shopping.

My background and experience is in gaming surveillance and loss prevention. enough about that: please see my website at www.djbosspi.com if you would like further information.

In this blog, I will talk about current criminal and loss trends in the gaming and retail industries, and techniques to detect and prevent crime in hotel gaming resorts. I hope to open up communication with like-minded individuals and freely communicate information back and forth.

I do have a free monthly newsletter about these topics. Please sign up by replying to the blog, at my website or contact me at info@djbosspi.com

I am currently scheduling training classes in Vicksburg, Mississippi (July 8th) and in Oregon (August 4 - 6)