Reposs App: Protect Your Business Against Fraud

Retail fraud continues to rise across the UK, representing a major hindrance to many businesses' bottom line. Due to this rise, retailers have identified fraud as a major issue to prioritise, in order to protect profitability. There are a number of ways in which retailers are tackling this issue, from CCTV to increased supervision of staff within stores.

According to police taskforce ‘Action Fraud’, employee theft cost businesses £88 million in 2017-18. Smaller businesses aren’t immune either, with newsagents, corner shops and charity shops all being past targets of employee fraud.

In this blog, we talk you through the Reposs App, that works together with our EPoS system to monitor till roll data and identifies users of any suspicious activity or abnormal till use that could be costing your business money.

What is the Reposs App?

The Reposs App grants shop owners control over their tills, allowing them to conduct audits at any given time, assessing important information such as product changes, cash lifts and voids/refunds.

The Reposs App will automatically identify anomalies on your Reposs EPoS system, allowing you to identify as and when they happen so you know exactly when and what you're looking for on your EPoS system and CCTV.


Uncover employee fraud with the Reposs App

Research from the Center for Retail Research suggests that theft from staff members in 2019 accounted for almost 22.1% of UK business shrinkage, the equivalent of £1.3bn. This accounts for one of the largest sources of retail crime costs against UK businesses.

Staff fraud is so much higher due to the unique nature of the fraud. Employees are in a unique position to benefit from businesses' internal CCTV camera positions, till procedures, and payment procedures - they may even be entrusted to "bank" the money for the business. With this insider information and trust, your staff are able to navigate your established safety procedures.

If CCTV surveillance and your EPoS system aren't enough on their own to catch employee fraud, what can be done to prevent it?

The Reposs App: anti-fraud technlology

The Reposs App automatically monitors your till roll data and identifies any suspicious activity or abnormal till use that could be costing your business money, eliminating the need to review hours of CCTV footage. Get the exact times of unusual transactions and receive automated intuitive email alerts from your till, notifying you of any fraudulent behaviour.

The Reposs App can help your business identify employee fraud in the form of altered product prices, voids/refunds, no sales (despite the till being opened), cash lifts, and product changes.

Prices

Employees may attempt to conduct fraud through the alteration of product prices for their own benefit or to benefit accomplices outside of their workplace.

For example, with access to the EPOS system, an employee could change the price of an expensive item to that of an inexpensive item, thus' giving themselves a hefty discount.

With the Reposs App, you can find out when items are sold for less than their average selling price or RRP and be presented with incontrovertible, time stamped proof that you can then present the employee with (alongside CCTV footage).

Voids/Refunds

Refund fraud is perhaps one of the most commonly encountered forms of fraud in the retail environment. However, despite often only being associated with customers, it's true that refund fraud can, and is, routinely exploited by employees as well.

Refund fraud may present itself in a number of different forms. However, the most common forms are: returning already stolen goods for cash or obtaining or falsifying another customer's receipt, and attempting to return the same item not bought by them for profit.

The Reposs app keeps track of precisely how many refunds take place and when they happen. This data allows a shop owner to review monthly refunds and perhaps identify a fraud pattern if a particular individual flags up a suspicious amount of times.

Some things to look out for:

- An increase in returns or void transactions, particularly with from one employee

- Refunds for expensive items, or an increase in returns for a particular item

- A reduction in the stock of an item, without the appropriate sales data being recorded to track the sale.

No Sales

Employees often have access to a manual override which will open the till despite a sale not being conducted. If the correct warnings and notices are not in place, it allows an employee to open the till and perhaps withdraw money, without a superior ever being notified.

With the Reposs App, the EPoS system will alert a designated individual when the till is being opened without a sale, indicating a potential fraud taking place.

Product Changes

Within the EPoS system, an employee may be able to alter the price of products as they are processed through the till. This would allow an employee to reduce the price of a product for either themselves or a friend.

In order to prevent fraud in this manner, the Reposs App will notify the shop-owner or supervisor when an item changes price or stock is adjusted.