A Tiny Fraud that Costs Billions

Today WBUR's Here and Now interviewed Rachel Shteir, author of a new book exploring shoplifting from historical, psychological, and philosophical points of view. To listen to the interview and read an excerpt of the book, click here.

Every year, shoplifting costs retailers billions, says Rachel Shteir, author of The Steal: A Cultural History of Shoplifting. Here are a few more facts she compiled, in her comprehensive exploration of this widespread but ill-understood crime:

• In 2009, a survey estimated shoplifting losses at $11.69 billion annually. (source: University of Forida National Retail Security Survey)
• Shoplifting increases the price we pay for goods every year by about $400.
• In 2008, an estimated 1,000,000 shoplifting offenses were committed. (source: Dept. of Justice survey, "Uniform Crime Reports")
• In 2008, shoplifting stats spiked in some cities, climbing 18.7% in Long Beach, CA and 40.6% in L.A. (source: UCR)
• Store security catches an estimated 1 in 48 incidences of shoplifting. (source: National Association for Shoplifting Prevention)

Retailers and private security companies are reluctant to talk about this epidemic, as we learned when our own Thomas Humphreys, PI reported on shoplifting for Marketplace two years ago. (Gumshoe Finds Who's Got Sticky Fingers, Marketplace, Oct. 2009) We also learned that even though many retailers may feel that an economic downturn fuels people's "need" to steal, the facts are more difficult to pin down.
Our law enforcement sources insist that shoplifters aren't usually stealing out of need, and Shteir agrees. She says their motives are far more complicated, and differ widely. Some steal out of a sense of perceived grievance: I deserve this thing. Others are looking for a dose of excitement or danger: Think Winona Ryder. And many simply want a luxury item they can't afford. After speaking with dozens of admitted shoplifters, Shteir concludes that there are no easy answers, and offers this insight:

"Many shoplifters see themselves as escape artists, stealing out of inscrutable cravings and unexamined desires. Having lost their old solaces, people shoplift as an anodyne against grief or to avenge themselves against uncontrollable forces or as an act of social aggression, to hurl themselves away from their identities as almost-have-nots. Whatever form shoplifting takes, it is as difficult to stamp out as oil spills or alcoholism." - excerpted from The Steal: A Cultural History of Shoplifting, by Rachel Shteir

The Sartorial Sleuth: Dressing for the Southern Summer Swelter

Linen and seersucker in NOLA

It's July in Tennessee. It is hot, painfully hot. A sticky, drippy, thick morass of hot. I have friends who refuse to wear shorts, except in the pursuit of some athletic feat. I have friends who refuse, simply refuse, to be seen in public without at least a sport coat (odd jacket). There are, however, times when it's just not practical to dress to the nines, at least in our line of work. July in the South is one of those times.

We, of the [FIND] team slogged our way south to New Orleans a couple of weeks ago. It was hot, painfully hot...we scorched our way south along 65 and 59, through Birmingham, Hattiesburg, and Picayune, chasing puddles that disappeared as we drew closer to New Orleans in the peak of mid-afternoon swelter. 

Two things I always carry when traveling around the South. A good quality straw hat, and a guayabera shirt. The former is a personal style choice that, I would suggest, deserves some serious consideration. The latter, well, the guayabera is difficult.

The Hat - Lately, young hipsters across the nation wear hats again, cool hats, slick hats, hats with brims so narrow, they look almost comical. Very few of them actually pull the look off. Most, in fact, look like either a caricature of some 1950's dandy or a hayseed rube about to open a closet that will empty onto their heads in fine slapstick fashion. There are some, however, who nail it. 

My bartender gets it. Patrick rarely penetrates the out-of-doors without a top on. He wears a vintage variation on the Stetson carry hat, in black, dark grey, and a beautiful taupe. The brims on Patrick's hats  rarely exceed two inches but are never less than one-and-a-half. He wears them straight up, not cocked to the side or tipped precariously on the back of his crown. If you want to see a perfect example of a man who understands men's hat style and how to do it, just swing by Rumours Wine Bar on 12th South in Nashville. Ask for Patrick, or just look for the dapper young man in the cool hat.

I have a huge head and broad shoulders. I've searched for years for the perfect hat. I have a Borsellino that fits, is exquisitely crafted, and somehow still doesn't quite work. I have owned a number of stingy-brimmed-hipster-hats over the years, but they just look silly. I found, three years ago, at Meyer the Hatter in NOLA, the perfect hat for me. The Biltmore Milan, center crease (since re-blocked), is my hat. It fits. It looks classic. It looks nice, without looking too spiffy. I wear this hat almost all summer long. Casual or dressy, it just works - for me.

Humpreys sports a Biltmore Milan at the Cafe du Monde

The Shirt - In the last Sartorial Sleuth entry, we discussed the finer points of seersucker as a weapon to defeat the heat. Sometimes, though, especially in our business, a suit or even an odd jacket is just too much. So, the question stands: how do you look like a man of style and wear a short sleeved shirt?

T-shirts: no. Especially the ironic kind. Seriously, we're grown ups. (exceptions include: beach, boats, canoes, and most sporting endeavors)

Short sleeved dress shirts: Dilbert. I cannot stress this enough: there is no way to look like a stylish, even non-idiotic, person in a short-sleeved-bepocketed-button-down-oxford-cloth-shirt, not possible at all.

The only shirt I've found that scratches my itch for comfort and style is the classic dictator's man-blouse, the guayabera. The guayabera, like a bow-tie, takes a bit of stones to execute successfully. You kinda have to just go for it. But the benefits abound.

Hit or miss? Your call.

Style: From the fat-guy-golf-friendly cubavera (which I don't suggest) to the hand-crafted-Cuban-made custom (which I do suggest), there are colors, fabrics, and variations on the cut that can suit any man. I prefer classic white linen or a cotton blend in a subdued color (earth tone or black). I own two of these shirts, one black and one white, both purchased at Meyer the Hatter in New Orleans, both perfect for a casual night on the town. 

If you're working surveillance in the Quarter, shorts and a black guayabera blend in perfectly. If you're stepping out with your lady for a glass of red wine, black guayabera and a pair of off white linen slacks looks fantastic (careful with the red wine and linen pants). Likewise, a pair of Imogene + Willie jeans paired with a white guayabera looks absolutely stylish.

I know that some of you will disagree. I know that some of you prefer to maintain a facade of sartorial snobbery that excludes the lesser forms of style. But, there are times when it's just too &^%$#@! hot to wear a suit. It's okay to look good and be comfortable at the same time. 

All Investigations Lead to...Porn?

It all started with a joke.

"All investigations seem to lead to pornography," quipped Ryan Hubbs, a senior manager for Matson, Driscoll & Damico, Forensic Accountants, chatting with a group of colleagues at an ACFE conference a few years ago.

Hubbs had spotted an odd pattern. Time after time, as he investigated claims of contractor fraud or embezzlement, he'd uncover a little something on the side, such as additional accusations of bullying or harassment or, most frequently, pornography downloaded onto an accused employee's computer.

His joke struck a nerve. "We started talking about it," he recalls, "and everybody else said, 'You know, I've had some cases where after we did the forensic analysis, we found the guy was also investigated for sexual harassment.'" That's when Hubbs started to wonder whether what he was seeing was mere coincidence, or correlation.

"The correlation is somewhere between zero and a hundred percent," Hubbs jokes, admitting that he's no social scientist. Plenty of people, he contends, have glanced at a sexy photo or two online without ever going on to commit fraud. He's reluctant to draw any absolute conclusions about correlation or causality.

But as a professional fraud examiner, he is a keen observer of human behavior. And in his fascinating lecture at the San Diego ACFE conference in June, he shared those observations and posed a question to fellow investigators: What if we could search out fraudsters by zeroing in on employees who download porn or have been reported for bullying or harassing co-workers? Is there a strong enough correlation between outright fraud and other "deviant" behaviors to use those behaviors as markers?

Hubbs defines deviant behavior as any practice that falls outside of the law, societal norms, or company policies. And although looking at girlie pictures might be considered a ubiquitous enough practice to fall within societal norms on one's own time, it's still not considered an acceptable work activity, and it carries with it certain risks to employers. "Not only do you have hostile work claims which can (lead to) lawsuits," he says. "But in doing these types of investigations over the years, I've seen some people continue to spiral down, from regular nudity to hard-core porn…and some individuals move into the child porn arena.

"Imagine if they save that onto the main server," Hubbs adds. "When the FBI comes in…they take the whole server."

Deviance is relative, Hubbs admits. "What is deviant behavior today might not be deviant behavior 20 years from now." And he says that most of us do things every day that might deviate from laws, norms, or workplace policies.

But a good investigator with strong instincts about human behavior and motivations, he asserts, might be able to sniff out financial malfeasance by focusing on patterns of behavior that reveal an employee's or contractor's…proclivities. If a person tends towards risky behaviors, like downloading thousands of pornographic images onto his work computer or texting inappropriate messages or images to co-workers, he might also take risks in other ways, like fudging expenses or rigging bids.

Hubbs's hypothesis has fellow investigators intrigued. He gets lots of questions he can't answer, because there's just not enough research out there yet to support his ideas with hard numbers. He's not offering a solution, just posing a challenge to his colleagues to observe and find out more.

"Look, I just kind of kicked this ball onto the court," he says. "You guys can take it any direction you want to go. This is an observation that I had over the years, and wanted to pose it to the rest of the populace to see if it's useful and what else can we learn from this."  

  -KDG

The Sartorial Sleuth - Here's how it's done

Dr. Churchwell, via A Suitable Wardrobe

Kim and I pedaled our bikes down 12th Avenue South on Sunday night in search of a cool glass of wine. Our usual haunt, Rumours, was closed for the night, so we dismounted and walked our bicycles across 12th, chained them to the bench in front of Fish & Co. and strolled inside, sweaty and ready for a drink.

A family of four sat in the booth directly behind us. They were trying to watch the Cubs v. Yankee's game and we were in their line of sight. I recognized the man at the table. Had I met him in the course of work? Had I seen him in court? From the neighborhood?

Then it hit me: I've been studying this man's style for the past several months on A Suitable Wardrobe, one of the best style blogs around. Dr. Andre Churchwell, Nashville's best dressed man. I introduced myself and told him of my semi-stalking practices. He smiled that beautiful smile and introduced Kim and me to his family.

Kim noticed his carnation and commented that I should adopt that practice. Dr. Churchwell entertained us for the next few minutes with a history of the carnation, the button on the lapel, and its importance to Napoleon's army.

In lieu of a long-winded post with my personal ideas of style, I point you now to A Suitable Wardrobe and the series of posts titled, Man In Style. Thank you Dr. Churchwell for a wonderful evening and thank you Will for bringing Dr. Churchwell to our attention.

[FIND] Lexicon - Discourse Analysis

"In the end, discourse analysis is one way to engage in a very important human task. The task is this: to think more deeply about the meanings we give people's words so as to make ourselves better, more humane people and the world a better, more humane place."
- J. P. Gee 

Don Rabon, former Deputy Director of the North Carolina Department of Justice, recently gave a lecture at the ACFE 22nd Annual Fraud Conference. Mr. Rabon is quite possibly a genius. After listening intently for 80 minutes about interview techniques, tied logically to historical literature (Interviewing From Head to Poe), I found myself lost in words; the dissection of words, the parsing of sentences, and the importance of listening and recording (documenting).

I left the class and near sprinted to the ACFE Bookstore, set up in the voluminous exhibit hall, and picked up my first Don Rabon book, Investigative Discourse Analysis. I read the book on the way home on a long flight from San Diego back to Nashville. It's a language nerd's dream.

Upon arriving back at my office the following day, I tried a small experiment. Several months ago a long time client asked me to look into a couple of emails he had received. They weren't necessarily threatening, but they were - just mean. We tried to identify the sender and have a strong idea who the passive-aggressive-cyber-punk was. We could not, however, tie them specifically to the emails. They used a gmail account, more on that at a later date, which when used properly is a fantastic way to mask one's identity.

We did have one email from the suspected ill-meaning-emailer denying all knowledge of the affair. Well, I put that denial email, the statement, under serious scrutiny using Mr. Rabon's book as a guide.

Structure - The email, the suspect's statement, showed structural imbalance, indicating that it was deceptive on its form. The anonymous-jackass-email-fiend told her account of the incident. The prologue made up roughly 10% of the narrative. The actual event (the sending of the email) took up 30%. The remaining 60% of the text was dedicated to the epilogue and a string of negations and denials. Structurally, this narrative is seriously indicative of deception, but it was the analysis of specific words that caught my attention.

Word Choice - The disgruntled-email-bully used the pronoun I, exclusively, throughout the first part of the email. She switched to a near exclusive use of the pronoun Me in the last part of the narrative. Indicating that she had somehow a passive role, almost a victim.

Sentence Length - When the narrative turned to the actual event, her Mean Length of Utterance (MLU) dropped from a Mean of 13.3 to truncated sentences of 5 to 7 words or less. Further indication of deception.

Other issues - The denial email, which again equated to a statement, had several other issues. The most interesting point I noted in the email was the bookending of the statement, first sentence and last sentence, with abjuration (I don't mean to upset you, but...).

I would not feel comfortable approaching a court, a lawyer, or a jury with my brief analysis. I do not possess the skill and training to apply this type of analysis in detail or for court testimony. I do, however, feel comfortable that we now know, based an analysis of the denial email, who wrote the original string of nasty notes.

This, for me, falls into the category of simply cool. If you get the chance, click over to Amazon or the ACFE bookstore and pick up a copy of Don Rabon's book, Investigative Discourse Analysis.

ACFE Fraud Conference - Day 3

All of the sessions today, at least the ones I attended, were informative and entertaining. The class on interview skills was particularly creative. Don Rabon, the North Carolinian with the brilliant southern accent and winner of the ACFE speaker of the year award, managed to tie interview skills to literary references from Shakespeare to Poe. Mr. Rabon clicked his way through a deck of slides and videos like a presenter at a TED conference. If you ever have the chance, take a class, any class, taught by Don Rabon, do it.

The cocktail party on the roof of the Hard Rock Cafe extended well past the allotted two and a half hours. It seems these fraud fighters know how to throw a party. Great chance to hang out with some old friends and meet several new friends.

More later.

ACFE Fraud Conference - Day 2

As usual, The ACFE has hosted a magnificent event. From the opening ceremony to the last session of the day, entertaining and informative.

I particularly enjoyed the talk from Joan Pastor in the morning general session. Ms. Pastor took the podium after the opening speeches and owned the room for far too short a time. I could have listened to her all morning. I am officially begging the ACFE to bring her back for more.

My favorite part of the day, aside from the evening cocktails, was a presentation on how technology has changed fraud investigation. Jean-Francois Legault is a large man, very large man, with a personality to match. He is a perfect example of the level of professionalism and skill that the ACFE has amassed. Professional experience paired with presentation skills, and what appears to be a very healthy avoidance of the standard bullet-point-boresome-PowerPoint-sleep-aid usually employed by Conference speakers. Thank you Mr. Legault.

Assuming I have the energy, I'll try and post again this afternoon. We'll see.