Or they may overcharge customers and pocket the difference or undercharge other employees and friends. Embezzlement can go from simple overloading of expense accounts to payments made to non- existent companies. Stock shortages increase in frequency or size. Employees refuse vacations or promotions. Business patterns change when a certain employee is absent.
Customers complain about errors in monthly statements.
Employees seem sensitive to routine questions about procedures. A cashier in a grocery store accidentally damages boxes and cans so she can buy them at reduced prices. A maintenance worker stashes calculators and typewriters in trash bins. A stock clerk saves discarded customer receipts and uses them to show that stolen goods were paid for. The best defense is frequent, thorough inventory control.