What kind of deception is committed by an employee that results in personal gain and loss to the retailer?

Employee fraud refers to any deceptive act by an employee that leads to personal gain at the expense of the employer. This can include a wide range of unethical activities such as embezzlement, falsifying records, or misappropriating funds or inventory. The defining characteristic of employee fraud is that the act is intentionally misleading and provides the employee with an undue advantage or benefit, resulting in a financial loss for the retailer.

This kind of behavior undermines the trust between the employee and employer and can have serious ramifications for the company, including financial losses, damage to reputation, and legal consequences. Understanding the nuances of employee fraud is critical for retailers to develop effective strategies for prevention and detection, as it is often difficult to identify due to the insider knowledge employees possess regarding company operations.

In contrast, other terms like internal theft typically refer to the physical taking of another's property, which may not cover the entire spectrum of deceitful activities involved in employee fraud. Fraudulent activity is a broader term that does not specify that the perpetrator must be an employee, while unauthorized compensation generally refers to situations of pay discrepancies without the element of deception involved.