History Main / StealingFromTheTill

* The invention of the cash register and quite a few of its upgrades is a result of this trope. A cash box can easily be opened and stolen from. The addition of the paper roll added a way to keep track of all the day's sales. The bell ringing when the register opened was a way of alerting the manager/owner to a sale being made. The tactic of "odd pricing" (prices ending in .99 or .95 was designed besides the psychological feeling of price looking lower to ensure that the register '''had'' to open to give the customer change. Even the way that the National Cash Register business flourished was an example of this: initially, they would mail letters and flyers to businesses offering their services, but the employees who were already stealing money would then steal or destroy the letters/flyers to keep the boss from knowing about it so owner John Patterson set up demos at hotels and civic centers showing how much theft it stopped.
** Many countries have a lottery system for tax purposes; each receipt has a number and every month or so the numbers are drawn for (usually small) prizes. It's self-policing- if a customer's purchase hasn't been registered by the store (and sales tax paid), all hell breaks loose when the customer tries to collect their winnings.
* As per the documentary ''The Price of Sex'' (about [[SexSlave forced sex trafficking]] out of Eastern Europe), the documentarian Mimi Chakarova talked to a charity worker from her home country of Bulgaria (she's been living in the U.S. for many years) about the constant problems of sex trafficking (and the plight of those who were trafficked who escape and return home) in said country in spite of the millions upon millions of dollars other countries give to Bulgaria to combat the problem. Said charity worker said that basically the funds that are given actually go to line the pockets of politicians and heads of police in Bulgaria and enable them to live very well in a country where the majority of people live in abject poverty. {{Crapsack World}} indeed.

* The whole reason Series/FatherTed "That Money Was Just Resting in My Account" Crilly [[ReassignedToAntarctica works at Craggy Island parish]]. The dots aren't entirely connected, but it appears that at some point in the past he took money intended for a sick child's pilgrimage to Our Lady of Lordes Sanctuary and [[TheGamblingAddict spent it on a trip to Las Vegas]]. At the end of season 2, the charges are expunged, but the season 3 debut starts with an accountant looking into his expenses at his new mainland parish, and before you know it, [[StatusQuoIsGod he's back on Craggy Island]].

** Many countries have a lottery system for tax purposes; each receipt has a number and every month or so the numbers are drawn for (usually small) prizes. It's self-policing- if a customer's purchase hasn't been registered by the store, all hell breaks loose when the customer tries to collect their winnings.

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* Most of the plot of ''Film/OfficeSpace'' revolves around a trio of friends who attempt to do this to the company that screwed them over.

* One episode of ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' had Kelso take punitive action on people taking their hospital scrubs home. He relented when he realised he'd created a culture where staff were no longer prepared to bend the rules when it was ''important'', either.

* Catalyst Games Lab, producers of, among other things, Shadowrun, Cthulhutech, and Battletech, is currently (as of May 10, 2010) in deep financial trouble from flagrant embezzlement and shadiness by the CEO, although the story gets murky as to who stole the money and whether the CEO was just trying to cover for a close friend who actually embezzled the funds.

* There is a popular document where one very bored, and very unscrupulous man had compiled at least ''[[SerialEscalation A Hundred Ways]]'' one can steal from their gas station employer. [[DoNotTryThisAtHome Trying any of it is not recommended]] [[DoWrongRight since the document is fifteen years old and no doubt very out of date.]] [[AndThatsTerrible Also, Stealing's Wrong]].

* The SPECTRE meeting in ''Film/{{Thunderball}}'' had Number One make an accusation of embezzlement to an underling when the illegal drug trade racket he's in charge of is coming in less profitably than expected, despite the man's explanation of competition from TheCartel driving prices down. He's nervously sweating like his side operation's just been rumbled and he's about to be fired and fried...until Number One zaps [[BlofeldPloy a different member that was acting nonchalant the whole time]].

* Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) fraud occurs when [[CorruptCorporateExecutive employers]] would steal money meant for 401(k) plans. This is a breach of fiduciary duty, as ERISA requires employers to make the most prudent decisions on behalf of their workers, be it plan design or investment options, and notify participants of any upcoming changes to the 401(k) plan. Enron was one infamous case, where senior executives raided its retirement plan before the company went bankrupt. ERISA fraud is a form of "reverse embezzlement," where the employer cheats its workers of their benefits. Unfortunately, many don't even notice the breach as they generally don't look at their 401(k) account statements. To detect ERISA fraud, employees should be extra vigilant on things such as missed, late or partial contributions, a significant drop in account value that can't be explained by market conditions, weird transactions, or unexplained changes to the plan. As an additional requirement to the fiduciary duty imposed on employers, ERISA requires a 401(k) plan be covered by a fidelity bond, as it insures against breaches by persons who handle the plan's assets.

* Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) fraud occurs when [[CorruptCorporateExecutive employers]] would steal money meant for 401(k) plans. This is a breach of fiduciary duty, as ERISA requires employers to make the most prudent decisions on behalf of their workers, be it plan design or investment options. Enron was one infamous case, where senior executives raided its retirement plan before the company went bankrupt. ERISA fraud is a form of "reverse embezzlement," where the employer cheats its workers of their benefits. Unfortunately, many don't even notice the breach as they generally don't look at their 401(k) account statements. To detect ERISA fraud, employees should be extra vigilant on things such as missed, late or partial contributions, a significant drop in account value that can't be explained by market conditions, weird transactions, or unexplained changes to the plan. As an additional requirement to the fiduciary duty imposed on employers, ERISA requires a 401(k) plan be covered by a fidelity bond, as it insures against breaches by persons who handle the plan's assets.

* A major reason for labor unions' current image problems stems from [[UsefulNotes/TheMafia the American Mafia's]] notorious involvement in labor racketeering. Once the mob took over a union, they essentially ran the show by rigging everything in their favor and stealing from worker benefit plans to line up their own wallets. Food preparation, construction, cargo services, transportation, clothing and garbage hauling were some of the industries worst affected by union racketeering. Under Jimmy Hoffa, the Teamsters became infamous for being mob-dominated, with several locals even resorting to bribery, corruption and outright violence in an attempt to control the construction and trucking industries. It became so serious that Congress held numerous hearings over this in the 1950s and 1960s, and it even forced the AFL-CIO to eject the Teamsters in an effort to clean their image. The movie ''Film/OnTheWaterfront'' is a good example that depicts the rampant corruption and bribery on the New Jersey and Brooklyn dockyards. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act was designed specifically to combat labor racketeering, as it allows the feds to forcibly replace a union's corrupt leadership with court-appointed monitors. Prosecutors have to prove the union was a cover for organized crime.

* Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) fraud occurs when [[CorruptCorporateExecutive employers]] would steal money meant for 401(k) plans. This is a breach of fiduciary duty, as ERISA requires employers to make the most prudent decisions on behalf of their workers, be it plan design or investment options. Enron was one infamous case, where senior executives raided its retirement plan before the company went bankrupt. ERISA fraud is a form of "reverse embezzlement," where the employer cheats its workers of their benefits. Unfortunately, many don't even notice the breach as they generally don't look at their 401(k) account statements. To detect ERISA fraud, employees should be extra vigilant on things such as missed, late or partial contributions, a significant drop in account value that can't be explained by market conditions, weird transactions, or unexplained changes to the plan. As an additional requirement to the fiduciary duty imposed on employers, ERISA requires the plan be covered by a fidelity bond, as it insures a the plan against such breaches by persons who handle the plan's assets.

* ''Machinima/FreemansMind'' is a machinima of someone playing through ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' while narrating Gordon's thoughts. One part in the beginning has Gordon freaking out because he thinks he's gonna be fired, so he keeps saying things like: "I better start looting the office. I bet that laser printer will get a lot of money" and "Oh good, I'm not fired. Yeah, looting from work is so much harder than not looting from work". And things like that.

* Much of 1980s to 1990s 'zine culture was born from, raised on, and made of this trope. Reappropriating one's employer's or schools materials were pretty much crucial to the low/no-budget publications until TheInternet became more widely available in the mid to late 1990s.
* Let's be honest, you've looked at [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife this site]] while at work or school, haven't you?

* A major reason for labor unions' current image problems stems from [[UsefulNotes/TheMafia the American Mafia's]] notorious involvement in labor racketeering. Once the mob took over a union, they essentially ran the show by rigging everything in their favor, forcing companies to hire mob-controlled workers, stealing from union benefit plans, and providing "no-show" jobs to mafiosi in an effort to hide their income. Food preparation, construction, cargo services, transportation, clothing and garbage hauling were some of the worst industries affected by union racketeering. Under Jimmy Hoffa, the Teamsters became infamous for being mob-dominated, with several locals even resorting to bribery, corruption and outright violence in an attempt to control the construction and trucking industries. The problem became so serious that Congress held numerous hearings over this in the 1950s and 1960s, and it even forced the AFL-CIO to eject the Teamsters in an effort to clean their image. The movie ''Film/OnTheWaterfront'' is a good example that depicts the rampant corruption and racketeering on the New Jersey and Brooklyn dockyards.

* A major reason for labor unions' current image problems stems from [[UsefulNotes/TheMafia the American Mafia's]] notorious involvement in labor racketeering. Once the mob took over a union, they essentially ran the show by rigging elections in favor of mob-friendly candidates, forcing companies into hiring mob-controlled workers, stealing from union benefit plans, and providing "no-show" jobs to mafiosi in an effort to hide their income. Food preparation, construction, cargo services, transportation, clothing and garbage hauling were some of the worst industries affected by union racketeering. Under Jimmy Hoffa, the Teamsters became infamous for being corrupt, with several Teamsters locals even resorting to bribery, corruption and outright violence in an attempt to control the construction and trucking industries. The problem became so serious that Congress held numerous hearings over this subject in the 1950s and 1960s, and it even forced the AFL-CIO to eject the Teamsters in an effort to clean their image.

* Many, ''many'' political examples occur with dictators who've looted money from the countries they run to line their own pockets. Also, thanks to TheMafia, a major reason for labor unions' current image problems.

* The invention of the cash register and quite a few of its upgrades is a result of this trope. A cash box can easily be opened and stolen from. The addition of the paper roll added a way to keep track of all the day's sales. The bell ringing when the register opened was a way of alerting the manager/owner to a sale being made. The tactic of "odd pricing" (prices ending in .99 or .95 was designed to ensure that the register '''had'' to open to give the customer change. Even the way that the National Cash Register business flourished was an example of this: initially, they would mail letters and flyers to businesses offering their services, but the employees who were already stealing money would then steal or destroy the letters/flyers to keep the boss from knowing about it so owner John Patterson set up demos at hotels and civic centers showing how much theft it stopped.

** Discussed and averted in ''Discworld/UnseenAcademicals'', Lord Vetinari (while [[InVinoVeritas a little tipsy]]) says that,
-->Every job has its little perks. Why, I don't expect that Drumknott ''[his clerk]'' here has bought a paperclip in his life, eh, Drumknott?

** However, played straight in other Discworld books with Nobby of the Watch. It's said that if you need petty cash in the Watch, you go and [[ShakeSomeoneObjectsFall shake Nobby until he gives it back.]] In ''Discworld/MakingMoney'', when Moist von Lipwig learns that the City Watch also serve as bank security, he reflects that the money might be safe, but the coffee and pens almost certainly aren't.
** ''Discworld/FeetOfClay'' features a palace maid who takes home food and candles, and is quite clear that this isn't stealing, it's ''perks''. Commander Vimes agrees with her.

* ''Series/BetterCallSaul'': Jimmy's childhood StartOfDarkness was working at his father's general store and watching his father get duped by an obvious conman. The conman tells Jimmy that there are two people in the world: wolves and sheep. An angry and disenchanted Jimmy apparently resolves to be a wolf and helps himself to cash from his father's register. Many years later, Jimmy's brother recalls their father going out of business, with thousands of dollars having gone missing over the years.