Seen At 11: CBS2 Investigates Co-Workers Who Steal

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork)-- Most Americans probably spend more time with their co-workers than their own family members. So how could one of them steal from you?

From wallets and smart phones to lunches, office thefts are on the rise, but so are creative ways to catch a "cubicle crook."

It might be shocking to think that the person sitting right next to you for eight hours a day could steal from you, but workers say it happens all the time.

Stolen food from the office refrigerator is becoming a common complaint among workers, prompting some to even post signs to discourage hungry thieves. But cash and phones have also been stolen at work.

"I think we've all been there," Joe Giacalone, a criminologist with John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told CBS2's Hazel Sanchez.

"The U.S. Chamber of Commerce found that three out of every four employees are stealing something -- either from each other or from the company itself," Giacalone said.

Statistics show theft by employees cost American companies as much as $40 billion a year, which ends up affecting pay.

"The companies can't give employees raises," Leonard Golino, of Gold Shield Investigations, told CBS2.

Golino, who investigates cases of workplace theft, said many people who would never dream of stealing outside the office, have sticky fingers at work.

One employee was caught on camera stocking up with armfuls of the company's paper towels and paper cups.

"It's the thrill of doing it and getting away with it. They feel underpaid. They don't like the way they're being treated," Golino said.

But companies, as well as colleagues, are getting clever when it comes to catching workplace thieves.

Tiny cameras are being rigged to everything from pens to keys and capturing incriminating co-worker videos.

"If you want to try and stop this problem, the company needs to come out with a policy," Giacalone said.

He said because employees steal to the extent that management permits it, companies are adopting zero tolerance policies.

"Without any specific deterrents, people are still going to do this," Giacalone added.

One national retailer actually fired an employee for "borrowing" a co-worker's sweater overnight without asking.