TEXAS — If you enjoy eating out in Texas, you could be paying more than your share for the meal.
The Texas Restaurant Association (TRA) says credit card fraud is not only taking a toll on restaurants, but it’s also affecting what consumers are spending statewide.
El Taco Society MX in Spring Branch, west of downtown Houston, is big on social media, community events and its Mexican-inspired street food.
“We’re going very popular with the birria and tacos, and we are actually going viral with the tortas, the giant tortas that we carry,” said Audiel Escobar, a manager at El Taco Society MX.
They also own a liquor store in the same strip, which means they process lots of transactions daily.
“We take cash. We take card. They’re able to tap their phones, their Apple Watch, if they have it, Google Pay and Apple Pay,” Escobar said.
Along with customers paying up, he said those options have…
PAYROLL & HR CONTROLS (PREVENTING “GHOST” SCHEMES)
Payroll fraud is often the hardest to detect because it “looks” like a normal business expense.
- Segregation of Duties (SoD): The person who adds new employees to the system must not be the same person who approves the monthly pay run.
- Mandatory Vacation Policy: Require all financial and HR staff to take 5–10 consecutive days of leave annually. Fraud often surfaces when the perpetrator isn’t there to “hide” the trail.
- Ghost Employee Audit: Perform a quarterly “Headcount Reconciliation” where managers must physically verify every name on their payroll list exists.
- Self-Pay Blocking: Ensure the payroll software has a hard-coded block preventing administrators from editing their own salary or bank details.