Security Spotlight: Bank bandits captured, apotpourri of alerts and important mobile security tip

Welcome to the March issue of Security Spotlight

In this month's Security Spotlight, a rewarding capture shows that bandits can run, but they can't hide forever. Our guardians of cash have been on the alert, and CrimeDex subscribers received a potpourri of alerts. Barry Thompson provides an important mobile security tip and, as winter comes to an end soon (hopefully!), we have a timely seasonal reminder.

In this Issue:

• Tips, Tidbits & Training
• Bank Robbery Update
• Security Shorts
• Hot Topics
• CrimeDex Report>
• Blogging on Facebook

Mobile Device Protection

by Barry Thompson To ensure the security of your mobile devices, regularly apply available updates. Despite a popular misconception, Apple products can be targeted by malware as well. There are myriad products on the market today that offer protection for mobile devices don't lose your information due to lack of protection.

Rewarding Capture and a Big Reward

Caught up to him - With the surreal feeling of a bad movie, the wife of 67-year-old Bobby Love of Brooklyn, NY had no idea what was happening when a dozen NYPD officers and FBI agents knocked on their door in January and took her husband into custody. The man they arrested is actually Walter Miller, a fugitive wanted for 37 years after escaping from prison. Miller was serving a 30-year sentence for two bank robberies in North Carolina when he fled from a prison bus filled with inmates dispatched to do road maintenance. He was last seen running into woods near Raleigh, NC on November 8, 1977. Miller had served five years of his sentence, with the earliest possible release date nearly a decade away. Fleeing the bus when it came to a stop, he ditched his prison clothes and bought a bus ticket to Manhattan. Using the name of a friend's dead son, Bobby Love, he forged a birth certificate to get a driver's license and assumed a new identity. He met his wife Cheryl in 1985 and the couple had four children. He kept his past a secret from his wife, who told reporters she never suspected a thing and that it was like a Lifetime Network movie. It is unknown what tipped the authorities off to Miller's whereabouts. He is being held on Riker's Island. Officials in North Carolina want him returned to serve the remainder of his sentence, plus extra time for the escape, while some feel he turned his life around and should be free to live it.

Black hat pros

- The FBI has put a rewarding bounty on the heads of a pair of Washington, D.C.-area bandits who are becoming increasingly more confrontational. Dubbed the "Black Hat Bandits" for the various types of black hats worn during their holdups, along with winter coats, fake beards, ski masks, scarves and sunglasses, the suspects are linked to seven heists across Virginia and Maryland between January 2nd and February 18th. While no injuries have been reported in the robberies, the men have held guns to customers in the bank, as well as tellers. Based on the bandits' mannerisms and tactics seen in bank security camera footage, the FBI believes the men have some sort of military or police training. "These robbers seem proficient with weapons, they've made plans. They're tactical in the way they put customers and employees in the position of coverage," says the FBI, which is offering up to a $30,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to an arrest. Details about each of the seven robberies can be found in this article. Sharing this information and the video will hopefully result in the apprehension of these black hat pros before anyone does get hurt.

Guardians of Cash Alert

NOLA armored car guards on alert - After a recent rash of armored car robberies, armored car guards are on the alert, and with good reason. Near New Orleans, LA, Loomis Armored Transport trucks reported being followed twice by the same vehicle. Local authorities were able to track down the suspicious vehicle and have arrested three men. Cirdezhean Lamothe, Jerome Vann and Miquel Gordon were charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery after a search of their car revealed a loaded gun, three sets of gloves, a ski mask, bandana and knit cap. Later, one of the three confessed that it was their intent to rob the armored car. During the investigation, it was discovered Lamothe was a previous Loomis employee and was familiar with the company's route.

Alert for Houston armored guards

- In Houston, TX an armored car robbery took place in broad daylight and ended in the death of one armored guard. The FBI has a photo of three men wearing ski masks and body armor, escaping in an F-250 pickup truck. Due to the nature of the crime, signs that it was well-planned, and the actions of the suspects in the first robbery, agents are working around the clock to follow up on leads and are asking the public for more help. Get more details and view the photo here and in this article.
 

Canada hit with armored heists

- Near Quebec, Canada, two Garda armored car guards were exiting a supermarket when they were approached and attacked with pepper spray. One of the guards was able to subdue one of the attackers, while the second guard got away and protected the receipts from the store. The suspect was held until police arrived.

A helpful tip

- An example of the positive result that can come from the public's help is the arrest of Robert Baron in Tucson, AZ. Baron allegedly robbed a Bank of America branch with a gun. His description was posted and thanks to tips received from the public, police were able to identify, locate and arrest him. Don't underestimate the value of staff and public observation, clear photos and an accurate description.

Hot Topics from the Bankers' Threads

Some interesting questions were raised in the public forums this month. What are your bank's requirements for identification and would you accept a city-issued ID? For some who may be looking to bank the unbanked, this raised the question of the value of IDs for illegal aliens or non-resident aliens without a green card. There are other good discussions on the Privacy of Consumer Information, bad background checks and what to be on the lookout for, training your board on security matters, and the pros and cons of sharing ATM video footage. How would you answer these questions or address these situations? Weigh in with your view on these threads in the appropriate forums. More of the discussions, for risk management and confidentiality reasons, have moved to the private area where we have a forum for bankers only on security topics, and another that allows law enforcement and regulators access. We also have a "private" security forum for discussion of more private, sensitive topics. That is where security officers were discussing changing the all-clear signal when an employee leaves the bank, handling loan fraud, IT penetration testing, wire fraud, and more! To comment in Bankers' Threads you must be a registered user. If using your bank email account, you will be given access to the private forums. The Private area is a group of forums under the heading "Private - Financial Institution Personnel Only." The Private forums do not include access to Bankers Hotline or Compliance Action, premium content areas that require paid subscriptions to those respective publications.

If you are already registered for the Threads, but don't yet have access to the private forums, using your bank email address send a request for access to brenda@bankersonline.com. Please verify that you do not yet have Private access. Once your registration request is approved, you can access the Private Security forum.

February CrimeDex Potpourri

BOL CrimeDex subscribers who placed no "filters" on the alerts they receive had an average of 15 alerts each working day of last month. They included reports on everything from a "diamond switch" scam reported by a Georgia jeweler to a booze thief who took off through a California liquor store's emergency exit, to the theft of a Bobcat utility vehicle from a South Carolina equipment dealer and a series of three alerts on one day about burglaries of Sprint retail stores in California. If a filter was set to focus on forgeries and counterfeits, an average of two alerts a day appeared, with regular reports of counterfeit currency, checks and credit cards and the occasional bogus cashier's or official checks report. But which alert grabbed our attention this month? It wasn't about a bank robbery or counterfeit plastic. It was a request from a Florida police department for assistance in identifying three lowlifes who have been calling surgery patients and informing them they are eligible to join in a class action lawsuit. Using a bogus law firm name, they have convinced victims to use Greendot, MoneyPak or other reloadable cards to send the "firm" money to "start legal paperwork." It's another version of the age-old advance-fee scam.

CrimeDex is now FREE to registered members of the Bankers' Threads

Private Security Forum! Throughout the month, we share news-related incidents on our Facebook page that can be informative examples for training employees on security issues and more. February was a busy month for BOL Facebook posts that included:

• An employee who was injured when a man brought his pet monkey into the bank.
• A bank suing employees who shared vault combinations, resulting in money stolen.
• Up to $1B (yes, billion) stolen from banks electronically.
• How damage control can be included in your press release after a disaster.
• New computer equipment that comes pre-installed with malicious software on a brand new laptop. (And how to remove it.)
• Customers using camera phones to take pictures of bank robbers - is that good or bad?
• A banker taken hostage from his home and outfitted with a bomb for an attempted robbery at his credit union. This very real scenario may be the best material to include in your next board and management training session.
• And, finally, a bank robber who stopped for a cup of coffee that ended up being a "costly" cup of joe.

Get all the details about these posts and other informative topics on our BOL Facebook page. Be sure to "like" the articles so we can continue to post more articles of interest to you!