Security Spotlight: Friends and Family Robbery Spree, Prolific ATM Crime and Fraudulent Schemes

Welcome to the February issue of Security Spotlight

In this month's Security Spotlight, the new year kicked off with friends and family members teaming up to rob banks, prolific ATM crimes, and fraudulent schemes. Our Facebook page filled up with some hot topics and sensational stories to use in your upcoming security training. And Barry Thompson has a smart tip about smart mobile devices.

In this Issue:

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

Smartphone Protection

by Barry Thompson The smartphone today is a computer with a key to anyone's identity. Whether you are using a smartphone or tablet, the best advice is to lock the device. Make sure your device locks within five minutes of nonuse and requires a PIN or simple password to unlock it. Even a simple password is better than no password. A good social engineer finding your mobile device unlocked can gain control of it quickly and download your information in two minutes' time.

Data Privacy

Did you know that January 28th was national Data Privacy Day (DPD)? Led by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), Data Privacy Day was established to increase awareness of privacy and data protection issues among consumers, businesses and government entities. In addition to consumer resources, the NCSA provides free informational resources for businesses regarding bring your own device, information security, document destruction, compliance, data breach, and risk management online at

www.staysafeonline.org

. For financial institutions, data privacy should be an essential component of your security program every day.

Two by Two

Compounded their crime

- A couple of buddies together made a couple of mistakes that landed them both in jail. Mistake number one: robbing the American Spirit Credit Union in Newark, DE, where the teller surreptitiously placed a dye pack in their loot bag, staining the stolen cash when it later went off. Mistake nu

mber two: attempting to pass off their dye-stained ill-gotten gains at a local casino. William B. Baker, 30, entered the bank on January 9th, his face concealed by a mask, and handed the teller a note demanding money while 

James Collins, 43, waited outside in getaway car. Those actions resulted in charges of first-degree robbery, wearing a disguise during the commission of a felony and second-degree conspiracy. The dynamic duo further compounded their crimes when they took the stolen cash to a local casino, where they bought chips and then cashed out in an attempt to walk away with clean money. Charges of money laundering, theft and receiving stolen property were added to the bank robbery charges. The pair was remanded to the local correctional institute in lieu of $35,000 secured bond. That's a lot of chips.

Like father, like son

- Children often grow up wanting to emulate their parents. This can be particularly true with sons who look up to their fathers. This isn't ideal, however, when a child inherits a parent's undesirable traits, often referred to as the "apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Such was the case when Calvin Terrell Williams enlisted his 16-year-old son to help him pull off a bank heist. It was Williams' offspring who entered a BB&T bank branch in Spartanburg, SC wearing a hooded jacket with a blue bandanna around his face, passed a note to a teller, indicated that he was armed and demanded money. Good old dad waited outside in the getaway car and drove off when junior came out of the bank with the money. The 37-year-old father and his son were arrested by Spartanburg police within 30 minutes thanks to the observant and helpful assistance of a witness who called 911 and provided a description of the getaway vehicle. Like father, like son, Williams and the teen are both charged in the bank robbery.

ATM Crimes Abound

 ATM Robbery, Take One

- The start of a new year is a good time to evaluate security at your ATMs. While some best practices include good lighting, minimal shrubbery, and placement of machines outside high crime areas, there is always risk. A female customer was recently robbed just before 10 p.m. while using the drive-up ATM at a Virginia Beach, VA Navy Federal Credit Union. The man had a handgun and got away with the woman's purse and several hundred dollars. Whether you think drive-up ATMs are safer, or perhaps this is the exception, reevaluation of ATM security and the placement of safety reminders might be a good idea.

 ATM Robbery, Take Two

- In what may be another isolated case or a signal of a growing trend, west of Virginia in Arlington, TX another drive-up ATM robbery took place that was even more volatile. The thief approached a woman using the drive-up ATM in the early morning hours, forced her out of her car and into the trunk, and then drove around for some time forcing her to make more withdrawals until she escaped. Police have a good video of the suspect. In the video, note how he used his sleeves to prevent leaving fingerprints even when facing the camera. Hopefully he'll be recognized and arrested. There are some points in this incident the bank needs to consider. Will the bank be at fault or responsible for any of the customer's losses? There may be Reg E considerations, such as was a withdrawal forced? Did the theft happen after the withdrawal and was that time gap seconds, minutes or hours? And, if the person is injured, how safe was the location and what deterrents were in place? The video shows that the camera was not aimed to effectively capture this driver, which should be the intent, as well as capturing an image of the vehicle. Consider what could or should have been done to make this safe two questions, each with its own measures of liability. Safety of your customers and mitigating the bank's risk are important factors in ATM placement and maintenance.

Smash-and-Grab, Take One

Also in Texas, police were investigating at least three ATM "smash-and-grab" robberies where the ATM itself was stolen in a 48 hour period. In one of those cases, an SUV was backed up to a convenience store wall, the engine was revved and the vehicle plowed through the wall. Two men in black loaded the ATM into the vehicle and were gone in less than one minute. Police recovered the SUV and ATM a short time later but have not apprehended the thieves. The store video shown in this related news article shows footage of the stores being rammed and the ATMs targeted, one of which was taken but the other left behind because it was bolted down. In these types of thefts, the loss incurred in terms of the cost of the machine itself can be greater than the cash inside. In an unsuccessful ATM theft attempt, this article shows what happened when a thief's plan to blow up an ATM backfired.

 Smash-and-Grab, Take Two

ATM smash-and-grab crimes aren't new and they can happen anywhere, as shown in this video, in which the thieves drove a truck through the window of a liquor store in New Jersey and into the ATM. This was in part to disconnect the ATM if it was tied down. The unit was loaded in the cab of the truck, not the bed. Police arrived within two minutes, but the thieves were long gone. These crimes happen very fast and are a good example why the bank and bank customers with ATMs should bolt them down and take enhanced security measures. Another smash-and-grab in Calgary, Alberta took place at a casino. The thieves got away with an ATM, but they didn't know it was in the process of being moved and was not only disconnected, but empty of any cash. Still, the machine had value to its owner. It may not sell for much on the street, but it can cost thousands to replace.

ATM Shooting

In a violent ATM attack, an Irish police officer was visiting New Orleans with his dad. He was alone in the early morning hours and quite drunk by his own admission. A new "friend" offered to take him to a party. But when Brian Hanrahan walked two miles to an ATM with his new acquaintance, he was shot and robbed, ending up in the hospital. Aside from the obvious tragedy of the shooting, the incident received international media attention. Fundraising efforts are underway for Hanrahan's wife and mother to travel to New Orleans from Ireland to visit him while he is recovering.

The incidents noted here highlight that while ATMs are beneficial and profitable, they also carry risks. This is not an endorsement on our part, but there is a company in India that has developed an "intelligent" ATM that in the event of an attempted theft emits an electrical shock that is non-lethal but strong. It also has safety features that include an automatic roll down door intended to make penetrating the machine more difficult, and a panic button that a legitimate user can push to call police and the ATM servicer.

  Hot Topics from the Bankers' Threads

In the public forums, one thread of particular interest continued from December to January. Is there a law prohibiting photography in a bank? If it's a case of bank policy, what is yours or do you have one? How would you respond to these questions? Add your view in this thread. 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.

 Crooks and thieves continue their assault

The New Year brought no relief from the fraud, larceny, schemes and robberies that have become an all-to-familiar part of life. In January, subscribers to BOL CrimeDex could have received more than 250 alerts from fellow CrimeDex members (depending on the filters they selected). We got our first alert on New Year's Day from Bank of the West, where two individuals had opened new accounts three days earlier, each with $100 cash. The two suspects then each went to different branches of the bank to deposit counterfeit $134,000 cashier's checks. The bank caught the counterfeits before any loss was sustained, but are looking for help in identifying the crooks, who used counterfeit IDs to open the accounts. Would your bank be able to act quickly enough to confound a scheme like that?

The U.S. Treasury Department posted a warning about counterfeit business checks encoded with a legitimate routing number for the U.S. Treasury (hint: it starts with a lot of zeroes). Could the crooks behind this scam be thinking that Treasury is slower to act than an actual bank?

Police in Greenville, SC, put out a request for information on accounts in the name of a vulnerable adult who may have been financially abused by siblings or her children. A similar request was posted by the Los Angeles Police Department concerning an elder with dementia allegedly being financially abused by a non-family caregiver. And in a third case involving abuse of vulnerable individuals, the St. Paul, MN, police requested information on accounts in the names of four persons of interest in a human trafficking case.

With BOL CrimeDex, you can filter the types of alerts you receive based on geography or type of crime. Use the alerts to help keep your staff alert to the scams and schemes currently affecting banks and their customers. You'll be able to post your own alerts as you research the scams, schemes and robberies your bank may have been unfortunate to be victimized by. And, best of all, you can get it FREE of CHARGE!

 From Facebook

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.

Our Facebook page is generating more activity. Check it out and "Like" the page so you can get the updates and read stories of interest, especially security related. Following is a recap of January's topics.

Christmas cards are nice to receive, unless it's after Christmas and include a note on inscribed with "this is a robbery," as was the case at a TD Bank branch in our January 7th posted link.

Technology can be a double-edged sword. ATMs provide enhanced services and the basic teller functions that give customers access to cash and the ability to make deposits even when the bank is closed. Smartphones provide a lot of great tools, too. But when hackers put the two together, there is trouble. Even with all the physical measures you take to secure your ATMs from theft, check out our January 9th post to see how thieves have found a way to steal funds from your ATM with a smartphone. Also on January 9th, we have one of those "you can't make this up" type of stories about a bandit who dropped more than just a photo of himself at the scene of the crime; he left his mugshot behind!

On January 12th, we posted a story about a bank robbery in Kansas City that not only appeared on Facebook, but some of our BOLers witnessed the excitement firsthand from where they work across the street. The next day, we linked to a story of how real life and creative art converged. How many professors from MIT rob banks to express their creative side in film? At least one, and you can read about him in our January 13th post. Also that day we broke a little from bank security and linked to an article about items TSA confiscated from people wanting to board aircraft. We aren't referring to nail clippers and what they did find will not only surprise you, but you wouldn't want the guy next to you on a plane holding them.

Did you know that the Supreme Court recently upheld a law that dates back to the infamous Dillinger days? It deals with the taking of a hostage while committing a bank robbery. The question was where does this have to happen and what is a "hostage"? It's more a pass-fail than a debatable issue according to the court. Read the details in the story link posted on January 15th. And on the 27th we posted a video with a brief warning. After watching how a woman tries to use her skirt to conceal a stolen TV, consider if this can just as easily be a lender's laptop when he steps out of his office.

Keep up with these 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!