Security Spotlight: A new look, a hot month for crime, and more!

Welcome to the September Issue of the Security Spotlight

Barry Thompson's Monthly Security Tip

The Interactive Teller
The NCR Interactive Teller Machine (ITM) is a game changer for the financial services industry. One person in the call center can service three of these machines in the field. When service is needed, the user simply pushes a button on the ITM for assistance. The best placement for ITMs is in a location where there is no teller line, prompting customers to use the new self-service technology.

Call center personnel can't view the entire unstaffed office using the camera on the ITM, so you should have a switch installed on your entry door that signals the call center when someone enters the branch. That can alert call center personnel to monitor the feed from another camera with a view of those entering the office, to help identify situations in which a customer is being forced to obtain cash from the ITM, perhaps in time to alert police.

Most Wanted

Midday Menace - The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension of a serial bank robber dubbed the "Midday Bandit." The suspect, allegedly involved in eight bank robberies in the Chicago area, earned the FBI moniker because he hits his targeted banks between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. The Midday Bandit is described as a black male in his mid 20s, approximately 6 feet tall and 160 pounds, and has worn glasses and a variety of hats during the robberies. According to the FBI, the suspect enters the bank and approaches a bank employee, threatening to harm bank employees and customers if they don't comply with his demands. There have been no physical injuries reported in connection with the robberies. Anyone with information should contact the FBI Chicago field office.

Check our Bank Robbery page for photos and information on the latest robbery suspects. There are 77 unknown bank bandits featured in our suspects gallery for August, many of them with sunglasses, hats or other head and facial coverings disguising their identity. Enforcing a no hats, hoods and sunglasses policy can help reduce the number of bandits who target your bank. Purchase No Hat Cling signs for all of your branches from the Banker Store.

Hot Topics from the Bankers Forums

The publicly accessible forums for Security have been quiet recently as our site went under some construction. But you are invited to join in and start more conversations now that our new BOL site is up. The forums will look familiar, but easier to read. Read more and comment here.

More of the security discussions are in the private area where we have a forum for bankers only on security topics, and another that allows law enforcement and regulators access.

This "private" security forum is for discussion of more private, sensitive topics. That is where security officers were discussing all clear tests, attorneys requesting copies of the bank surveillance videos, procedures for employees late to work, after hour alarms and a lot more.
We also have a "private" security forum for discussion of more private, sensitive topics. That is where security officers were discussing trafficking and management's "request" to file a SAR. This raises the question, does management understand the SAR requirements and that when there is very little information for content, a SAR doesn't help anyone? This could be a potential training opportunity. Read about that and more in the private security forum.

To comment in Bankers' Threads you must be a registered user. You can register here. 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 here.

CRIMEDEX: A Hot Month for Crime

August was another hot summer month for fraud, scams, schemes, robberies and other crimes. Our inbox heated up with close to 300 BOL CrimeDex alerts. Many of those alerts could assist a bank's security officer in "spicing up" a security training session, provide information on criminals operating in the vicinity, and lead to insights into new wrinkles on old scams.

One of the first alerts of the month was one from the Tulsa (OK) police, who reported that three ATMs in that city were found to have skimmer and camera "add ons." There are photos of a couple of unknown suspects with the alert. A similar alert was posted later that week by the Columbia County (GA) Sheriffs's Office. That alert included photos of two women believed to be involved. And the U.S. Secret Service posted an alert concerning a "prolific skimmer installer" whose work was found on a Bessemer City, NC, ATM. Each of these alerts asks for assistance in identifying the suspects in the attached photos.

Wells Fargo Bank issued an alert looking for the identity of a woman who deposited a forged maker check into a business account. Counterfeit checks appearing to be drawn on various banks, but all carrying the routing number of Century Bank in Massachusetts were the subject of an alert from the Cambridge (MA) police.The checks were being negotiated at Walmart locations in California, North Carolina and Texas. Images with that alert showed business and bank addresses in Oregon, California and Ohio with the Massachusetts bank's routing number.

To round out our sampling of CrimeDex alerts for the month, Atlantic Capital Bank in Georgia described a fraudulent wire transfer initiated by a secretary based on a fake email from her boss, whose email account had been hacked. Of course the customer to bank authorization was verified as legitimate, but another computer (the boss's hacked machine) got things rolling.

Facebook Blog

Throughout the month, we share news-related incidents on Facebook that can be informative examples for training employees on security issues and more. Visit us on Facebook, "Like" our page, and share it with your co-workers so they too can stay updated on the latest news.

Some highlights posted in August:

• If counterfeit currency has been an issue in your area, you will want to check out the August 11th and August 21st posts.
• How safe are your ATMs? Having a customer kidnapped from an ATM could be a huge liability even if the bank did everything right. An August 11th post highlights the need for enhanced security at ATMs.
• Nothing good can come from internal theft, especially when the news hits the press. Read the story posted on August 20th, and consider what your bank might have done in this situation.

Read about 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!