BankersOnline Security Spotlight

Security officers in large institutions cannot always train everyone in the organization.This duty may be assigned to branch managers if the security officer has provided training to them on what should be reviewed. The security officer should provide an outline of exactly what the branch manager is going to cover during the session.A training sheet dated and signed by all in attendance should be provided to the security officer to ensure that all members of the staff have been trained.
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BVL Vol. 03: Check Fraud Fundamentals
Welcome to the March Issue of Security Spotlight
Read about the "Granddad Bandit", for whom the FBI is offering a reward, and some good news about the capture and sentencing of the "Scarecrow Bandits", featured previously in this Security Spotlight. Security Shorts is all about bombs this month - real or threatened - you must be prepared. A couple of tools and a couple of blogs complete this issue of Security Spotlight.

FBI Offers Reward for Capture of Granddad Bandit
Eighteen and counting... that's how many banks a pudgy, balding,white male, known as the "Granddad Bandit" has hit since April, 2009.He is approximately 6 feet tall and weighs between 210 and 230 pounds. He wears glasses and often wears a baseball cap and a jacket. In some photos he has a moustache, in others not. He enters the bank and hands a teller a note demanding money; in some of the heists he claims to have a weapon.

He has robbed banks in over a dozen states from Arkansas to Virginia. His latest robbery occurred at the Valley National Bank in Tulsa, OK. In a bank robbery in Fort Smith, AR, a man matching his description was seen driving a silver SUV with Oklahoma license plates.The FBI is launching an electronic billboard campaign featuring the Granddad Bandit and a $10,000 reward for information that will lead to his capture.

CAPTURED!Tough Prison Sentences Given to Three of the Scarecrow Bandits
Prison sentences of 140, 330 and 354 years were handed down by the judge for three of the Scarecrow Bandits. These robbers were featured in the Security Spotlight in December, 2007 and again in July, 2008 after their capture. They were christened the scarecrow bandits because of the floppy hats and plaid shirts they wore during the robberies, but there was nothing cute, charming or quaint about these well armed and violent robbers who terrorized tellers with automatic weapons and tasers in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.Antonyo Reece received 140 years; Jarvis Dupree Ross, 330 years; and Corey Deyon Duffey was sentenced to 354 years behind bars. When they say "Don't mess with Texas", they mean it!
Be sure to check our Bank Robbery page for photos and information on all the latest robbery suspects. Protect your institution by posting signage prohibiting hats, hoods and sunglasses. The effectiveness of this simple sign on your door is unsurpassed. Available now in two different designs in static cling format in the Banker Store.



Bombs from All Over -
Empty Threats orReality?

Bombs - They come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes and it seems many bank robbers claim to have one. Believe them or not, you need to have a plan to react to anyone with this claim. The use of bombs, or at least claiming to have one, seems to be increasing, based on what we read in the news.

Monrovia, CA -Joshua Locateil walked into the foyer of Citizens Business Bank at 10:00 AM and slid a note under the door. He claimed to have a bomb and must have thought the bankers would feel threatened and open the door to him. We assume they did feel threatened, but they refused to let him in. The man barricaded himself in the foyer, but later surrendered to police. Hundreds of people at the bank and nearby buildings had to be evacuated. No bomb was found.

Warminster, PA -A man walked into the supermarket branch of the Citizen's Bank with duffle bags. He said one contained a bomb, and he wanted cash in the other. He left with cash, plus a dye pack. Police saw him running in a parking lot with smoke coming from one of his bags. He was arrested and the bomb squad was called to check his other bag. No bomb was found. During the investigation, he admitted to calling in a bomb threat to the store the day before. The store had to be cleared. The thief believed that he could steal money when everyone left the building because of the threat. He pleaded guilty and will undergo a psych evaluation before sentencing.

Wauconda, IL -The Wauconda Community Bank employees found a package on the teller counter with a note attached. A man had placed it there and left. The note said a bomb was inside the package and would be set off if cash was not taken to a nearby location and dropped off. No cash left the bank, and police found no bomb, but they are investigating this attempted robbery.

Branson, MO -Would it really hurt to keep on working while there is "just another" bomb threat? Yes! In Branson, MO, a Florida man was arrested after speaking with a security guard near an ATM at 12:30 AM. The man and a woman left after conversing with the guard, who later saw a backpack next to an ATM. The backpack contained, among other things, a homemade bomb. The Springfield Fire Department Bomb Squad was called and used a robot to safely detonate the device.

Greece -In Greece, a newspaper received a bomb threat warning about a building that included the offices of JP Morgan. A medium size bomb was detonated. Fortunately, because of the warning, no one was injured. This was more about Greece's national budget deficit than a bank robbery, but the procedures would be similar on the bank's part.

Seattle, WA -Some bombs are less explosive than others. In Seattle, WA, police are looking for a female bank robber dubbed the "f-bomb bandit" because of the language used in her robbery notes. The woman is suspected of robbing banks in Renton, Seattle and Kent in January and February.

Alerts & Counterfeits
When explaining to management why there are such variances from month to month in trends or budgets, "February is a short month" is often heard, but that doesn't even explain the notices regulators have sent on fraudulent checks this last February. From thirteen in January to six in February, we saw a greater than fifty percent decline. Excellent! However, there was still one OCC notice sent on a counterfeit cashier's check and five items about which the FDIC alerted us, and when they have comments such as, "The items are markedly dissimilar to authentic checks." that really doesn't help if you have no idea what a cashier's check from the Commercial Bank in Mason, TX is supposed to look like. That is why you need to review the BOL Alerts & Counterfeits report, or watch the daily Compliance Briefing for up to the minute notices.

Multiple CrimeDex Alerts Cover a Potpourri of Topics
For such a short month, February provided a long list of alerts that represents well the variety of information available to BOL CrimeDex subscribers.

• Stolen credit cards were involved in attempts to purchase gift cards in Oregon.
• The San Diego Police Elder Abuse unit reached out for information on accounts held by family members suspected of diverting home care public assistance funds to their own use, leaving a 28-year old to die of neglect.
  
• Massachusetts police sought information on a cross-dressing male bank robber.
  
• A San Francisco bank security officer sought information about deposit accounts of a suspect in a series of frauds targeting businesses in the Chinatown districts of two Bay-area cities.
• A bank in Oregon reported on a secret shopper counterfeit check scam, involving checks allegedly drawn on a Chicago business's Oregon bank account (why would a Chicago business bank in Oregon, you might ask).
  
• San Diego police asked for account information in their quest for two missing persons.
• Citibank and Wells Fargo security issued a joint alert on attempts by a woman to cash stolen checks by impersonating bank customers.

If you aren't yet a subscriber, consider how your bank might have benefitted from getting alerts like these, and check out BOL CrimeDex.

In the Security Blog, there are four stories of interest for you. We hope Security assists in your Reg E, unauthorized funds transfer investigations. Security has a real skillset that can be used here. We see and hear from many bankers who don't understand that cards can be skimmed and even if a person has had his card in his possession, he may have a valid claim. You'll read how thieves were taking over $3,000 a day for nearly six weeks with skimming devices. You'll also read how a server may have been hacked, revealing information on card transactions at a Dairy Queen in Georgia.

We also tell you how Chicago law enforcement is seeking the public's help looking for the "ESPN Bandit" and how a $4.4 million loss was taken by a bank in PA due to embezzlement. Read more of what, why and how in the Security Blog.

BOL users often share tools to make work easier for others. This month "(not as) new bsa" shared a cheat sheet to make getting more accurate and complete Suspicious Activity Reports easier. You may find this worksheet helpful. It is in the BOL Banker Tools.

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