BankersOnline Security Spotlight

Some financial institutions are taking the risk of opening the branch with just one person.Since this isn?t the industry standard, any institution that does so may face legal liability if someone is hurt.What seems like a good way to reduce costs will result in the loss of dual control over areas containing cash or negotiable instruments, which could in turn result in internal fraud or a morning glory robbery.
Featured Security Webinar
Secure Remote Access: Isn't That an Oxymoron? - June 22 —
Remote access is generally defined as communication from a remote location or facility through a data connection or link into the internal network. The ability to access files and information on your computer over the Internet may be useful for specific tasks and employees; however, there are also risks involved. If you haven't deployed remote access, you may have employees who are requesting access. Or based on your BCP or pandemic plan, you may be looking at "telecommuting" as an option for specific employees. Remote access outside of the typical "vendor access" is becoming popular in the financial services industry for a variety of reasons. So should you allow remote access? Under what circumstances? Is there a secure way to deploy it? What will your examiners and auditors say?

Regardless of whether you are considering allowing remote access or have already opened your internal network for access from beyond your perimeter you need to be sure you are doing so as securely as possible. You need to develop remote access guidelines, establish an acceptable configuration, software, and connectivity requirements. You also need a policy that addresses security guidelines, develop a remote access application or access request process, not to mention risk identification and mitigation controls.

Security Products
in the Banker Store



Robbery Prevention ?
"NO HAT" Signs (CLING)



Bank Security Program Policy




25 Critical Security Mistakes
a Smart Institution NEVER Makes


Welcome to the June Issue of Security Spotlight
Robbers are really getting creative about their personas! In the featured robber section, read about one "getting his Freak on" and check out the Security Shorts for a laundry list of some of the most imaginative robber stories you will ever read! Pick up a great password tool this month in the Tools section below and oh yes, welcome to the blue skies and sunny days of summer!

Senior Citizen with a Bad Pastime
Geezer, Grandpa, Granddad...
Aging stickup men are all over the news! Not to be confused with the "Geezer Bandit" of California we featured last month, or the "Grandpa Bandit" from Oregon who was recently arrested and charged with seven bank robberies, the FBI is on a mission to nab the man they have dubbed the "Granddad Bandit".

A nationwide digital billboard campaign has been launched with the hope that someone will recognize this bald, heavyset, nondescript gentlemen who has robbed twenty-one banks in twelve different states since January, the most recent one on May 18 in St. Louis. Though not much is known about him, including whether or not he even has grandchildren, he was nicknamed the "Granddad Bandit" due to his age, which authorities believe to be around fifty or sixty.

Freaky Fowler Found!
A fan of the late singer or a "Rick James wannabe", was captured and arrested on May 28 by the FBI Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force for robbing five banks in the Denver Metro area. Lester Eugene Fowler, forty-four years old, stated "I was just getting my Freak on". Fowler was named the "Super Freak Bandit" for the curly Rick James->
Be sure to check our Rogue?s Gallery of Unknown Suspects 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.



A Little from All Over ...

Woman's Work is Never Done -If you thought you were busy with your security duties, you should see what this woman has to do. In the San Diego area, an "unknown woman" who wears jeans and a large floppy hat robbed three banks in two hours. Actually, she successfullycompleted two heists and aborted the third. She first robbed a Wells Fargo branch in Mission Valley, and within the hour went to the Mission Federal Credit Union office in Rancho. Within an hour of that, she was seen in the Chase Bank on the Oak Park area. At her last stop she approached a teller and demanded money, but something startled her and she left before her demands were met. In each robbery she handed the teller a note that demanded money and said she was armed. No gun was seen.

What's in YOUR Portfolio? -While the "Portfolio Bandit" hasn't been hitting multiple banks in an hour, he is accused of robbing twelve Denver area banks since last December. He was named the "Portfolio Bandit" because he pulls a holdup note out of a black portfolio folder and gives it to the teller. He last struck in early May. In his last three robberies, he indicated that he had a weapon in his coat or waistband.

Robbery Notes Make Me Sick -Bank robbery can leave a bad taste in your mouth. Lois Harvey was attempting to rob the Columbus (OH) Chase Bank branch. She handed her note to the teller. When Harvey realized a uniformed police officer was in line behind her, she snatched the note back and tried to leave. She choked on the note and coughed it up on the sidewalk. Until she tried to make her exit, the off-duty cop wasn't aware what was happening. Harvey was arrested and was being held on $250,000 bond the last we heard.

Kindness (Sometimes) Never Pays -Also in Columbus, a man robbed a bank, but showed an act of kindness as he fled the bank. It was the Huntington Bank that was robbed. As the man fled, he stopped to give a $100 bill to a mother and another to her daughter, who were window shopping. He told them not to worry, it was real money, and then continued his getaway. The mother and daughter weren't sure about the money, so they asked a bank about it. Oh yes, the Huntington Bank was the closest. Easy come, easy go.

"Stupid" Grandpa Caught -We wrote about the "Grandpa Bandit" in the April Security Spotlight. Sixty year-old Ferrell Lee Brier was arrested in Eugene, OR, and charged with robbing seven banks. He has confessed to the robberies and was asked why he did it. His one word answer: "Stupidity".

Who Was That Masked Man? -In the Boston area, Newton, Wellesley, and in New Hampshire, police are looking for help in capturing the "South Side Bandit". This person has robbed banks six times over the last five months. He presents himself as a masked man, wearing black gloves and a hooded coat or sweatshirt, and shows a handgun at each robbery. He forces customers to lie on the floor, and threatens to shoot the teller if all the cash isn't handed over. While he escapes on foot, he generally chooses banks near major arteries.Alerts & Counterfeits
In May 2010, there were twenty-one weekdays and twenty-eight counterfeit item alerts. While that averages to just over one for each work day, these were all sent by the FDIC and were all sent on one of four days during the month. Are you getting FDIC alerts? If you are not regulated by them, you may not be subscribed. If you were away from your email on one of those four days, you might have missed the notices anyway. That could be costly.

Crooks know what items work best, but that doesn't mean they know how to make the fake items they try to pass. Of the twenty-eight counterfeits, twenty-three were cashier's checks. Two of the fake cashier's checks had the right routing number for the financial institution, but the wrong one for that type of item. Pinnacle Bank of South Carolina, as an example, uses Moneygram Payment Systems, so the routing number is different on the cashier's checks they issue than for the bank. Pacific Crest Savings Bank is similar in that their cashier's checks go through US Bank. The crooks aren't researching very well, but well enough to start passing counterfeit items. There was also one bank that had the small difference of "cashier's check" and "cashiers check." A simple apostrophe would let you know that item was a fake.

Getting important information can save you money at the teller line and in the deposit area. Subscribing to the Compliance Briefing will put these alerts in your inbox the very next morning, regardless of who your regulator is. Because it is free, you can have your backup subscribe as well, in case you are out that day. You can also verify the current and archived listings on our Alerts & Counterfeits page.

May CrimeDex Alerts Cover Multiple Crimes and Frauds
Robberies and attempted robberies were reported in several May alerts from BOL CrimeDex. A number ofMassachusetts banks were on a list believed to have been hit by a serial robber described in a series of alerts from Peabody, Woburn and Reading, MA police departments. Updates during the month added ID details, and the final report by the Saugus, MA policeannounced an arrest. The cooperative updates facilitated by CrimeDex kept bankers and law enforcement current on the month-long robbery spree.

Other CrimeDex alerts during the month coveredbank customer impersonators; a request from the Secret Service for assistance in identifying an account takeover suspect; and photos of two suspects in a takeover of a home equity line of credit, with a request for identification assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. There were also warnings from a credit union about counterfeit cashier's checks,and alerts about stolen credit cards used in the fraudulent purchase of retail gift cards. A California credit union alert included a detailed narrative of an identity theft case involving unpaid utility bills and the purchase and financingof an expensive vehicle, all in the name of the unfortunate ID theft victim. Finally, in a case worthy of the television series of the same name, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) posted an alert on an AWOL Marine allegedly involved in real estate fraud.

BOL CrimeDex subscribers can receive alerts from across the country or focus only on local or regional reports. Each of the alerts can be helpful in identifying suspects that have targeted a subscriber's institution, assisting law enforcement in identifying and apprehending robbers and fraudsters, or simply adding realistic illustrations to a security training program. For more information, check out BOL CrimeDex.

LifeLock, the company touting ID theft protection, essentially challenged people to try to steal the CEO's identity. Read what happened in the Security Blog post of May 19th.

You can also read why you may have to handle selling your old office copier the same way you'd handle selling an old PC. How much information is on a copier's hard drive may surprise you.For more information, see the second May 19Security Blog post.

There is also an update about an ID thief who was recently arrested in India, because of U.S. warrants.Read what happened in the Security Blog post of May 19.

You may also be interested in reading how a telephone denial of service attack can cost you and your customers money. This is a new weapon used by some cyber-thieves and you can prevent some of the losses. Read the details at our Anti-Phishing Blog.

The password is "password". Well that isn't very secure, now is it? What makes a password strong? Do you really know, and do you know how to create one? This tool can be of interest to your employees and customers, and it is free! Check out Our Newest Tools section, "Password Training" at the Banker Tools page.

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