We have always trained that customer facing employees should not have family photos up in their work areas. My understanding was this was to protect their identity and make them less of a target for hostage / kidnapping situations.

With Social Media do you think this is still a needed practice?

Also the marketing department wants to put up some advisor bios to include family photos on the website. Any thoughts on this? I can't find anything recent regarding family photos.

Not to be a cynic, but an extortionist/kidnapper is not going to pick a teller or CSR or a MLO. They are going to pick a SVP or CEO, someone high enough on the foodchain to warrant a good payout.

.

A couple of bankers I know were threatened/extorted based on the bad guys telling them they had taken their families hostage. They knew names and ages, and I think schools in one case. One of the bankers was a president, one was a teller.

I see your point. Trying to look at it from all perspective I could see if a criminal was trying to get cash (probably a less sophisticated criminal with little to no plan) they could target someone with access to the cash. Like a teller, vault teller or branch manager. The likelihood may not be high but we are also in turbulent times. Usually the SVP or CEOs don't have access to cash. If they are trying to coerce money by other means (transfers, wires, etc) they may target higher level employees with greater authority.

These particular employees (regarding bios on website) work with higher net worth clients and investment clients.

I don't feel like you see many banks with pictures of their employees and families on the website. I am not really sure what you would gain from it.

Thanks for the input Lestie

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdoh/pr/dayton-man-sentenced-25-years-kidnapping-and-robbery

Social media is a very dangerous playing ground for financial institution employees. I would not want their employer making it easier to profile employees for the sake of "marketing".

About 25 years ago we had a branch manager taken hostage. That was before my time here. I remember it being on the news and in the papers but I don't recall any of the particulars other than she was released unharmed. She later became our HR administrator and she retired about 10-12 years ago.

All employees have the potential risk, just some more than others.