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What If They Want A Copy Of Our Picture?
What can you supply in the way of evidence - and not get sued?
- "My customer had a transaction done with his card at your ATM, and I think it's his ex-wife - I need a photo of whoever did the transaction."
- "The deposit that caused a loss on this kite was made at your main street branch, and I know you have cameras behind the tellers. I want the picture of the guy who walked up to your window last Tuesday morning."
- "My client was attacked leaving your ATM on Elm Street. Your photos will show whoever it was who mugged her. We want a copy of that photo."
Many of our financial institutions now have either CCTV or 35 MM cameras in lobby locations, at drive-ups, on ATMs, and in other areas of our facilities.
Occasionally we are requested either by law enforcement, by another bank, or by an interested party (such as an attorney) to provide a picture taken by one of those cameras to prove theft, dishonesty, or to provide a lead in criminal cases.
If you turn over that photo, what kind of liability are you accepting? Where does evidence stop, and invasion of privacy, or the step-over into violating Right-To-Financial-Privacy, begin?
Can you protect yourself and your institution? The experts and our legal advisors say you can.
If the request is coming from 'civilians', such as from an attorney or a customer, you should get permission from the account holder-in writing-before supplying the picture.
Are you going to charge for the service? Many banks do. But if you do, and it happens to be your customer, remember to check and see if you need to list that on your DD disclosure.
What if another financial institution wants the photo for its investigation? In that case you want an agreement of indemnification. This should be signed and returned before turning over the photo. It should have language to the effect that you will be held harmless and indemnify you in case of any legal action. Whether you charge another bank for supplying a copy of a photo is up to you. Many institutions simply "swap" photo supplying courtesies.
If law enforcement is the one asking for the picture, and you are in a loss position and have already filled out an SAR-the photo could be considered to be part of the evidence. If not, you might want to ask for a subpoena or a search warrant.
Use extreme caution when supplying photos from your CCTV! We can't say this too many times. Crime & Security Newsletter Editor, Barry Schreiber, points to the case in New York City where a bank supplied a photo to the police department of an individual identified as a rapist/mugger. The police gave the photo to a daily paper, which ran the picture on the front page with a "Can You Identify This Man?" story. Several people could identify him and did. Trouble was, it was the wrong picture and the wrong man.
Big trouble.
Be careful when you pull those pictures-especially if you do not have the time, date, and transaction information printed on them.
Copyright © 1996 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 6, No. 11, 9/96
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