| In this issue of Security Spotlight, read detailed info on counterfeiting 'ingenuity' in the Alerts and Counterfeits section. Robbery and CrimeDex sections relate horror stories of increasing activity in these areas. Be sure to check out the BOL Scams Index found on the homepage of BOL! Talk about ingenuity! There is also an interesting article about the exciting capture of a robber through the efforts of America's Most Wanted, and what is this...more robbers on bikes?...yikes!
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 You've seen it a hundred times ... your customer is convinced he won the lottery! It's not just your customer who can lose! When frauds and scams hit your financial institution's bottom line - they can cause large losses in an instant. Join Elaine Dodd for When your customer really, really thinks he's won and learn how to protect your institution and your customers using time-proven techniques. |
Lottery scams on the Alerts and Counterfeits page are as abundant as the Fall harvest! Community State Bank contacted the FDIC with a report that counterfeit cashier's checks associated with letters from UK Financial Solutions, Victoria, BC, announcing the recipient's winning of the "Disney World Sweepstakes" are in circulation. Emprise Bank has counterfeit items circulating which are believed to be associated with a sweepstakes lottery scam and are included with correspondence containing the letterhead of "NLGC, Northwind Lotto Gaming Corporation, 15 Lindberg Bay, Suite 4, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands 00802". Transcommunity Bank, NA, (formerly known as Bank of Goochland, NA) reports items associated with a Chinese lottery scam. Community State Bank of Orbisonia, RBC Centura Bank and The Delaware County Bank and Trust Company also reported some variation of a lottery scam this month.
Mystery shopping scams are still hot! Louisa Community Bank, Providence Bank and First Texas Bank all report counterfeit cashier's checks associated with mystery shopping scams. New Resource Bank has reported counterfeit items associated with a Canadian secret shopper scam. In addition, Community Bank of Florida, Inc. reports that 100 cashier's checks bearing the institution's name were stolen during a robbery are in circulation.
Go to BOL's Alerts & Counterfeits to read about other alerts.
 Counterfeiters are Creative!
Bleached $5 bills! Starched bills! Sounds more like a laundry list! The BOL Scams Index changes every week. Choose the most prevalent financial fraud from this week's list and see the results instantly. You'll find the Scams Index on BOL's home page.
 Before you allow a customer to cash a check or make a withdrawal, do you verify identity? Are your tellers lulled into a false sense of security if the individual is simultaneously making a deposit to the account? A recent CrimeDex Alert detailed the fraudulent exploits of 31 year old Gena Marie Burgess. Over a four year period, the little five foot tall fraudster has reportedly been involved in customer impersonations throughout California and Arizona. Burgess enters a financial institution and identifies herself as an account holder. She deposits small dollar checks (usually stolen from another victim) or cashes larger dollar checks and withdraws additional money from the victim's account. The suspect usually obtains between $4,000 and $10,000 from each incident. Take a look at your policies and procedures and ask how you could prevent her scam from succeeding. Subscribe to BOL's CrimeDex to stay informed.
As a member of BOL's CrimeDex service you would receive full pictorial alerts about perps like Burgess and a full range of other alerts involving identity theft, check fraud, armed robberies and other crimes. Visit BOL's CrimeDex page to view a demo or sample alert and get more information about how your institution can get full access to the fraud sharing network. Don't forget, you can also submit an alert free of charge by contacting us at CrimeDex@bankersonline.com
It looks as though these robbers put on their Halloween costumes a little early! A white male wearing a "scream" mask entered the Cornerstone Bank in St. Petersburg, Florida, and ordered everyone to get down. He then approached the tellers and demanded money from their cash drawers. The suspect took an undisclosed amount of money and put it in a white plastic grocery bag and fled on foot. His abandoned mask was later recovered. The suspect did not display or imply he had a weapon.
A man entered a Bank of America office in Marshfield, Massachusetts, wearing a wig, fake mustache, glasses and black knit gloves. He demanded money, stated "don't call the cops" and suggested that he might have a weapon. He then took an undisclosed amount of money and left the area on foot. Take a good look at the robbery suspects go to BOL's Robbery page. Hopefully, your front-line employees will spot the robbers if they see them casing their branches, plus someone might recognize one of them as l) a customer who's now robbing other banks; or 2) somone they know from some other connection or 3) someone who robbed their bank and the police simply hadn't realized it was a serial robber.
 The Security Blog explains why debit and credit cards based in the U.K. are seeing an increase in fraudulent transactions in the U.S.
Good news in the Anti-Phishing Blog where you can read about recent efforts by law enforcement that resulted in 77 arrests and the recovery of more than $2 billion in fake checks.
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 America's Most Wanted Captures a
Fugitive Bank Robber
After busting out of a Kentucky jail and a federal detention center, he robbed at least five banks in as many states. Then, he got television exposure on Fox's America’s Most Wanted. Anonymous tips brought his flight from the law to an end in a Pennsylvania motel. Read more about this robber who was
Seen on TV -- Then Caught
 Another Bicycle Bandit Caught
It was only last month that we reported on the capture and demise of David Bruce Voss, alleged to have been the "Bicycle Bandit" who peddled away from 28 banks in 16 states. When we learned of yet another two-wheeler bank heist artist operating in New Hampshire, we had to get the full story. You can, too, in
Bicycle Bandit Redux
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