Security Spotlight: Security Officer certification, fair weather fraud, and hot topics

Welcome to the May Issue of the Security Spotlight

Barry Thompson's Monthly Security Tip

Certification for Security Officers
We are often asked about certification courses available for financial institution security officers. There are several certification programs offered for security officers. Some are recognized across several industries; others just in the banking world. To name a few:

Most Wanted

Countdown to capture...More than a half-dozen bank robberies that have taken place in northeast New Jersey in the past ten months are believed to be the handiwork of one well-dressed man. In all of the heists, the man approached a teller, orally demanded money (without displaying a firearm), and then counted down from 10 or 15 to one before fleeing with the stolen loot. The suspect – described as dark-skinned (black or Hispanic) in his mid-30s, 5'6"-5'8" tall, with an athletic build – has been given the moniker of "countdown bandit" by the FBI. The stylish bandit is being sought in connection with at least seven bank robberies in Bergen and Passaic counties since July, 2015. The latest heist took place at M&T Bank in Garfield on April 28th, where he reportedly got away with $11,000. The FBI is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the suspect's arrest and conviction. More details and photos of the suspect can be found at Bandittrackernortheast.com. He makes no attempt to conceal his face; it's just a matter of time before the countdown bandit is recognized and apprehended.

Check our Bank Robbery page for photos and information on the latest unknown bank bandits, many of them with sunglasses, hats or other head and facial coverings disguising their identity. Enforcing a no hats, hoods and sunglasses policy can help reduce the number of bandits who target your bank. Purchase No Hat Cling signs for all of your branches from the Banker Store.

Hot Topics from the Bankers Forums

Discussions in BankersOnline's public Security forum last month included threads on incident response programs, how a teller helped a kidnapped victim not rob a bank, and armored car services. If you have any helpful information to share, post a response. Check out those discussions and more. Check out those discussions and more here.

You'll find active discussions on more sensitive security topics in our "Private Security Forum," where bankers discuss issues out of public view. There's also a private forum that invites participation by bankers, regulators and members of law enforcement.

The private forums are the place for security officers to discuss topics like having employee pictures on a bank website, bait money, a card cracking scam that costs the bank through fraudulent claims, and more. If you're a registered user of BOL's Discussion Forums, but don't see the Private - Financial Institution Personnel Only forums near the top of the Forums list, use your bank email address to send an access request to brenda@bankersonline.com. Once your request is approved, you can access the Private Security forum here.

Please note: Our Private Forums do not include access to Bankers Hotline, or Compliance Action, which are premium content areas requiring paid subscriptions.

CrimeDex

Crime heats up with warmer weather

Well over 400 CrimeDex alerts crossed our desk in April, as if warmer weather heated up whatever drives crooks, imposters, fraudsters, robbers and other ne'er-do-wells to commit their sordid crimes. The month started with a request from Naperville, Illinois, for help identifying an identity thief who pulled $1,500 from a Naperville victim's account in one Wisconsin bank and then used the same victim's identity to open another account in another Badger State bank. On the heels of that alert came a notice from the U.S. Attorney's office in the District of Columbia for leads on bank accounts for an individual suspected of involvement in a $9 million bank fraud case. Lincoln, Nebraska, police asked for assistance in identifying two suspects passing counterfeit checks in Nebraska and Iowa in February. Capital One sought help identifying a "card cracking" suspect who is soliciting individuals using social media to open accounts at Capital One, obtaining the individuals' debit card and PIN, and then depositing counterfeit checks to the individuals' accounts and withdrawing cash via ATMs.

Our neighbors to the north are experiencing some of the same fraud that affects us in the United States. Windsor, Ontario, police are looking for help identifying a suspect who has for almost two years been victimizing jewelers in Ontario in transactions involving identity theft. The suspect applies for private label credit with the jewelers, using various Ontario licences (Canadian spelling). So far, he's managed to "finance" over $100,000 in Movado watches and bridal rings using the identities he's stolen.

And to wrap up this month's highlighted CrimeDex alerts, here's a scam you don't hear about too often (could it be the victims are embarrassed?) -- A "quick change" or "flimflam" fraudster is back to victimize inexperienced tellers and their banks across much of the Northeast (he's also worked his scam in other parts of the country). He was on the Massachusetts "Most Wanted" list in 2004, and was last known to have plied his "trade" in Springfield and Weymouth, Massachusetts in April 2016. He scams tellers by asking them to exchange large bills for smaller denominations and then back, interrupting them and changing his request in mid-transaction, with a heavy accent. If you have anyone on staff who can emulate that scam, try it out in a teller training session, to show tellers that they have to maintain control by slowing down and completing each transaction before moving to the next. Better yet, put some strict limits on what you'll do for non-customers.

Get all the details at CrimeDex . The CrimeDex service is free to all financial institutions that are registered users of BankersOnline. If you have access to our private forums, read the "CrimeDex Service FREE" notice in the second thread of the "Private - FI Personnel Only" forum.

Facebook Blog

Throughout the month, we share news-related incidents on Facebook that can be informative examples for training employees on security issues and more. We appreciate the "Likes" and encourage you to share our page with your fellow Security Officers and bankers, and ask them to "Like" us so they too can stay updated on the latest news.

There was plenty of news to share in April. In case you missed it, you can still check them out:

• Our April 3rd post brings up the question of what a teller should do when a bank robber demands money, and the keys to their car.
• Did you know that multiple mag stripes can set off bomb detection devices used by TSA? Our April 5th post reveals how they can, and did.
• On April 6th we posted about one man who stole $500,000 from Wells Fargo by skimming ATMs.
• If you saw the guy pictured in our April 7th post, you might feel sorry for him when you see his bandaged face...unless you're the teller who realizes it's a disguise and that you're being robbed.
• Our April 12th post is about a $280,000 robbery that made national news, with an execution plan that sounds more like a movie plot.
• Will wrapping yourself in foil really beat an alarm sensor? Even if it did, it wouldn't shield you from motion cameras, as thieves discovered in our second April 12th post.
• We found out that having a lot of credit cards at TSA is bad. Our April 23rd post reveals why having them in your car when you get stopped by the police isn't good either.
• Another post shared on April 23rd had a more frightening outcome, with bank employees isolated and their hands zip-tied.
• On April 24th, read about a rise in counterfeit money, and how your bank can detect phony bills and protect customers from receiving fake currency.
• And on April 29th we shared yet another incident in which a person was caught by TSA with a large number of credit cards.

Read about these and other informative topics on our BOL Facebook page. Be sure to "Like" the articles so we can continue to post more articles of interest to you!