BankersOnline Security Spotlight

One area that financial institutions don't review very often is locks, especially the lock on the customer entry doors.Some offices have thumb locks that can be turned quickly after a robbery to secure the door.The problem is the robber uses those same locks to lock people in during a robbery.Consider installing magnetic door locks that can be triggered from the teller line.Following a robbery, it's the fastest way to lock the entry doors.

Training Webinars

Common Compliance Violations
July 21—
by Mary Beth Guard and Carl Pry
With all that is changing in the world of banking regulation, you need every edge you can get. One way to help prioritize your compliance efforts is to know the types of violations that regulators are regularly citing at other institutions, and what's likely to cause problems in the new rules being issued. Mary Beth Guard and Carl Pry will help you learn from others' mistakes in this information-packed two-hour webinar.

Advertising Compliance
August 18 —
by David Dickinson
Advertising rules have changed, particularly those in Regulation Z. Have you kept up with the pace of change? David Dickinson's Advertising Compliance webinar will provide you with the information you need to help keep your institution's ads on the "straight and narrow" compliance road. You'll see great examples of how things ought to be done, along with some terrific examples of how NOT to advertise your services and products.

Understanding Signature Cards, Resolutions and Account Agreements
September 19 —
by Deborah Crawford
If you've been looking for a program specifically dealing with account signature cards and other account documentation, this is what you've been waiting for. Debbie Crawford's presentation will explain the contract represented by signature cards and related documents, and how your institution should be completing and maintaining them. You'll learn why some of the things you've been doing with these key documents could be increasing your institution's exposure to lawsuits and poor customer relations.


Security Products
in the Banker Store



P.L.E.A.S.E. ID Verification Reminder Card
-- NOW in Packs of 25



Identity Theft Prevention Review and Update




Identity Theft Program Policy Template


Welcome to the July issue of Security Spotlight
In this month's Security Spotlight, read about a couple of thieves who chose the wrong place at the right time - to be captured. Barry Thompson shares tips on door locks that can help thwart a bank robbery, and your peers are posting some interesting security discussions in Bankers' Threads.

In the Wrong Place at the Right Time

Hometown hero...
While we never advocate acts of heroism by bank personnel or civilians during a bank robbery, Army Staff Sergeant and Iraqi war veteran Eddie Peoples has been hailed a hero for thwarting a would-be thief's attempt to rob a Bank of America branch in Sarasota, FL.Thirty-four year old Matthew Rogers picked the wrong bank at the wrong time and threatened the wrong people when he entered the BofA branch, waving a handgun, demanding cash, and threatening Peoples' two sons, ages 4 and 6, who were in the bank with him.As the robber tried to make his getaway, Peoples followed the suspect out to the parking lot and blocked his getaway car with his van. When Rogers got out of his car and pointed his gun at the trained soldier, Peters forcefully took the gun (which turned out to be a BB gun) from him and slammed him to the ground, where he held him until police arrived. Compared to being in a war zone in the Middle East, thwarting the bank robber was "a piece of cake," Peoples said. The Sarasota County Sheriff's office was so impressed with Peters they offered him a job. Rogers on the other hand is getting little publicity but lots of time in jail to consider where he went wrong.

Make that a latte to go...
Lawrence Petitta, a 52-year-old transient from Southern California, was arrested just 25 minutes following his bank heist at California Bank and Trust. After threatening the teller with a gun, Petitta left the bank with his $1,100 spoils.Whether he was celebrating or just needed a little "pick-me-up," the thief headed to Starbucks just around the corner from the bank, and ordered a latte, which he was enjoying with the morning newspaper when police spotted him. While the officer waited for backup to arrive, Petitta went into the coffee chain's restroom, shaved his facial hair and changed his clothes. It was a little too late to hide his identity at that point...police took him into custody as he exited the restroom. Charged with robbery, Petitta is spending his leisure time now in the county jail...where they probably don't serve latte.

Check our Bank Robbery page for photos and information on all the latest robbery suspects.



Former Teller Turned Bandit, New Healthcare Plan and Cops MIA

This is not candid camera - San Antonio police have apprehended a woman who allegedly robbed an IBC branch.Alexis Ramos, 21, told bank employees she worked for IBC's marketing department, using terminology specific to the bank, and asked to take photos of the bank's vault. While at the vault with the bank employees she pulled a gun (later identified as a 4.5mm BB gun) and a stun gun and demanded cash from the bank's vault be put into a large purse she carried. But as the employees began to comply with her request, she dropped something on the floor and became distracted. The bank employees took advantage of the distraction to take the weapons from Ramos. The would-be thief ran from the scene leaving behind the cash - and her cell phone, which quickly led authorities to her identity and location. It turns out Ramos was a former teller at a Galveston branch of IBC bank and was working when that branch was robbed. While she attempted to disguise her appearance with a wig and glasses, employees still recognized her when shown surveillance photos from the robbery.

New health plan - In North Carolina, Richard James Verone, 59, robbed an RBC bank - or tried to. In this rather unusual heist, Verone handed the teller a note stating this was a robbery, that he had a gun...and demanded $1.00. That's it, just one dollar was all he wanted. Verone then pointed to a chair in the lobby and told the teller he would sit and wait there until police arrived.Following the loss of 17 years of employment with Coca-Cola, Verone has had personal problems and health issues. He couldn't afford medical care so his plan was to rob a bank so he could go to jail and get the medical attention he needs at the expense of the state. However, instead of being charged with bank robbery, because he only took $1.00 he was just charged with larceny. The lesser charge could give him jail time for up to a year, but not as long as a charge of bank robbery would have warranted. Verone was hoping for a three year sentence until he qualified for Social Security. He reportedly stated that if his sentence wasn't long enough he would tell the judge he'd do it again in the hopes they will keep him in jail longer.

Calling all police... -Police in Alto, Texas, 150 miles southeast of Dallas, weren't around to respond to a bank robbery in the city recently.In a cost-cutting measure, city council had laid off five police officers that made up the Alto Police Department in mid-June. The nearby Cherokee County Sheriff's Office responded to a call about masked people trying to enter the BancorpSouth Bank in Alto. The bank had closed for the day and the door was locked, but bank employees still inside the bank saw the team of would-be thieves with guns and called it in.The four suspects - three men and one woman - were apprehended following police pursuit. They are being held in the Cherokee County Jail on collective bonds of $1,260,000. The citizens and business owners of Alto are afraid that having no local police force leaves them open for increased crime.

We hope you can learn from these Security Shorts and perhaps use the scenarios in training- what to do and what not to do. If you're also interested in using robbery notes as illustrations in training, check out Bank Notes, where you'll find some interesting images of bank robbers and the text of the notes they've passed."Give me $50,000 or I will murder you" and "I have a gun! I want all 50s and 100s, no dye packs" should get some attention.

Alerts & Threads
Here is a quick recap of some of the more interesting discussions pertaining to the security officer in Bankers' Threads.

In the Public Security forum there is a discussion over who is watching for fraud. If, as Randy Carey puts it ?the fox is watching the chicken coop? perhaps a different level of review is needed? What would you add to the discussion?

What can your bank do about monitoring employee email? Who owns the email and who has what rights to privacy? There may be many twists and turns on this information highway and you can participate in this discussion.

Have you thought about the differences between Reg P requirements on a vault and a safe? That was done here.

The Private Forum also has a security section where more sensitive discussions take place over things like blocking international debit card transactions. One banker said they even block transactions from certain U.S. states. And how would you handle an employee who you find out has a mental illness and then a breakdown at work? Read what your peers are doing for security officer training and if providing locations on FourSquare is a good idea.These hot topics and more are being discussed in the Private Security and Private +Law Enforcement forums.

If you don't already have access to the private forums and you have a bank email address that we can verify, you can gain access to the private threads by using your bank email address to request access from andyz@bankersonline.com.Once your registration is approved, you can access the Private Security forum here.




Crooks Attack System Weaknesses
June was a busy month for CrimeDex participants. In one of the first June alerts, a large west-coast bank sought information from other banks that may have been hit with substantial fraudulent wire transfer losses in customer impersonation scams. Credit unions in both California and Wisconsin asked for help identifying individuals from ATM photos in connection with fraudulent ATM deposits. Those alerts were followed by reports of a group in Colorado who have obtained fraudulent state income tax refunds credited to prepaid cards and withdrawn the funds at ATMs. Mid-month there was a nationwide alert with photos of suspects in a card-skimming scam involving Michael's Craft Stores. Finally, a major check processor requested help in investigating an individual passing counterfeit company checks in the Midwest. Each of these alerts illustrates to CrimeDex subscribers how crooks exploit weaknesses in the payments system to line their own pockets at the expense of financial institutions and their legitimate customers.

Minimize Fraud Losses
The need to detect and prevent forgeries is of vital importance to any organization. Get an overview of document counterfeiting and somevaluable tools to aid in detecting forged documents at the time they are being presented in this free Fraud Prevention Whitepaper from UVeritech, Inc.


Don't miss it! Register Now!

Blogging on Facebook
As Security Officer you may have to visit a customer to get the facts about a case. You know where your customer's address because you have a sound CIP procedure. But what if that address is a small house in Wyoming, and is "home" to 2,000 separate companies. Read about what could be a nightmare for the uninformed. Details are on our Facebook page.


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