BankersOnline Security Spotlight

The ZeuS virus is compromising business customers around the country. Millions of dollars in unauthorized transfers have been made, and customers are suing their own banks in attempts to recover their losses. Have you trained your frontline staff on how to handle this situation? When the business customer reports an issue to your staff they should know that Reg. E doesn't cover business accounts. We have had reports where staff have told the business customer the bank will cover any loss with online banking. Make sure your staffmembers know what your account contracts say.

Training Webinars

It's probably time to revise your loan policies and procedures
September 7 —
by Adam LaBoda
How effective are your bank's written loan policies? Do they reflect the bank's actual policies and procedures, or has time made them outdated? Inadequate or outdated loan policies are invitations to error, unnecessary risks and losses, and regulatory criticism. Attend Adam LaBoda's presentation on Effective Loan Policies to get the information you need to help get your bank's policies current and make them work to the bank's benefit.

Risk: Building a Foundation of Management
September 14 —
by Lucy Griffin and Andy Zavoina
Risk management is an often overused term for a task that you may have been put in charge of with no training whatsoever. But you don't know what you don't know. If you want to ensure that you have built a solid foundation for your risk management program, this webinar is for you. You will learn what is involved in recognizing and controlling risk so that what you are left with is both manageable and acceptable.

Dynamic Training Secrets for Everyone!
October 5—
by Honey Shelton
In a typical community bank there are several people who are given the sometimes daunting, often intimidating, task to provide training to the staff. For many it will be weaved into a long list of responsibilities and most won't have any training on how to train! This idea rich webinar was written with you in mind! And it will be presented by one of the country's most popular, been there done that, trainers, Honey Shelton. If you want to learn how to increase your effectiveness when you train you won't want to miss this! It's not always easy to be a "messenger in your own land" and some in-house trainers want to wear a T-shirt that says "don't shoot the messenger." However there are numerous benefits to becoming an effective trainer - not the very least of which is that you get to teach what you need to learn. This fastmoving 2-hour webinar is a great opportunity to sharpen the necessary skill sets you need to turn your bankers into learning magnets.


Security Products
in the Banker Store



Robbery Prevention - "NO HAT" Signs (CLING)



P.L.E.A.S.E. ID Verification Reminder Card



Privacy Police Sticky Notes


Welcome to the September issue of Security Spotlight
In this month's Security Spotlight, read about a modern day Bonnie and Clyde team, a poorly executed getaway plan, and thieves who steal in the name of love.Barry Thompson has a reminder to train frontline staff on how to handle fraudulent transfers on business accounts.And see what your peers are discussing in the security forums on the Bankers Threads.
Getaway Gaffes
More than just a bad hair day...
Cynthia Van Holland traveled with her cat, worked as a prison nurse, and robbed banks.Dubbed the "bad hair bandit" for the unkempt wigs she wore as disguises during 19 bank heists in Montana, Oregon and Washington state, Van Holland is facing more than just a bad hair day.The female serial robber was arrested when an alert witness saw her running to a car after her latest robbery of a Bank of the West branch office. The license plate number recorded by the witness led to Van Holland's arrest, along with husband, Christopher Alonzo, the getaway driver. Investigators believe Van Holland met Alonzo while he was incarcerated at an Idaho Department of Correction facility, where she worked as a nurse. Are conjugal visits among prisoners who are married permitted?

Hide and seek...Police didn't have to look far to find Bryant C. Paschal, 41, after he robbed the TCF Bank in Oak Lawn, IL. Paschal pulled a fake gun on tellers in the bank and demanded "all the money." When police arrived witnesses told the officers they saw someone climbing a tree next to the bank.Officers used a firetruck ladder to climb to the roof of the bank and arrested Paschal without incident. Someone should have told him that his getaway plan should include getting as far away from the bank as possible.

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



Stealing for Love, Food for Thought, and Awareness Training

ID theft in the name of love - Richard Dames, who refers to himself as Geovanni Kasanova, has been named in a 148 count indictment charging him with stealing the identities of at least 80 people. Dames did not act alone in the fraudulent scheme. Five accomplices were also indicted in the charges involving $1 million stolen from JP Morgan Chase.

Two of the co-conspirators are bank tellers who claimed to be in love with Dames and sold him the personal information of bank customers. Kia Wylie, one of the tellers who pleaded not guilty to selling the stolen identities of nine customers, had a love letter she had written to Dames in her desk drawer.Malika Williams, the other teller involved, pleaded not guilty; her lawyer has insisted she was a victim. Williams is described as an overweight, shy girl who doesn't date a lot. Dames allegedly took advantage of her when he paid her for 16 identities. Two other accomplices facing charges are men who worked in the bank and were recruited to obtain the victims' personal information, such as DOBs, SSNs, copies of signature cards, and more. Dames and his friends used the stolen information to open credit card and E-Trade accounts for fraudulent use.

Thief works overtime - A bank robber in California pulled a little overtime. Not just one bank but three were robbed within 90 minutes by the same suspect. Police reported that the Orange County Credit Union in Fullerton, CA, the Union Yes Federal Credit Union in Orange, CA, and the U.S. Bank in Buena Park, CA were robbed by a suspect matching the same description and in the same manner.While banks often share robbery details with one another, this thief didn't allow much time between heists for information sharing.

Food for thought -In Wichita, Kansas a restaurant was robbed by a female with a handgun who ordered three employees who were locking up at the end of the day back into the building. One of the employees directed the other two co-workers to run and call the police. This confused the robber and SHE fled but was pursued by the third employee, who was on the phone with a 911 operator. Police caught the female thief and recognized ?peculiar markings? on the pistol she was carrying. The markings on the gun tie her to two bank robberies at Fidelity Banks in that took place in that area in 2009 and 2010.

Be aware of your surroundings - Just as restaurant workers like those we mentioned above need to be aware of their surroundings when entering and leaving their workplace, bankers need to practice the same caution. At a Wells Fargo branch in Pinole, CA, two men attempted to rob a Loomis armored car. One of the Loomis guards confronted the thieves, gunfire ensued, and the guard and one of the robbers sustained gunshot wounds. When Police arrived, the second suspect shot one of the officers before the suspect was then fatally wounded by the officer. The first robber managed to escaped but was arrested when he sought treatment at a local hospital.

You have bank robbery procedures to follow when a robbery occurs inside your bank. But do you have procedures in place in the event a robbery happens outside? The natural urge is for people to look out and see what is happening when an event like this occurs outside. But you don?t want employees or customers staring out glass doors and windows, and you especially don?t want a fleeing robber to gain entry to your bank. You also don?t want teller drawers or customer deposits left unattended during the confusion. These are scenarios you need to cover in your security training and have procedures in place to address them.

Alerts & Threads
In the Security threads there are a few discussions on data breaches. What if your bank is new to the OCC and you?ve had a potential breach to report, but you are not yet familiar with your new regulator's requirements? What if a vendor sends your reports to someone else?Another thread is asking about policies and procedures when you receive a subpoena. This is not an area where you want on the job training; you have to know what happens before you get that subpoena.These discussions are in the Public Security forum.

The Private Forum also has a security section where more sensitive discussions take place over things like backing up the video from your security cameras, knowing what is needed if a request for some of your video is received, and what?s the story on ATM skimming detection software? Plus you can read more on who is going to the 2011 Security Officers Workshop and start your networking now.All these topics and a lot more are being discussed in the Private Security and Private +Law Enforcement forums.

To comment in the BOL threads you must be a registered user. You can register here. If using your bank email account, you will be given access to the private forums. If you are a current registered user for the threads, but don't yet have access to the private forums, using your bank email address send a request for access to andyz@bankersonline.com. Once your registration/request is approved, you can access the Private Security forum here.




CrimeDex Alerts: Numerous and Varied
The BOL CrimeDex reports included a scam we hadn't seen in years -- the "traveling asphalt" crew offering a "deal" on leftover asphalt for unrequested driveway repairs. In these scams, the crooks leave town with cash without providing any service. The Better Business Bureau posted an alert on a multi-state bogus asphalt operation. There was the usual collection of identity theft alerts, including one on a graphic artist who is adept at creating counterfeit identity documents (this guy surrendered to police early in the month). Another alert from the Better Business Bureau reported that a well-known professional poker player who is also notorious as a "deadbeat dad" was running a phony invoice scam against businesses across the country. A Maryland Bank attempted to identify an individual who made $18K in ATM cash withdrawals with multiple stolen or fraudulent credit cards. And a Point Loma, CA credit union posted an alert about two women making shared branching deposits of fraudulent checks.

BOL CrimeDex alerts provide timely warnings of scams that may be targeting individuals or businesses in your area. BOL CrimeDex subscribers have avoided opening accounts for persons identified in alerts. Other subscribers use the alerts as timely object lessons in security training.


Don't miss it! Register Now!

Blogging on Facebook
Be sure to check out the Aug. 26, 2011 post on Facebook, titled "Important Video." This video demonstrates why video of a bank robbery when it occurs is important, but video captured before or after may be just as valuable in helping to solving the crime. Read the details on our Facebook page.

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