Bio:
Brian Crow is Executive Vice President at Thomas Compliance Associates, Inc. in Chicago, IL. Brian brings 20 years of prior banking experience to the consulting field. He was most recently Assistant Vice President and BSA Administrator for a suburban Chicago bank, where his responsibilities included preparing the bank's annual BSA risk assessment and audit documentation. Earlier as Operations Officer at the same bank, Brian monitored AML activity, aided in the implementation of the bank's AML software, and designed the bank's authentication blocking program that helped to reduce debit card fraud losses by 95 percent. Brian's responsibilities also included managing the bank's Regulation E claims, managing the bank's courtesy overdraft program, reviewing Reg CC hold notices for accuracy, and processing claims for fraudulent signatures and endorsements.
Mr. Crow has been, and continues to be, an education consultant for BOL Learning Connect, conducting webinars that have covered VISA/MasterCard chargebacks, debit card compliance and fraud prevention for hundreds of banks. It was in this role that Mr. Crow was recognized as a Bankers Online Guru in 2011.
Like many of us, Mr. Crow began his banking career as a teller, working his way up to head teller and then branch management responsibilities. He earned a B.A. degree in Theology from Concordia University, River Forest, Illinois. Because of his education background, Brian has been given the unofficial title of "Security Evangelist" as he strives to help financial institutions protect their bottom line from losses related to fraud.
See all Upcoming and On-Demand training presented by Brian.
Questions Answered
03/10/2024
We were recently audited and it was noted that because a customer can immediately withdraw funds from a deposit made that same day, that we should be disclosing as a same day availability bank. instead of next day availability. What is your opinion and how do you recommend wording the change on policy, notices, and disclosures? It seems most examples I find are all next day examples.
03/03/2024
Can a check that was returned as FROZEN ACCOUNT be redeposited?
03/03/2024
We continue to have issues collecting customers current physical addresses when opening new accounts. Our frontline thinks they find loopholes in our policy, deviating from the intent of the policy, and they create larger problems.
Is it permissible to have a policy or procedure in place for changing the address on a new account for a new customer within 30 days of the date opened? Say if a customer opens an account on the 10th and then comes in on 21st to change their address, do other banks have a policy to collect a proof of address at this time since it is a new account?
02/25/2024
We need an advice for below situation.
1. Our customer cashed a check for $9,230 from another bank at one of our branches on 11/21/23.
2. On 11/27/23 we received a return for this item as Stop Payment.
3. On 11/28/23 we processed a late claim returned to Fed and received the credit from Fed same day.
4. On 1/19/24 we received a late returned debit from the Fed to deal directly with the other bank. We contacted the other bank as they insisted that it wasn't a late return.
How can we resolve this situation and how we can ask other bank to pay us?
02/18/2024
We have a business customer who had an employee negotiate their payroll checks a second time. This employee deposited their payroll checks through a mobile channel with their bank over a year ago and then deposited them again.
They cleared our customers account because our duplicate detection only goes back a year. Our customer did not reconcile or review his accounts to notice the duplicate payments and wants to hold the bank responsible. They total about $11k. We already tried returning the checks for duplicate and as expected, they were returned for "Late Return".
I am looking for any input as to how we can recoup the funds? The bank of first deposit (PNC) did take in stale dated checks as well as having their customer not adhere to mobile banking terms. Any input would be appreciated.
02/04/2024
We are a small community bank that maintains strong connections with our customer base. From time to time, a customer we know well brings us a check for deposit that's accompanied by a seemingly legitimate backstory. But the appearance of the check, based on our experience leads us to believe that the check may not be paid because not ALL of the boxes can be checked to rule out that that it's a fraudulent check.
Knowing our customers we tend to give them the benefit of the doubt by accepting the check for deposit and placing a Reasonable Cause hold for 4-5 days. Our acceptance of the check is done in good faith that our customer's story is legitimate and our Reasonable Cause hold is done as a means of ensuring that our customer doesn't end up on the wrong side of a scam.
I have read several opinions which state the ONLY course of action that's entirely compliant is to refuse to accept the check for deposit. Most opinions are that we simply cannot place a hold for Reasonable Cause to Doubt Collectibility in this situation.
Even after completing due diligence on the check and the facts offered by the customer, by refusing a check where some facts indicate authenticity and others indicate potential fraud, why would we not be allowed to try in good faith to accept the check, while protecting our customer from potential loss by way of a Reasonable Cause hold? After all, the teller has formed a "well grounded belief that the check MIGHT not be paid," but is also acting in good faith on behalf--and in favor--of our customer.
We are all advocates for our customers, and simply refusing to accept a check for deposit simply because we couldn't check off EVERY box that it isn't a fraudulent check, seems counterintuitive to the consumer-favoring language of Reg CC.
01/28/2024
Our bank has been questioning when a transaction is considered "suspicious" and when the time clock starts for BSA filing. Some are saying only our BSA officer/department can determine when a transaction is suspicious and that would start the 30 day SAR filing time clock. Others are saying if the client says a transaction is fraudulent, that starts the 30 day clock. How are we to determine when the 30 day clock starts?
01/21/2024
What are your thoughts on allowing customers to give an authorized signer access to their online banking and/or approving them to have a debit card? Would it make a difference if there is a form signed by the customer providing authroization and acceptance of liability for the transactions the signer conducts?
01/07/2024
Reg E (12 CFR 1005.17(b)(2)) says we cannot condition the payment of checks and other transaction on the whether the consumer has opted into overdrafts via ATM and one-time debit card transactions. However, it does not clarify whether the opposite is allowed – meaning can you condition ATM and one-time debit card transactions on whether someone has opted into overdrafts via check and other transactions? I can't find any guidance on this question, so any advice is much appreciated.
12/31/2023
What is the time frame to return a check which was forged or fraudulently altered, i.e. stolen and washed?
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