ID Theft #1
The news media was full of reports last week of an ATM skimming scheme in NH. ATM skimming involves attaching a second card reader on top of the legitimate card slot of an ATM. When a customer inserts their card into the machine, it passes through the skimming hardware first, capturing the data on the magnetic stripe. The crooks then use a variety of methods to capture a customer PIN and either use the card themselves to withdraw cash and/or make purchases, or sell the information to other crooks, who use them. The skimming hardware can be nearly undetectable. The PR damage to your bank if one of your ATMs is used can be huge (see ID Theft #3). It may sound "over-the-top", but think about visually inspecting your ATMs on a daily basis to make sure they haven’t been tampered with.
ID Theft #2
The FDIC, OCC, OTS and Federal Reserve have approved a joint guidance letter on how banks should respond to customer information security breaches. There have been several high profile cases recently when personal customer information was stolen, presumably to facilitate identity theft. ID theft is the fastest growing crime in the nation, and regulators are insisting that banks prepare for a breach. The guidance says there are five basic parts to an information security breach plan: determining the scope of the incident, notifying the primary regulator, filing a SAR in a timely manner, containing and controlling the situation and notifying effected consumers, when needed. The guidance will take effect immediately on printing in the Federal Register.
ID Theft #3
According to a survey conducted by Financial Insights of Framingham, MA, 60% of Americans say they are worried about becoming a victim of ID theft, and six percent have moved their bank accounts to reduce the risk of becoming an identity theft victim. Any way you look at it, that is, statistically, a very significant number of customers who are willing to put themselves through a lot of work to, hopefully, gain better information security. What would it mean to your institution if six percent of your customers went away because of a real or perceived information security breach?
Factoid
According to their web site, the number of people working for the FDIC has declined from 22,586 in 1991 to 5,081 at the end of 2004, a reduction of 78%.
Appetite for Fraud
Some alert tellers suspected 40 year old Howard Felch of Manchester was conducting bank fraud and called the police. Felch tried to eat the stolen check he was attempting to deposit. He'll eat better for the next 45 months. That's the prison term he'll serve after pleading guilty to stealing $42,300 from two NH banks by depositing stolen checks and then making withdrawals from his account.
Crime Family
What were they thinking? A brother and sister team from Pembroke were arrested and charged this week shortly after they robbed a bank. According to news reports, after the note-passing hold-up, a police dog followed their scent to their apartment, which was less than a block from the scene of the crime. Arresting officers found them with what is believed to be the stolen cash. (At this point, one of the suspects allegedly asked police what would happen if they just gave the money back!) Twenty nine year old Renay Durica and her 26 year old brother, David Cartier are both being held in the Merrimack County Jail on $100,000 bail. A police officer interviewed about the caper on WMUR-TV said it appears that Renay came up with the idea, but he wouldn’t call her a criminal master mind.
New Hampshire Bankers Association 122 North Main Street P.O. Box 2586 Concord, New Hampshire 03302-2586 For more information on above items: call (603) 224-5373, fax (603) 224-3381 or E-Mail jlittle@nhbankers.com. |
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