KNOXVILLE Tenn.—The increasing number of credit union and bank employees being kidnapped in attempts to extort money from the bank or credit union now has the FBI—for a second time this year—advising those working in the financial services industry to take extra precautions.
The precautions have reached the point where credit union executives are even being urged to not keep family photos in workplaces and to not park in the same spot every day.
The FBI isn’t alone in urging caution. CUNA Mutual Group, as well, spoke with CUToday.info about precautions credit unions should always be taking, and especially in light of the rising number of attacks on staff.
Following last week’s kidnapping of Tanner Harris, first vice president and commercial lending officer at SmartBank here, the local office of the FBI issued a warning to bank and CU staff in the area to take proper precautions in their personal lives.
Tuesday morning two men broke into Tanner’s West Knoxville home and took Tanner and his family hostage. Tanner was forced to withdraw money from the bank, according to reports. For more details click here.
Tanner’s kidnapping marks the fourth time this year that a financial institution employee has been kidnapped in an effort to rob the FI where the person works. Three of the abduction/robberies have taken place in Tennessee—one at the Oak Ridge-based Y-12 and the other in at FAA CU in Memphis. The first alleged kidnapping of 2015 occurred at Achieve Financial Credit Union in Connecticut.
As is case with all previous abduction/robberies to date this year, the alleged perpetrators of this latest crime are still at large. The descriptions of the suspects in the Y-12 FCU and SmartBank cases are very vague, but similar, the FBI reported. FBI agent Ed Reinhold told WBIR there are "strong similarities" between the two incidents, and while they can't be positive, it's "quite possible" they are related.
The Y-12 incident sparked the FBI to issue its first warning to bank and credit union employees in the Knoxville area to use caution and follow all security measures before, during and after the workday.
In light of the increasing attacks on FI staff, Michael Petrone, risk management consultant for CUNA Mutual Group, emphasized the steps CUs should be taking to help mitigate loss and possibly prevent the kidnappings.
“Divide access to the cash supply, have the central change fund under forced dual control,” said Petrone. “Avoid having a single employee having access to keys, and to the safe combination and alarm code.”
Petrone also advised that CUs utilize time locks whenever possible and have pass phrases or code words for instances when someone is forcing an employee to withdraw money.
“Credit unions should have a written extortion policy approved by the board and reviewed annually,” said Petrone. “Having a policy helps victims feel in control before, during and after the extortion. Role play extortion attempts and discuss expectations with credit union staff, board members, volunteers and family members to help establish extortion deterrents and steps to take during an extortion attempt . . . Training is very important to keep everyone calm if a crime happens.”
In the FAA CU kidnapping in June, where a 64-year-old branch manager was taken hostage, the employee’s robbery training helped the staffer perform well under the pressure of the event, FAA CEO Todd Vanderpool told CUToday.info in a previous report.
Other advice from Petrone:
- Employees should alter routes to and from work and be aware if they are being followed.
- Be observant of cars parked in the parking lot that look suspicious.
- If employees see the same person twice in one day, note it.
- Discuss appropriate actions to follow when involved in a suspicious accident.
- Staff should avoid listing personal information on the Internet.
- Avoid using dedicated parking spots for the CEO, VPs, etc.
- Do not have pictures of family on bulletin boards or in offices.