
Bonnie and Clyde-style bank robberies are no longer the preferred method for today’s thieves. Identity theft is now the most common way to steal from a bank. In fact, a 2003 FTC report estimated identity theft-related losses for financial institutions at $47 billion, far more than the $77 million lost to traditional bank robberies.
Banks are fighting back with ever-improving security methods to detect and deter fraud, and you can take steps to protect yourself as well.
Identity thieves are constantly refining their methods, but most stick to simple, tried-and-true strategies. To acquire the personal information needed to break into your bank accounts, thieves may simply steal your checks or your mail or “dumpster-dive” into your garbage to find account statements and other discarded paperwork that contains personal information.
Sometimes thieves don’t have to take our information — we give it to them. E-mail scams known as “phishing” trick people into giving away their account numbers, Social Security numbers and other sensitive details over the Internet. Other people give out their information to telemarketers who call to ask for “identity verification” or claim to be giving away a prize or offering a new credit card.
For consumers who fall victim to these scams, the “prize” they receive isn’t what they expected.
Once thieves acquire your personal information, they can use it to take over your checking, savings or other account. They can create counterfeit checks with your account information printed on them. They can also add their information to your account, changing the mailing address or making other alterations to give themselves unlimited access. If thieves have your Social Security number and date of birth, they can also open accounts in your name to launder checks from an unlimited number of new accounts.
Of course, checks are just one way for you (and, potentially, identity thieves) to take money out of a bank. ATM and debit cards are another avenue for thieves. If they physically steal your cards, you’re likely to notice fairly quickly. The more insidious crime is “skimming,” which occurs when a thief captures your account number and PIN without actually stealing your card, so you may not find out for weeks or months that a crime has taken place.