Branch Banking Security Alert
Can your identity be stolen right from the very institution you entrust your financial information with? Yes it can! Verbal information discussed right inside your bank is being overheard by others, and could be used to steal your identity.
Jacksonville, FL, May 02, 2006 --(PR.com)-- “Today’s identity thieves are going over and beyond the normal call to obtain personal information to be used in malicious and fraudulent ways,” says Kirk Herron, vice president of CCSG, Inc. He also states that, “According to the Federal Trade Commission, an identity is stolen every 3.2 seconds, leading to over 27,000 identities per day.”
CCSG, Inc. is a woman owned and operated communications company located in Jacksonville, Florida that specializes in the design and installation of Voice Arrest™, a new digital technology that protects sensitive conversations from being overheard by others.
Herron states, “As a concerned consumer and growing business, we felt it was our duty to investigate this situation further, by conducting our own local survey of banking branch offices located here in Jacksonville, Florida and some of the surrounding areas.”
The survey included major name banks, such as Amsouth, Bank of America, Compass, SunTrust, and Wachovia along with some smaller branches that included Crown Bank, Everbank, Ironstone, Mercantile and First Guaranty.
The survey consisted of 100 different branches with a 15 to 30 minute visit inside each branch office. While sitting in the waiting area or standing in line for the counter, they observed the amount of information they were able to overhear from the tellers or customer service representatives.
“Once we retrieved any information, or had reached 30 minutes, we concluded that site and moved on to the next location.” Herron further explains, “The information we were able to obtain included, full names, account numbers, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, balances and even social security and PIN numbers. In several cases, we were able to obtain all this information on a single person and within a simple 15 minute visit.”
“The worst statistic of our survey was not just the information we were able to collect, but the number of branches that had the very same problem. Out of the 100 branches visited, we collected personal information from over 53%,” Herron exclaims. “I’m sure we could have had many more if we had increased our time limit or revisited the same branches again,” he also adds.
“Overall, we established that all banks, in every state, big or small, have a huge problem in this area, and need to know about it. We entrust them with not only our personal information, but also our financial information. Since verbal communication is one of the hardest to control, we feel this is not a simple training issue,” Herron reveals.
One branch manager during this survey admits, “We have been aware of this problem for years, but what can we do”? “The Voice Arrest™ system may not solve every situation, but would be the best defense for this one,” Herron concludes.
For more information about the Voice Arrest™ oral masking system, or information included in our survey, please feel free to visit our website at www.ccsgweb.com or contact Mr. Herron.
Kirk Herron, Vice President
CCSG, Inc.
(904) 626-9854
kherron@ccsgweb.com
###
CCSG, Inc. is a woman owned and operated communications company located in Jacksonville, Florida that specializes in the design and installation of Voice Arrest™, a new digital technology that protects sensitive conversations from being overheard by others.
Herron states, “As a concerned consumer and growing business, we felt it was our duty to investigate this situation further, by conducting our own local survey of banking branch offices located here in Jacksonville, Florida and some of the surrounding areas.”
The survey included major name banks, such as Amsouth, Bank of America, Compass, SunTrust, and Wachovia along with some smaller branches that included Crown Bank, Everbank, Ironstone, Mercantile and First Guaranty.
The survey consisted of 100 different branches with a 15 to 30 minute visit inside each branch office. While sitting in the waiting area or standing in line for the counter, they observed the amount of information they were able to overhear from the tellers or customer service representatives.
“Once we retrieved any information, or had reached 30 minutes, we concluded that site and moved on to the next location.” Herron further explains, “The information we were able to obtain included, full names, account numbers, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, balances and even social security and PIN numbers. In several cases, we were able to obtain all this information on a single person and within a simple 15 minute visit.”
“The worst statistic of our survey was not just the information we were able to collect, but the number of branches that had the very same problem. Out of the 100 branches visited, we collected personal information from over 53%,” Herron exclaims. “I’m sure we could have had many more if we had increased our time limit or revisited the same branches again,” he also adds.
“Overall, we established that all banks, in every state, big or small, have a huge problem in this area, and need to know about it. We entrust them with not only our personal information, but also our financial information. Since verbal communication is one of the hardest to control, we feel this is not a simple training issue,” Herron reveals.
One branch manager during this survey admits, “We have been aware of this problem for years, but what can we do”? “The Voice Arrest™ system may not solve every situation, but would be the best defense for this one,” Herron concludes.
For more information about the Voice Arrest™ oral masking system, or information included in our survey, please feel free to visit our website at www.ccsgweb.com or contact Mr. Herron.
Kirk Herron, Vice President
CCSG, Inc.
(904) 626-9854
kherron@ccsgweb.com
###
Contact
CCSG, Inc.
Kirk Herron
904-626-9854
www.ccsgweb.com
Kirk Herron
904-626-9854
www.ccsgweb.com
Contact
Categories