Banks face customer info breaches head on

The latest round of consumer information theft has hit CardSystems Solutions Inc., a national credit information collection firm that works with several area banks, including Commerce and Great Southern.

On May 22, CardSystems identified a possible security breach and notified the FBI the next day, according to a company news release. The incident is one of several to occur this year and prompted local action.

Commerce Bank sent out letters in late June to hundreds of its customers, notifying them of the possible infiltration of their account information.

Customers were offered the option of getting new cards and personal identification numbers.

Commerce Bank Regional President Bob Hammerschmidt said he is not aware of any Commerce customers who have been affected by the incident. Should the bank find an account tampered with, the customer would not be liable for the fraudulent charges, he added.

Great Southern Bank has taken similar measures, as it also deals with CardSystems. The bank sent more than 4,200 letters out to cardholders, according to bank spokeswoman Kelly Polonus.

“We wanted to let them be aware of the situation,” she said.

“In the letter we told them that if they would like to, they could get a new card and personal identification number. If they opted not to do that, we reminded them to just be diligent, check their statements and be aware.”

She added that about half of the customers who received letters have responded and requested new cards.

The CardSystems incident is not an isolated one. Up to 1.2 million federal workers might have had their personal information compromised when computer tapes

maintained by Bank of America were lost.

That breach was disclosed in late May, approximately one week after news of a major security breach involving personal and financial records maintained by ChoicePoint Inc.

Some banks are changing policies in the aftermath.

Bank of America, for example, has recently taken several proactive steps to prevent future fraud, according to Springfield Market President Rob Bratcher.

One new safeguard is the SiteKey program, which displays a predetermined picture on the company’s Web site for online banking users if the site recognizes the customer’s computer. If it doesn’t recognize the user’s computer, the site will ask for the answer to one of three preset questions.

“Clients have gone on to fraudulent Web sites before, thinking they’re doing business with either a vendor or the bank,” Bratcher said. “This system is for both the bank and for the client.”

And for in-person transactions, Bank of America is adding the option of adding customer pictures and signatures to the front of debit and credit cards, making fraudulent use of a stolen card more difficult.

Until these widespread issues are sorted out, bank officials recommend cardholders regularly monitor their accounts.

“In the event that there is any unauthorized usage, they should notify us right away,” Hammerschmidt said. “No one is held responsible for fraudulent activity, of course.”