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I Need Your Assistance...
by Van Butler, Assistant Claims Manager

You have probably received an E-mail that begins with some variation of the phrase, “I need your assistance…” It goes on to explain that your assistance is needed in transferring millions of dollars that is being wrongfully held, usually in some African country. After responding to the E-mail, there will be a request to send money for taxes, etc. or a request for account information so that the money can be transferred through you to the “rightful owner” and you will rewarded handsomely for your assistance by being allowed to keep a portion of the funds. Another variation is that someone with a checking account is persuaded to deposit a rather large check for some one and the depositor will be allowed to keep a portion of it if they forward the remainder to a third party, usually by wire transfer to London for further forwarding.

Most of you recognize these as scams. In the case of the E-mail scam, any money sent will never be seen again and if account information is furnished, the account is likely to be drained in short order. In the case of a person depositing a check, the deposited check will be returned as fraudulent. The bank will reverse the deposit often creating an overdraft. You may be surprised that such tactics actually work, but they do. We even saw one case where a fairly sophisticated businessman was duped.

Banks should consider providing informational or educational material to their customers warning them of these and other schemes. The warnings could be included as articles in news letters or statement stuffers. The warnings should be reviewed by bank’s counsel to be sure that the warnings do not create liability for the bank that would not otherwise be present.

There are several things banks can do to help protect their customers and themselves from fraudulent checks innocently deposited at their banks. Tellers should be trained to be alert for unusual deposits, particularly Canadian checks in banks far removed from the Canadian border. Scammers often utilize fraudulent Canadian checks because they take longer to clear. If a suspicious check is about to be deposited, carefully counsel the customer about the dangers of depositing checks if they are not in the course of their normal banking activity. If the customer insists on proceeding, the proper hold should be put on funds availability or the check should be handled as a collection item.

By taking a few easy steps, banks can help protect their customers and themselves from scammers.

BancInsure has become a leading writer of Financial Institution Bonds and Directors’ and Officers’ Liability Insurance Policies in the United States by providing a sound, stable market, excellent service and fair claims service. If you would like to learn more about BancInsure coverages, please contact your local BancInsure agent.

BancInsure Announces the appointment of Rodney N. Sargent as President of BMSI Marketing, Inc.

Oklahoma City, OK  –  Bill Haaland, CEO of BMSI Holdings and BancInsure, Inc. announced in December  that the company’s sales and marketing strategy, direction and initiatives will be led by Sargent as a result of a consolidation of the marketing and sales departments within BMSI Marketing, Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of BMSI Holdings – BancInsure’s Holding company).

Rod brings with him twenty plus years of extraordinary sales and marketing expertise. He has held senior executive level positions with three leading insurers. His experience includes the strategic vision and implementation of a national internet marketing and processing system, deep management experience with both direct sales and independent agent sales platforms and has extensive product development experience.

Mr. Haaland stated, “above all of the outstanding work experience and results Rod has delivered, he is a match with our culture of relationship building. This is the foundation of BancInsure. As we prepare for strong, profitable growth, it is not enough to have only strong relationship skills, or industry leading expertise in one’s field, our executive leadership must have both. We have found that with Rod.”

BMSI Marketing, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of BMSI Holdings, Inc. BMSI Marketing, Inc. houses all of BancInsure’s sales and marketing staff and resources. This structure enables a high level of flexibility in accommodating the needs of BancInsure’s customers.

BancInsure is the industry’s only fully independent insurer with a specific focus on providing insurance products to financial institutions. The company entered the market in 1986 amidst very difficult market conditions. After 20 years of operations, the company has business relationships with roughly 20% of the community banks in the United States. Located in Oklahoma City, OK, BancInsure enjoys an endorsement agreement with 20 state bankers organizations.