Court Allows Suit Against Bank For Poor Online Security  |  September 24, 2009  

I saw this article on Finextra. Since I’ve been working with BrandProtect (www.brandprotect.com), I’ve become extremely aware of identity theft scams as well as the bank’s role in providing a sufficient level of security.

The whole story is available here (http://www.finextra.com/fullstory.asp?id=20454). Here are a few lines…

A US couple who had thousands of dollars stolen from their online account have been given the go-ahead by a court to sue their bank for failing to provide adequate security.

In 2007 Marsha and Michael Shames-Yeakel fell victim to an ID thief who gained access to their Citizens Financial Bank online account and stole $26,500 from a home equity credit line.

The money was transferred, via a bank in Hawaii, to a financial institution in Austria. The Austrian bank refused to return the funds, prompting Citizens to inform the couple that they would be liable for the loss.

The Shames-Yeakel’s refused to pay, leading the bank to report their account as delinquent to the national credit bureaus and threaten to foreclose on their residence.

In response, the couple sued the bank on several grounds, claiming violations of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act, in the northern district of Illinois.

http://www.finextra.com/fullstory.asp?id=20454

Ben Bradley
benbradley.net