Saturday, 28 June 2014
Some Banks Not Following Rules to Keep You Safe at ATMs
Some Banks Not Following Rules to Keep You Safe at ATMs
By Willard Shepard
| Wednesday, Nov 20, 2013
Marcia Brooks never thought it would happen to her. An ATM deposit turned into a life-threatening experience in Pompano Beach.
“They could have easily grabbed me, taken me, shot me, raped me,” said Brooks.
A gunman forced her to take $160 from the ATM. He still hasn’t been caught.
“I'll never forget the gun being pressed against my neck,” she said.
It’s something we all take for granted – getting cash from the ATM. But an NBC 6 investigation with the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting found many banks are keeping you in the dark when it comes to your safety.
Getting cash quickly – day or night – is convenient, but it can also be dangerous.
The Team 6 investigation found at least 35 felonies committed at ATMs the last two years across the state – armed robberies, shootings, even murder.
Alex Sanchez, president of the Florida Bankers Association, told us that banks are doing all they can to prevent you from becoming a victim.
“This is an important matter for our banks that they take very, very, seriously … we want to provide a safe haven for our citizens and our customers.”
The state sets minimum lighting standards for not just the ATM and the area near it, but also the parking lot. Mirrors must be on the ATM so you can see behind you and there are limits on the size of nearby plants.
In the last five years, not one of the 250 Florida chartered banks has been cited by state inspectors for violating those standards. A spokesperson for the Florida Office of Financial Regulation told Team 6 the state's 118 inspectors didn’t find a single bank outside the rules over the last five years. As for the thousands of other banks in our state, we don’t know. Federal regulators told us the inspections are confidential.
However, the engineering experts from Scientific Expert Analysis pulled out their tape measures and lighting devices calibrated the same evening – and told us the very first South Florida bank we checked, Regent Bank in central Broward, was outside some of the regulations. The firm has 40 years’ experience evaluating structures.
Ed Brill, an engineer with Scientific Expert Analysis, said the light near the ATM was measuring between 2- and 5-foot candles but the state statute require 10-foot candles.
“When we first looked at the lighting right at the ATM face we found that it met the requirements … as we moved away we found that the readings did not meet requirements,” Brill stated.
Matthew Speath, also an engineer with Scientific Expert Analysis, said the landscaping at the bank was too high. The regulations say vegetation in the area shouldn't be more than 3 feet high and must be well lit.
Speath said vegetation on the corner of the building was about 7 to 8 feet tall.
“It’s still in direct eyesight of the ATM and directly adjacent to the parking lot … a patron that was parking in one of these spaces … is potentially subjected to an individual that could be hiding,” he said.
The engineering experts told us that generally a bank falls out of compliance with the state law unintentionally because of things that happen over time like someone changes a light bulb to the incorrect wattage or doesn’t cut the vegetation.
One Orlando family knows the pain of violence at the ATM. Off-duty Central Florida policeman Alfred Gordon Sr. was killed in an ATM robbery.
“I don’t think banks always have the consumer in mind,” said Alfred Gordon, the son of Alfred Gordon Sr.
Two men are now serving life behind bars for the killing of Gordon Sr. The family’s lawyer says there was poor lighting and the mirrors were missing – the family and Bank of America reached a settlement. Gordon’s family worries about profit trumping safety.
“They are going to see their expectations for profit and bonus margins, but I think that a lot of times the consumer is the one that loses out in the end because when it comes to safety I don’t think you can take lightly and try to skimp on in any way,” said Gordon Jr.
Richard Hodak, a former FBI agent who directed security for one bank, says 50 percent of the robberies, rapes, and murders that occur at ATMs occur between 7 p.m. and midnight.
Hodak says lawmakers, police, and banks aren’t doing enough.
Hodak says, “Banks do not seem to do a good job in policing their ATMs to evaluating the risk involved in the ATMs.”
We asked the engineers to check four banks in all. At one Wells Fargo in north Broward, according to them, there was not enough light. They found dark spots on the side of the ATM and down the wall adjacent to it.
“The lighting down the side does not meet the minimum requirement – about half or less than half the requirement,” Brill said.
The engineers found no problems at two other South Florida banks. But just how many banks aren't doing what the law requires is anyone's guess. We're also in the dark about how many customers like these exist because most law enforcement agencies don't have a category tracking ATM crimes.
Wells Fargo sent us a statement that read, in part, “... while we regularly review our locations … we will review this location again ... if we find that the lighting needs to be fixed, we will do so in a timely manner.”
Regent Bank said, “… the bank believes that the landscaping around the ATM fully meets the requirements of the Florida statutes. As regards to the lighting level, the bank thanks Channel 6 for bringing to its attention the fact that the candle foot power was not as bright as it should be …”
To read more about violent crimes at ATMs, go to the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.
http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Some-Banks-Not-Following-Rules-to-Keep-You-Safe-at-ATMs-232611431.html
Thursday, 23 January 2014
Monday, 6 January 2014
5 Benefits of QR Codes for Small Business
5 Benefits of QR Codes for Small Business
Each year more and more people are using smartphones. Over half of all Americans now have smartphones with more people using these devices than land lines and other mobile devices. For marketers, the mobility of smartphones makes it possible to reach customers without any attachment to a specific location. QR codes play an important role in this process for many small businesses. Are you still skeptical about QR codes? The following list details five benefits of QR codes for small business that will convince you to give them a try. It is important not to get overwhelmed with all of these strategies. Pick one or two that are most relevant for your particular company and build from there.
Benefits of Using QR Codes
Build customer relationships
Many businesses struggle to get customers to complete surveys about products. If they receive a survey in a store, most people are just not interested in taking them home to fill out later. QR codes give customers the opportunity to participate while they finish at the cash register, wait in line, or seated at a table in a restaurant. Customers appreciate the convenience, and businesses appreciate the rapid turnaround time. Don’t forget to tell customers how you will use their feedback. People want to know that their comments will be taken seriously. Small businesses can also use QR codes to gather business reviews for online sites such as Yelp. Many companies choose to offer incentives such as special discounts or free items for people who write reviews.
Get free promotion
QR codes allow people to “like” and “follow” a business quickly and easily without having to search for it later. Consider creating codes that link directly to Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. QR codes also allow people to “pin” your products, blog posts, and other website links on Pinterest. Many small businesses create their own Pinterest accounts to post pictures of products and services and other relevant industry information. One of the key aspects to success on Pinterest is high quality images. All of the pictures of your own products and services that you post should be good enough that potential and existing customers will want to share them with others. The chances that your content will go viral increases when that content, such as videos, are high quality and shared appropriately on social media.
Boost website and blog traffic
It is always important to place QR codes, each with a clear goal and purpose, in convenient locations so people will take the time to visit your sites. Offering something of value for your customers will help drive the kind of traffic you desire. For example, a restaurant may put QR codes on their menus with nutritional information about the dishes.
Cater to a local audience
There isn’t a better method for advertising local promotions than directly in front of a business. QR codes cultivate relationships with customers and, in a sense, bring them to you. The codes get them talking about your company, and with enticing incentives, these customers are more likely to become repeat customers. Discovering a great new company and then getting an immediate deal for one of their products or services is a sure way to get a new customer to share the story with friends and family. Many small businesses also use QR codes for local event registration. Don’t let people walk away without giving them the opportunity to register or at least get more information about the event. Make a flyer or poster with content that is visually appealing, and consider offering an incentive when people sign up for the event.
Build an email subscription list
Every small business should give all potential and existing customers a simple method for signing up for a company email newsletter. Although there are a number of successful methods for building lists, many companies make use of QR codes for subscription sign up. Newsletters allow new customers to stay connected to and learn more about businesses. In turn, they allow companies to further customer relationships and increase the chances of gaining return customers.
Low cost
You can signup for services that you cannot track results with for free, or for as little as $19 a month you can track the success of each code you create.
About the author:
Kristen Gramigna is Chief Marketing Officer for BluePay, a credit card processing firm offering different types of credit card terminal options. She brings more than 15 years of experience in the bankcard industry in direct sales, sales management, and marketing to the company and also serves on its Board of Directors.
Cyber-attacks eclipsing terrorism as gravest domestic threat – FBI
Cyber-attacks eclipsing terrorism as gravest domestic threat – FBI
Counter-terrorism chiefs urge Congress to resist altering controversial surveillance programs except 'at the margins'
The threat of a major terrorist attack inside the United States is lower today than before 2001, three of the country’s most senior counter-terrorism officials testified on Thursday.
But the heads of the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and National Counterterrorism Center urged Congress only to change controversial surveillance programs at the “margins".
A devastating, 9/11-style attack is “more likely now to be overseas than it is in the homeland”, Rand Beers, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, told a Senate panel, “but that is not to say we should drop our guard in any way”.
Testifying for the first time since becoming FBI director in September, James Comey told the Senate homeland security and government affairs committee that cyber-attacks were likely to eclipse terrorism as a domestic danger over the next decade.
“That’s where the bad guys will go,” Comey said. “There are no safe neighborhoods. All of us are neighbors [online].”
Comey said the threat to online networks in the United States, to include business and government data, came from disparate actors with different motivations, from spies to “hacktivists”, which he likened to an “evil layer cake”.
Cyber-security concerns eclipsed those about terrorism in a hearing dedicated to updating the Senate on domestic threats. Beers and Comey urged Congress to pass new cyber-security legislation expanding government access to private-sector data, ostensibly to redress vulnerabilities in business and other non-governmental networks.
Senator Tom Coburn, the top Republican on the panel, sounded skeptical, arguing that private firms ought to have the opportunity to voluntarily comply before being compelled to turn over that data. But Coburn agreed with Beers that any such legislation ought to provide legal protections for companies compelled to disclose proprietary or customer data.
Beers said legislation ought to be “carefully crafted” to avoid “a total blanket liability protection”, which he said would potentially violate civil liberties.
Congress created similar protections for telecommunications and internet providers in 2008 when it expanded the government’s powers to spy on Americans’ foreign communications with non-individualized warrants.
Comey, Beers and NCTC director Matthew Olsen testified that al-Qaida’s ability to attack the US was diminished, but not eliminated. “The risk of a spectacular attack in the homeland is much smaller than it was before 2001,” Comey said.
But all three individuals said the threat of copycat attacks from self-radicalized individuals – so-called “lone wolves” – remained, and they said the agencies had difficulties in preventing them.
Self-radicalized terrorists do not necessarily “hit the trip wires”, Olsen said. Comey urged Americans to report what they considered suspicious activity: “Listen to that feeling in back of your neck.”
Even though the threat of a major domestic terrorist attack has receded, all three government officials warned Congress against rolling back the sweeping bulk surveillance authorities granted to intelligence and law enforcement agencies to prevent one.
Comey, who in 2004 resisted a warrantless surveillance effort that collected Americans’ email data, told the Senate panel he could accept changes around the “margins” of surveillance powers, but “don’t make changes at the expense of core capabilities”.
Beers, who will soon leave the Department of Homeland Security after five years, echoed intelligence officials who have resisted surveillance reforms beyond increased transparency to Congress.
“Make sure you are comfortable with the oversight,” Beers said, “but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.”
Monday, 30 December 2013
Microsoft: We Have Lots of Windows 8 Apps, but We’d Rather Not Say How Many
Microsoft: We Have Lots of Windows 8 Apps, but We’d Rather Not Say How Many
OCTOBER 24, 2012 AT 9:40 PM PT
Many people will look at the Windows 8 storefront and find the number of apps lacking, whether in terms of number, or in terms of big names.
Yes, apps from Netflix and Hulu Plus are there, along with Evernote and eBay. But all one need do is plug in an iPhone or try to update their Quicken portfolio to see the major omissions. Intel, for one, is touting that fact — along with its compatibility with older Windows apps — as a key selling point for machines that use its processors.
Still, for its part, Microsoft notes that its App Store will have more apps than any other store at launch. Indeed, the number of apps is triple that of just a few weeks ago.
So, how many apps is that exactly? Well, um, we’d rather not say, Microsoft says. After all, there are many ways to count apps, and …
It’s nothing new for Microsoft to launch a new version of Windows with few apps designed for its new features. On day one of Windows 7 or Windows Vista, one would be lucky to name 10 apps that really took advantage of new features.
The difference with Windows 8 is that older Windows Apps really look like second-class citizens in a world designed for touch-centric programs. What’s worse, Microsoft has a second operating system, Windows RT, that works with phone and tablet chips, but only runs the new-style apps.
“Those are not all going to be there day one,” agrees Antoine Leblond, the Microsoft executive responsible for the Windows storefront that is home to the new Windows 8 apps. The key, Leblond says, is the momentum that Microsoft will get as the number of Windows 8 machines quickly grows into a significant figure worthy of developers’ attention.
Then the OS will benefit from a number of factors, including the ability of developers to write in multiple languages, the flexibility to use Microsoft’s payment system or not, as well as the potential for developers to earn 80 percent of store revenue, rather than the standard 70 percent cut once apps have generated $25,000 in revenue.
Although Microsoft has been accepting paid app sales since it finalized Windows 8 this summer, Leblond says the real test will come as machines preloaded with the new OS go on sale.
“The store opens Friday,” Leblond said. “That’s when things will get interesting.”
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