(Expansión) – A few weeks ago I was reading a former director of Condusef on Twitter. He was complaining about a Mexican bank that is in the process of being sold and among his publications he used the word insiders , which sparked some doubts.
It was not so much in the sense that he knew on his own what this meant or it was his body of close people that advised him to use the terminology, but rather in the sense of achieving awareness in the reading population about how to approach a sensitive topic. by telling them that a malicious person can have all their assets in their hands.
After the preamble let’s talk about the insiders , those people with a strategic position or with permissions and access to information that is confidential for any other; This is where making reference to crimes related to banking and finance takes on a special meaning, since many of the sheets of information and databases that contain things such as bank accounts, cards -including verification numbers and expiration dates-, are in hands of some insiders in banks.
The insiders within the banks for years have become an issue that requires attention, because the human factor will always be the most manipulable and influenced, with them it is enough to arrive at the price and with this, some bank workers dedicate themselves to sale of information and data to make purchases or empty cards to nearby people who live from these illicit things. It is enough to pay an extra amount to the bank employee to have him share that confidential information.
Let’s think for a moment, what is the validation process for hiring a person in a bank? They are very ambiguous and many times it is only enough to meet the minimum requirements; We have not realized the valuable information that could fall on a malicious person who is inside the banks, practically our assets could be in their hands and being exchanged to a third party that seeks an affectation to profit.
Banks require more solid, efficient procedures and, above all, high levels of security for hiring people, since it is known that in several institutions the same employees are the ones who have defrauded clients, particularly elderly people.
Notorious cases where the elderly due to the digital gap are not familiar with the use of online banking result in the bank worker taking advantage of the functions and this is where the emptying or purchases begin without the holders noticing , until they arrive at a branch and what a bad time awaits them!
Other cases where when requesting support with some issue, the same employees take at discretion the front digits, expiration date and verification code of the card, even a photo is enough, then online purchases come. Insiders usually choose victims who are not aware of digital advancement and are easy to fool or they would not notice. As a society we will need to make older people more aware so that they are not victims.
And let’s not forget to mention the classic and nefarious ones that, at the time of picking up at the window, they are notifying their accomplices with the exact description and amounts to be stolen as soon as the people who took money out step on the street.
As I have said, strategic positions and access to valuable information can become a controversial issue, something that could be corrected with a couple of more solid internal policies, greater trust controls towards new hires. We put aside this topic and downplay it, but it really is an abyss that we should enter.
Editor’s note: Carlos Ramírez Castañeda is a specialist and passionate about Computer Law, particularly in the areas of Cybersecurity, Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism. He has a Master’s Degree in Law of New Information and Communications Technologies from Santiago de Compostela Spain, Doctor in Administration and Public Policies from Mexico. He is a collaborator of various academic and government institutions, a professional always interested in cyber prevention issues, particularly with vulnerable sectors. Follow him on Twitter as . The opinions published in this column belong exclusively to the author.
