Theft at the Banks

Allen and Melanie found it fun living and working in the city for many years, but that was not their final goal in life. They wished to live closer to nature at some point in their lives. So, when the time was ripe, they moved to the backcountry where their roots were.

They, however, did not relinquish all their interests in the city and therefore went back every so often.

For instance, they retained their checking account in a bank in the city and their rental properties. In fact, rental income was auto-deposited in their checking account on a monthly basis. They were also able to access cash without going to the bank, using their debit cards at automated teller machines (ATMs), which were a new development in banking at the time.

Interestingly, a bank employee got wind of their move from the city and concluded that the distance between the backcountry and the city, would prevent Allen and Melanie from keeping track of the goings-on in their account, until they received quarterly statements.

However, Allen and Melanie were very alert and detail-oriented people. Soon after generating a transaction, they calculated and knew what their financial position was. Therefore, between bank statements, they kept strict tabs on bank balances and reconciliations at all times.

Anyhow, six months after leaving the city, trouble started. Someone in the bank made two unauthorized withdrawals of $1,500.00 each on the same day. Allen and Melanie detected the anomalies and lodged a complaint on phone, then in a letter to the branch manager.

Because the entries were not reversed promptly, two months after they had occurred, the couple travelled to the city to see the branch manager and attend to other business. He apologized for the delay, which he attributed to investigations, reversed the entries in their presence and gave them their advice of credit.

However, after three months, an unauthorized entry of $3,000.00 was made. The couple had to lodge a complaint again. Because they were soon going to the city for other reasons, they decided to stop by the bank and report the error in person. Again, the correction was made as they waited.

They then asked the manager what had been going on given that they had experienced three anomalies within six months. He did not, however, give them a clear explanation of the internal matters brewing, as it would have discouraged them from maintaining an account at their bank. After that, the issue went away permanently, because perhaps the culprit was afraid of getting caught or losing their job, if they had not already lost it for being negligent or dishonest.

Meanwhile, customers were having it rough with the banking industry, because of a rush of robberies targeting people as soon as they exited their banks, after having cashed large checks.

The thieves even knew exactly how much their victims had withdrawn, leading people to deduce that the robberies were coordinated between bank employees, specifically cashiers, and the thugs waiting outside. Basically, as soon as customers who had made large withdrawals turned their backs and headed to the door, the conniving cashiers used cell phones to call their accomplices, in order to describe their intended victims and the amount of cash they were carrying.

There was a hue and cry from businesspeople and citizens at large and the police had to conduct surveillance around banks to catch the thugs. Investigations confirmed how the rackets were organized and as a result, several cashiers lost their jobs.