BROCKTON, Mass. – The Bay State's second-largest credit union is on the leading edge of the fight against identity theft with its new photo ID scanner system, the CU and its supplier says. HarborOne CU has deployed the scanners at its 12 branches, where they're used to scan in the photos from driver's licenses when new accounts are opened. The scanning takes three seconds and the photos then are available throughout the credit union's system, and all members are being encouraged to have their photos recorded this way. The computer-stored image helps both protect identities and move along routine transactions, HarborOne says. "The ID scanner is a great tool in the branches to expedite member transactions," says Elaine Keneklis, senior vice president, branch administration division, at the $1.1 billion CU, which recently changed its name from Brockton CU. "Our staff can provide quicker service since they recognize the member. And if a deceitful person tried to take money from a member's account, the scanned ID will not match the person in front of the teller and the fraudulent transaction would be stopped," Keneklis says. The scanning system was introduced this summer by HarborOne's core processor, COCC, as part of a suite of identity theft solutions. "Our account processing system allows credit unions to accept photos and other forms of identifications," says Brent Biernat, director of network services at COCC, the former Connecticut Online. "Older account systems are restricted to words and numbers. HarborOne now is able to access the ID information throughout its branch network and back office, making this a more comprehensive approach to preventing ID theft." The CU is one of the first in the country to use such ID scanner technology and sees ID theft prevention as a top priority, says its senior vice president of operations, Dick Bastiansen. He says working with COCC "yielded a cost-effective, easily implemented solution in a relatively short time" and also helped HarborOne comply with the PATRIOT Act's customer identification requirements.