LAS VEGAS – At both the local and federal level, the industry needs to embark on a more vigorous legislative push to bring hamstrung law enforcement agencies into the fight on card fraud, advocates the president/CEO of SAFE CU, one of California's largest.
"We can't even get local agencies to even look at claims unless they are above $100,000," declared Henry Wirz, who raised the law enforcement issue during a question and answer session at the CO-OP's annual conference.
The problem, said Wirz, dates to 9/11 and the reduced priority given to local police and FBI units to combat fraud with cases not even tried or perpetrators not being caught or let go.
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As CUs well know, the criminals operate offshore out of Eastern European countries "and so we end up with our local police lacking the resources and manpower to track down fraudsters." "We may have one guy down at the station who is trying to do the job while doubling as a crossing guard," observed Wirz, who told Credit Union Times he has met with U.S. Rep. Dan Lungren, (R. Calif.) about legislation to provide financial relief for the agencies "Lungren was very supportive and he said he would look into it," said Wirz. Members of a panel session on card fraud said they agreed with the SAFE CEO on the severity of the problem noting that $250,000 in claims-rather than $100,000-has been the maximum before agencies try cases. "There's no doubt the agencies are overwhelmed," said Stan Belitz, a panelist and vice president of security and management for MasterCard International. Another speaker, James A. Hanisch, executive vice president-operations for CO-OP, told Wirz "we all feel your pain." -
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