Managing a financial institution is more challenging than ever with today’s advanced technology. New regulations put in place after the 2008 financial crisis, rapidly evolving technology, and the ever-present threat of cybercrime keep management busy around the clock.
Identity theft and bank fraud are among the most prevalent threats to the banking system. This growing problem has been highlighted in a series of studies from 2012 to 2016.
2012: A U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) study concluded that 7% of the U.S. population aged 16 years old or older (16.6 million people) were victims of identity theft in 2012 and lost a total of $24.7 billion dollars.
2014: By 2014, another DOJ study showed identify theft still affected approximately seven percent of the population over 16 years old, but by then the total number of people affected had reached 17.6 million. Yet the total amount lost in these thefts had fallen to $15.4 billion, as enforcement efforts against the highest value cases had taken effect. In the same year however, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners found that $67 billion had been lost to banking fraud, 70% of which was committed by inside employees.
2016: The DOJ has yet to release its statistics for 2016, but some media reporting indicates that 2016 was an all-time high for identity theft in the U.S.
Mobile Signature Capture Can Help
Thankfully, there are technological solutions that can mitigate the risks of bank fraud and identity theft. Some of the best technologies available today are mobile signature management systems that allow bank employees to use iPad or Android tablets to capture, store, retrieve, and compare electronic signatures for use in any document that requires a signature image.
- Signatures may be captured with a camera, a stylus, or simply with a fingertip;
- Given the portability of tablets, employees may capture signatures in branch locations or on-site at customer premises;
- The more sophisticated packages allow the flexibility to capture multiple signatures for a single account or on a single document;
- When connected to internet service, signatures may be immediately uploaded to banking systems, otherwise they may be stored on the tablet for later uploading;
- Signatures may be embedded into PDF documents, a format commonly used for all manner of legal documentation;
- Some mobile signature management programs also allow for a wide range of other documents to be scanned and stored as well, such as photo IDs and passports;
Mobile signature management also allows employees to quickly find signatures by searching account data such as customer names, account numbers, and application numbers, while seamlessly interfacing with existing databases and legacy document management systems. If other copies of the signatures exist online, the new signatures may be compared electronically to verify identity and prevent fraud.
SQN Banking Can Help
Contact the tech professionals at SQN Banking Systems for help with your mobile signature management needs. SENTRY: SigTabTM can help you easily collect and manage customer signatures through mobile platforms. Our history at the forefront of fraud detection goes back almost 35 years, and we remain best-in-class in this important area of banking security. Reach out to us today via this online form.