To better safeguard the City against the possibility of electronic bank fraud, City Controller Annise Parker is announcing new security measures and tighter internal controls for cash management and bank reconciliation.

“We read about identity theft in the headlines every day,” said Annise Parker, Houston City Controller. “The victims include corporate giants, mom and pop operations, celebrities and average citizens. No one, not even the City of Houston, is immune. We all must change the way we do business.”

The new security measures and tighter internal controls are in response to a bank fraud/identity theft ring that made $355 thousand worth of illegal electronic debits from a city account last year. Upon discovery of the problem, the Controller’s Office immediately worked with the city’s bank, JPMorgan Chase Bank, to block electronic access to all city accounts and notified the Houston Police Department. All of the money was recovered and seven people were arrested, to date. No city employees were involved, and the Controller’s Office was asked not to release any details about the incident until the investigation was nearly complete.

“The speed of electronic transactions and the increasing prevalence of financial transactions with no face-to-face human interaction means we must be even more vigilant. Our action plan includes increased oversight at every level of City government. We believe the changes we are making will put Houston on the leading edge of bank fraud security.” said Controller Parker. “We have directed JPMorgan Chase to block all electronic debits from any city bank accounts that are not preauthorized, a practice similar to the way we handle paper checks. From now on, departments needing to process legitimate credit card or debit transactions must provide assurances that proper safeguards are in place before permission will be granted. We are also requiring all city departments to monitor their bank accounts on a daily basis. In the event suspicious activity is noted, the departments have been directed to immediately contact the initiator of the transaction to determine its validity. Finally, we will strictly enforce deadlines for reconciling (balancing) departmental bank statements.” Departmental personnel were briefed on the new policies and procedures earlier this week.

“If identity thieves want the information badly enough, they’ll probably get it. But by taking a few simple precautions consumers can make themselves much less attractive targets,” said Ms. Parker.

• Order a copy of your credit report.

• Guard your mail and trash from theft/purchase a shredder.

• Secure all personal information. This includes not carrying your social security card with you and only giving the number out when absolutely necessary. Avoid using easily available information, like family and pet names, birth dates and the like as passwords.

• Monitor your personal banking activity.

• Pay attention to your billing cycles and immediately follow up when with creditors when a bill does not arrive.

• Be wary of email and telephone promotions.

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