Employee Screening Could Save Millions

By Russ Warner, VP Marketing, Operations –

A lack of employee screening cost Bancomer millions.

BBVA Bancomer is Mexico’s largest bank if you consider total assets, deposits, and number of customers. As such, it seems a little surprising that a group of impostors could get away so easily with a heist of this magnitude in Mexico City this week.

Inside Robbery

It appears that four impostors armed with shotguns, dressed as armored car employees of Grupo Tecnoval, arrived at a BBVA Bancomer branch office about 5 p.m. in the crowded Historic Center of Mexico City. The thieves presented appropriate documentation, photo IDs, and then took delivery of $9.9 million pesos (nearly US$1 million).

There were no guns fired or suspicions raised. Then, the thieves drove away in their bulletproof vests in a vehicle that looked legitimately like the armored truck that normally visits — complete with logo, paint and phone numbers.

Twenty minutes later, the real armored vehicle arrived to take delivery of the cash. At that moment, the bank manager came to realize he had been duped.

Authorities say the most plausible explanation due to the high level of detail and coordination for the robbery was that it was an inside job. It would seem most likely the thieves colluded with someone inside the armored company and/or with a bank employee because of the detailed knowledge of company procedures and policies they possessed.

Fortunately, photos were taken by security cameras. Unfortunately, there are no suspects in custody.

Could this robbery have been prevented?

Conduct Employee Screening

Organization that conduct periodic employee screening for fraud or criminal activity can deter many criminal activities. Such periodic screening can be done using polygraph testing or other highly reliable methods of deception detection, including EyeDetect by Converus.  EyeDetect has been shown to be 85 percent accurate in determining deception.  Tests can be administered in 30-40 minutes, and all results are kept confidential.

When organizations create a culture of integrity, which would include periodic employee screening for those in positions of trust, those who are culpable or who are considering committing a crime would likely either be stopped or they would self-eliminate from the ethical workforce.