Illinois banker rewarded for foiling fraud scheme

Northwestern Financial Review, Feb 15-Feb 28, 2005 by Hilgert, Jackie

When an elderly customer mentioned to the branch manager at Chicago-based Pullman Bank & Trust that he was planning a transaction in order to claim a prize he'd won, Rosa DiFronzo became suspicious. The longtime banker asked the man to tell her more about this prize and his upcoming transaction. That's when she learned the man had been convinced he'd won the Canadian lottery. Once the man wired "lottery officials" enough money to cover the taxes owed on the winnings, he told her, he'd get his prize money.

Fortunately for him and other seniors facing similar scams, DiFronzo was tuned into fraud prevention efforts. DiFronzo convinced the man not to proceed with his transaction and instead contacted authorities. Since his story hit the local news, several other seniors came forward to say they had been on the verge of falling victim to the same scam.

DiFronzo's quick thinking on behalf of her customer was rewarded in January by the Illinois Bankers Association when she became the first-ever recipient of the group's Bank Fraud Prevention Reward. Linda Koch, IBA's president and CEO, presented DiFronzo with a plaque and monetary reward for her help in saving her customer from falling victim to fraud. IBA spokeperson, Debbie Jemison, declined to say how much money DiFronzo received.

IBA introduced its Bank Fraud Prevention Reward program to monetarily reward bank employees or consumers who help in the apprehension of identity thieves or bank fraud perpetrators. The reward program, along with other identity theft and fraud awareness initiatives, were launched by IBA as part of last summer's National Fraud Awareness Week, as declared by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Bankers and law enforcement officials were asked to nominate candidates who they felt deserved the reward; members of IBA's loss prevention committee chose DiFronzo as its 2004 recipient. Nominations for the 2005 reward will be accepted through Dec. 1.

"Rosa DiFronzo epitomizes the ideal candidate and what we were looking for when we created this new reward program," said Hunt Bonan, IBA chairman. Bonan is president and CEO of The Peoples National Bank of McLeansboro. "She is a truly concerned bank employee who takes the time to know her customers and can sense when something is out of the ordinary. She never expected anything in return, but she certainly deserves it."

Prizes, sweepstakes and lotteries are among the top five categories of consumer fraud, along with identity theft, Internet auctions, catalog or shop at home sales and Internet services.

By Jackie Hilgert