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I've actually wondered the opposite. If someone is charming enough, and has done some preliminary research on the bank's in-person screening, could they bypass

I've actually wondered the opposite. If someone is charming enough, and has done some preliminary research on the bank's in-person screening, could they bypass security with something as little as a fake ID? Overall, I don't know if there is a perfect solution. Perhaps for banks we should pee-in-a-cup DNA test in addition to other tests. For a porn site we can do a poor mans email reset.

_dark_matter_ 8y ago
I believe that DNA tests fail the same reason that eye scanners and fingerprints do: they are not private. Almost anyone can get access to any of those 3, and then they just need to figure out a way to use it on the system.
- tedunangst 8y ago
  Is it really that easy to forge someone else's DNA and bring it to a testing facility?
  - tialaramex 8y ago
    DNA is a replicator molecule. You don't need to forge it, just get a tiny sample and it will make as much as you could ever need with gear found in any high school lab.
- rhacker 8y ago
  The bank manager needs to watch you pee. jk
njarboe 8y ago
"If I forget my password, I would like to have to go to the office with my passport to reset it. This person should be high level and well trained so that social engineering is unlikely to work on them." Passport and well trained. If it was clearly a premium option that you paid good money for, the bank or brokerage could have a smart, well trained person handle this. Charge me more than $100, if that what it takes. I think if you eliminate people that don't live in your legal jurisdiction from defrauding you and make them show up somewhere in person (Russian hacker, Nigerian scams) the likelihood of the fraud happening goes down by 3-4 orders of magnitude.
- patio11 8y ago
  This is an option at many financial institutions and often required above a certain level of transaction, but retail customers don't hear about it quite so often because it's in the general category of "If you have to ask, you can't afford it." The magic word is Medallion Signature Guarantee and the mechanism is, basically, "Bank of America is satisfied that we were talking to Bob when we affixed this medallion on this paper and if we were wrong we're good for $500k." The most likely place one is likely to run into this (assuming a typical-for-HN sort of life plan) is if you accumulate a substantial amount of money in your retirement account and then try to transfer it to a different brokerage.

_dark_matter_ 8y ago

I believe that DNA tests fail the same reason that eye scanners and fingerprints do: they are not private. Almost anyone can get access to any of those 3, and then they just need to figure out a way to use it on the system.

tedunangst 8y ago
Is it really that easy to forge someone else's DNA and bring it to a testing facility?
- tialaramex 8y ago
  DNA is a replicator molecule. You don't need to forge it, just get a tiny sample and it will make as much as you could ever need with gear found in any high school lab.
rhacker 8y ago
The bank manager needs to watch you pee. jk

njarboe 8y ago

"If I forget my password, I would like to have to go to the office with my passport to reset it. This person should be high level and well trained so that social engineering is unlikely to work on them." Passport and well trained. If it was clearly a premium option that you paid good money for, the bank or brokerage could have a smart, well trained person handle this. Charge me more than $100, if that what it takes. I think if you eliminate people that don't live in your legal jurisdiction from defrauding you and make them show up somewhere in person (Russian hacker, Nigerian scams) the likelihood of the fraud happening goes down by 3-4 orders of magnitude.

patio11 8y ago
This is an option at many financial institutions and often required above a certain level of transaction, but retail customers don't hear about it quite so often because it's in the general category of "If you have to ask, you can't afford it." The magic word is Medallion Signature Guarantee and the mechanism is, basically, "Bank of America is satisfied that we were talking to Bob when we affixed this medallion on this paper and if we were wrong we're good for $500k." The most likely place one is likely to run into this (assuming a typical-for-HN sort of life plan) is if you accumulate a substantial amount of money in your retirement account and then try to transfer it to a different brokerage.