Tracking Your Money
As more banking transactions occur online, it becomes more difficult to keep track of where your money is going—even for banks’ wealthiest clients. Over the course of 15 months, someone managed to siphon over $300,000 out of Guy Wyser-Pratte’s JPMorgan Chase account. When he discovered that the funds were missing, he expected the bank to rectify the situation, but they would only cover $50,000.
The source of Wyser-Pratte’s woe is a combination of antiquated banking laws and the explosion of online transactions. Existing regulations require that bank customers notify the bank of suspicious activity within 60 days of the activity occurring, but with online services like automated bill pay and recurring transactions keeping track of every dollar is a Sisyphean task. Furthermore, many transactions are inscrutable even if detected. Companies bill from unexpected locations and use unannounced bill processing providers, so that classifying a transaction as erroneous is a non-trivial task.
As data overload, and our inability to deal with it using traditional tools and practices, proliferates, its effects will be felt in all sectors and by all members of society. While high fees and unsympathetic bankers used to be solely the purview of the unwashed masses, they now seem poised to strike at even the wealthiest and most privileged in society. While consumers and their advocates have been railing against outdated regulations and anti-consumer policies for years, the recent addition of more influential victims might aid their cause.
Source: The New York Times, Published: August 29, 2008
Potentially relevant lectures: ENTERPRISE / INSTITUTIONAL CATEGORIZATION & STANDARDS (10/8), PERSONAL INFORMATION MANAGEMENT (10/20)
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