How I Rob Banks

Chapter 21Plush Carpets

In the corporate world, there is nothing that shows you are making money like renovating a perfectly good office. From complete redesigns to retrofitting, there are a thousand ways to spend a million dollars. The trouble with money is that it rarely buys sense—not just of style, but a sense of how security works.

We have seen in previous chapters that a failure to understand how things work together will almost always result in a failure of security rather than building it up.

More than 20 years ago, I was contracted to work for a well-known high-street bank in the UK. The bank's head offices needed some security testing, and as a leader in the field, I had been requested to go to their headquarters and perform my magic.

It was some time in the autumn of the year, and gaining access to the main building was laughably easy. The smokers huddled around the outside of the building like wildebeests at a watering hole trying to stand close enough to each other to protect themselves. In a large jacket, I was able to mill around the group, despite being a nonsmoker. The herd mentality that smokers have is unwavering, and within seconds I was welcomed into their fold after offering someone a light. It pays to be prepared for situations like this!

As with all groups, there is always a leader, and when that person finished their cigarette and headed toward the door, so did several others. I quietly followed along, and although the leader swiped their ID badge against ...