hen bank customers log on to the bank's Web site to manage personal or business accounts, is their money safe? Banks always say "Yes," but who is responsible when a customer's account is compromised, the bank or the customer?

On Feb. 3, 2005, Joe Lopez, Manager of Ahlo Inc., a computer supply company in Miami, filed suit against Bank of America Corp. (BofA) in Miami District court.

Lopez is seeking to recoup $90,000, lost in what he said was an unauthorized wire transfer. BofA said that it is not responsible because the security breach that allowed the transfer to occur was not on the bank's end, "The Boston Globe" reported on Feb. 14, 2005.

On April 6, 2004 Lopez accessed his online BofA account and saw that less than an hour before, $90,000 had been wired, without his authorization, to an account at a bank in Riga, Latvia.

Immediately, Lopez contacted BofA to report the illegal transfer. The money was already gone, however; the culprits had withdrawn $20,000 and BofA refused to act, saying that it was not liable. The wire transfer had been made within completely authorized parameters.

The U.S. Secret Service, which investigates computer fraud, searched Lopez's computer and discovered a Trojan horse virus called "Coreflood" that allows hackers seemingly legitimate access to any information, including financial passwords.

Lopez's attorney said it was the bank's responsibility to warn customers about the virus.

BofA, on the other hand, maintains that customers should take appropriate cautions on their end against such risks. This includes using anti-virus software and firewalls to protect their systems. BofA said Lopez's computer had security issues, not the bank's.

According to a February 15 article in "Electronic Payments Week," the upcoming trial will have great implications on the entire financial services industry, as it delegates responsibility for fraud and theft with electronic financial transactions.