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These 10 free CCBSO questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Certified Community Bank Security Officer blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
Forty-five days after a state bank joins the Federal Reserve System, its board has not designated a security officer. Directors propose making the appointment when the written security program is approved on day 150. They cite Regulation H's 180-day provision. Where does their interpretation go wrong?
Correct answer: D - Designation was required upon membership; the written program must be developed within a reasonable time, no later than 180 days.
"Your alarm needs an urgent update," says a visitor wearing the contracted vendor's photo badge. He asks to enter the restricted equipment room and offers to call his dispatcher from his own phone. No visit is scheduled. How should the receptionist authenticate this visit?
Correct answer: C - Ask the visitor to wait in the public area while verifying identity and assignment through the bank's established vendor contact.
A vault shortage reported at opening has disappeared from the afternoon reconciliation. The custodian says the matter is resolved. A reviewer must distinguish an explanation for the discrepancy from concealment of missing cash. Which finding most strongly supports concealment?
Correct answer: A - A transfer entry clears the shortage, but the supposed receiving branch confirms that no transfer occurred.
With a handgun visible, a robber tells a teller, "Empty the drawer. Keep your hands where I can see them." The duress button is below the counter and cannot be reached without a conspicuous movement. There is no safe escape route. The teller's immediate priority is to:
Correct answer: C - Surrender the cash with predictable movements rather than risk an unsafe alarm activation.
Ornamental screening and mature shrubs conceal the approach to a branch's employee entrance from occupied offices. The entrance already has effective access control. The security officer recommends natural surveillance as an additional protection. Which proposal implements that recommendation?
Correct answer: A - Reconfigure the screening and shrubs to expose the approach to staff view while keeping the entrance restricted.
Before speaking with coworkers, a robbery witness described "a dark car." In a later interview, she calls it "a blue hatchback." The interviewer has not suggested a color or body style. Which follow-up would best separate her own recollection from information acquired afterward?
Correct answer: D - "What did you see yourself, and what did you learn later from other people?"
After branch consolidation, a bank recorded 18 security incidents over 6,000 branch-operating days; the prior year had 24 incidents over 12,000 branch-operating days. One branch operating for one day contributes one branch-operating day. Incident definitions and reporting practices did not change. The draft board report says, "Incidents fell 25%, demonstrating improved security." Which revision is justified?
Correct answer: B - Report an increase from 2 to 3 incidents per 1,000 branch-operating days; the lower count alone does not establish improvement.
A surveillance system routinely overwrites footage after 30 days. A state member bank has identified a clip and associated transaction records as supporting documentation for a filed suspicious activity report. No legal hold or longer retention requirement applies. Which retention instruction is correct?
Correct answer: D - Preserve the supporting clip and transaction records for at least five years from the SAR filing date.
A private ATM operator provides only balance inquiries and withdrawals from customers' existing bank accounts. The bank has verified the operator's ownership and ATM locations. Replenishment cash comes exclusively from the operator's account at this bank, and loading records reconcile with withdrawals and network settlements. No unexplained activity has emerged. Which recommendation follows from these findings?
Correct answer: B - Continue the relationship with risk-based monitoring of replenishment cash, loading records, and network settlements.
A casino that is not exempt from the bank's currency transaction reporting deposits $7,200 in cash at one branch and $4,900 in cash at another branch of the same bank on the same business day. It also withdraws $6,000 in cash. The bank knows all three transactions are for this casino. How should the bank apply the CTR aggregation requirement?
Correct answer: C - Aggregate $12,100 in cash received for reporting; assess the $6,000 cash withdrawal separately rather than netting the two directions.
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