Makes sense, doesn’t it?

While you’re right, this kind of situation isn’t a typical branding issue, it is this kind of thing that could easily balloon into an issue that ends careers and maybe even puts a financial institution’s entire future into question. Along those lines, the question about what else Marcus may have filmed isn’t intended to be tawdry. It’s to make brand managers realize that guys like Marcus can bring your whole organization down. If he’s filmed more than toes, Marcus probably won’t be the only one to lose his job. The ensuing fallout would be awful, and something no brand manager would want to endure. Toes might not trigger a severe public reaction, but anything worse will almost certainly result in dire consequences for the CU’s brand.

As for whether policies should change, the article posed a question, not a recommendation. It’s a sensitive and difficult matter. However, if I was the head of HR at a bank or credit union, I would consider alerting staff and discussing what they might want to look out for. I’d consider issuing a policy that clarified what an employee should do if they suspect someone is filming something they shouldn’t. As an HR director, I don’t know whether my organization has a Marcus problem or not. But simply by issuing a written policy, it might be enough to stop someone like Marcus from filming at work (e.g., “Yikes, they must be on to me. I’d better stop.”). You could look at it as one part proactive management, and one part preemptive mitigation.

I hope you weren’t just going for hype here. Instead of playing super-sleuth in a ‘Look what we found!’ kind of way, let’s focus on substance. That said, I’ll try to do my part and address some of your questions.

“What can be done to prevent this kind of problem?”
Don’t hire creepy sleazeballs. Fire them if they sneak through the interview process.

“Should financial institutions develop policies concerning use of smart phones — e.g., should they kept above tables, always in plain view and never used to video anything ever?”
I love how the first reaction to this weirdo’s antics is to create a policy that affects EVERYONE ELSE in the credit union. If the CU is so concerned that this could become a reoccurring issue with their employees, I think they have a MUCH bigger problem on their hands. Also, see Derek Siver’s video – ‘Don’t punish everyone for one person’s mistake.’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPOezLL398U

“Key Question: What else has Marcus filmed? Why should we believe he draws the line at toes?”
Really? This is a key question? He’s already crossed the line; let’s not try to see to what extent. How about something with more substance that’s relevant to a FI’s brand? For example, ‘How is social media changing the way FI’s must care for their brand? Should FI’s attempt to respond/react to issues like this? How?’