Bank Heists, So whose done them? Options

[The Jake]

I just watched The Bank Job and got some great ideas for a shadowrun.

It got me thinking - how many people there have had characters or ran games where the PCs pulled a bank heist? Was it for a single deposit box? All the cash (ala. Heat)? Gold bullion (Die Hard 3) or a proper heist of the entire vault (The Bank Job)?

I'm curious. I'd love to hear the stories - the security in the vault, how the runners were hired/heard of the job, how they got out (if they got out)?

Discuss. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

- J.

[Bashfull]

There is little reason for banks, as physical entities, to exist in 2070 given there is little use of cash. Safety deposit boxes are about the only reason anyone would need a bank branch. Banks would be quite rare and I imagine many would exist (as some do today) on online.

They still would, though, although it seems logical that you'd have to be after something specific. Why not rob a jewellery store instead?

[Drogos]

...Why not rob a jewellery store instead?

Indeed, Mr. Pink.

[The Jake]

Physical currency is still used but point taken. A DeBeers-Omnitech subsidiary somewhere perhaps? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Hell, has anyone done a VIRTUAL bank heist? What about Zurich-Gemeinshaft? Z-O?

I can think of plenty of scenarios where someone would want to do some old fashioned B&E work to do a heist of valuable stuff. I don't mean flashbang prototypes for a certain Johnson either.

- J.

[Blade]

Did one, but because the GM had been watching a movie about a bank heist and wanted us to play it. Our goal was to steal something specific but also steal a lot of other things, so that nobody could guess what we were really looking for.
Johnson had given us an inside contact that could help us.

It went pretty smoothly: we asked the contact to get us access to some not very secure customer records. We changed the commcodes and address of a few of them to commcodes and addresses we had access to then issued a fake security memo telling that a flaw had been detected in the system used for creating some customers keys. Impersonating some of these customers we got a few of these new keys.
We then impersonated one of the customer (a corp executive) and his heavily cybered bodyguards and went in the vault. We then realized that we lacked the bank's key that was needed alongside ours to open the other lockers so we just waited for the bank employee to leave us alone (that's the usual procedure: the customer has to be alone when he accesses the content of his locker), our hacker triggered a fire alarm and the borgs busted some lockers open with their redlined cyberarms. We also used a smoke grenades so that the employees coming to look for us didn't see what we'd done. We got out and away.

[wusselpompf]

Hell, has anyone done a VIRTUAL bank heist? What about Zurich-Gemeinshaft? Z-O?

some time ago a couple of hackers tried to get into Z-O Gemeinschaftsbank. then they all got their brain fried. after that only a few very good hackers tried it again. and since they got their brain fried too... just forget about it.

unless you're fastjack maybe. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

[Kliko]

A Casino, yes, bank? no... our first one million nuyen heist (IMG:style_emoticons/default/spin.gif)

[Warlordtheft]

Did one, but because the GM had been watching a movie about a bank heist and wanted us to play it. Our goal was to steal something specific but also steal a lot of other things, so that nobody could guess what we were really looking for.
Johnson had given us an inside contact that could help us.

It went pretty smoothly: we asked the contact to get us access to some not very secure customer records. We changed the commcodes and address of a few of them to commcodes and addresses we had access to then issued a fake security memo telling that a flaw had been detected in the system used for creating some customers keys. Impersonating some of these customers we got a few of these new keys.
We then impersonated one of the customer (a corp executive) and his heavily cybered bodyguards and went in the vault. We then realized that we lacked the bank's key that was needed alongside ours to open the other lockers so we just waited for the bank employee to leave us alone (that's the usual procedure: the customer has to be alone when he accesses the content of his locker), our hacker triggered a fire alarm and the borgs busted some lockers open with their redlined cyberarms. We also used a smoke grenades so that the employees coming to look for us didn't see what we'd done. We got out and away.

For SOP-I take it you used nanopaste or other disguises?

[Blade]

Yes I don't remember the details, but we used some gears and a quite high disguise dice pool. We may have touched up the holopics in the records as well.

[Fix-it]

some time ago a couple of hackers tried to get into Z-O Gemeinschaftsbank. then they all got their brain fried. after that only a few very good hackers tried it again. and since they got their brain fried too... just forget about it.

unless you're fastjack maybe. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

Fastjack is what, 60?

I'm pretty sure he's wise enough to know not to fark with ZO. As the saying goes, there are Old hackers and there are Bold hackers...

[DWC]

Fastjack is in his 70s, since he was born in 1999. He's been the old semi-retired badass since the birth of SR.

[nezumi]

While most individuals have little use for small cash, I'm sure there are businesses which require the transportation of large bags of easily traded 'currency', or just bars of gold. The big problem is that any "bank" which is primarily serving large businesses is not likely to have an area where normal customers off the street can just walk in. Think of how the US Mint operates. They have fat bags of cash, and bars of gold and such, like a bank would, but they don't cater directly to individuals. I'd think a run on a US Mint depot would still fall in the same category as a "bank run", it's just the tactics would have to vary somewhat from the traditional.

And as has been pointed out, safety deposit boxes are going to be all in vogue in SR.

[kzt]

I knew a guy who did some money transport for the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago. Transporting shrink wrapped pallets of bills to/from O'Hare, a million bills per pallet iirc.. The Federal Reserve Building was a lot more heavily hardened than your average bank.

[Bashfull]

The beauty of a heist is that it leaves far less of a trail. I am open to correction, but I think the conviction rate on fraud cases is significantly higher than breaking and entering. The trick in Shadowrun, I think, is to make the job small enough so that a corp doesn't send good money after bad looking for it, or so big that the corp is crippled and can't chase you.

Again, this points to casinos and jewellery stores.

Imagine a run against a hotel's safety deposit room...

[Chrysalis]

I had a quick look at what kinds of institutions hold gold reserves: International Monetary Fund, European Investment Bank, Citibank, South-African Reserve Bank... The other problem is logistics. Each brick weighs either 1 kilo or 400 troy ounces. For you to do any kind of reasonable moving of gold you would need move about half a metric ton. Then you would have to sell that half a metric ton. Even a gold bar would then have to be forged or sold at considerable depreciation.

But this is not being cool, this is being boringly analytical about the whole thing. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Kyoto Kid]

...now in the UK (at least before the second crash) hard currency was (is?) the normal medium of exchange. Therefore banks as physical institutions would be prevalent and the classic bank/armoured car heist could still have merit.

Of course the traditional "London Bobby" and "Yard Inspector" have been replaced my the "Nats" which is basically a military organisation with military grade hardware.

[The Jake]

A Casino, yes, bank? no... our first one million nuyen heist (IMG:style_emoticons/default/spin.gif)

Details?

I had a quick look at what kinds of institutions hold gold reserves: International Monetary Fund, European Investment Bank, Citibank, South-African Reserve Bank... The other problem is logistics. Each brick weighs either 1 kilo or 400 troy ounces. For you to do any kind of reasonable moving of gold you would need move about half a metric ton. Then you would have to sell that half a metric ton. Even a gold bar would then have to be forged or sold at considerable depreciation.

But this is not being cool, this is being boringly analytical about the whole thing. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

14 dump trucks you say?

- J.

[kzt]

14 dump trucks you say?

- J.

The cool thing about SR is that you don't have to hire drivers, you just program the drone pilots.

[Chrysalis]

And then Gridlink alerts Lone Star to pull them over for driving in a residential district between the hours of 8AM to 10PM.

Ages ago I did some research into copper fields. Do you know what is the other product copper fields produce in addition to copper?

A copper field has a different type of security and access to heavy loading equipment. The only problem is delivering them off-site. If the plan does not fit the scenario - change the scenario.

[Pendaric]

armoured car heist, prisoner transport rescue and several domestic box crackes.
Magic (elemental opening doors and knocking out guards), maglock bypass, guns, matrix cover and split second timing. With a chase or two.

[martindv]

Blood in the Boardroom has a bank heist (heisting a safety deposit box) as one step in the Fuchi track.

[InfinityzeN]

And then Gridlink alerts Lone Star to pull them over for driving in a residential district between the hours of 8AM to 10PM.

Ages ago I did some research into copper fields. Do you know what is the other product copper fields produce in addition to copper?

A copper field has a different type of security and access to heavy loading equipment. The only problem is delivering them off-site. If the plan does not fit the scenario - change the scenario.

You mean copper refining? Gold, silver and platinum are the three most valuable minerals found in copper ore, while tin, iron and nickel are also extracted from it.

[Chrysalis]

You mean copper refining? Gold, silver and platinum are the three most valuable minerals found in copper ore, while tin, iron and nickel are also extracted from it.

The primary ones in copper refining is gold and silver. How about stealing that?

[The Jake]

And then Gridlink alerts Lone Star to pull them over for driving in a residential district between the hours of 8AM to 10PM.

Ages ago I did some research into copper fields. Do you know what is the other product copper fields produce in addition to copper?

A copper field has a different type of security and access to heavy loading equipment. The only problem is delivering them off-site. If the plan does not fit the scenario - change the scenario.

Copper wiring theft is quite an issue here in Australia. I'd imagine it would be elsewhere in the world too.

The primary ones in copper refining is gold and silver. How about stealing that?

Depends. If you have to get unrefined, unsmelted ore, that's a LOT of dead weight you'd have to lug about. How/where would you obtain the refined stuff?

- J.

[Chrysalis]

Most people steal pipes, roofing tiles, especially from old buildings.

Refining of ore happens on-site of the copper mine. Refinement and storage also of precious metal bars is also conducted on-site. Gold is refined and then processed into 400 pound bars and secured in a separate building for storage. Before transport they are then remelted to 400 troy ounce bars and then immediately loaded and shipped in trucks.

-Chrysalis