<p>NEW ORLEANS – A consultant and former FBI agent told CUNA Mutual's Discovery Conference that thieves perceive credit unions as lacking the security precautions used by banks and often of having more cash on hand. William Rehder told the conference that while 221 credit unions were robbed in 1990, 510 were robbed in 2001. One third of all robberies of financial institutions are the more dangerous "takeover" robberies, Rehder told the meeting, which often involve shots being fired and institution employees being intimidated. He also told the meeting that "most information" that robbers use in planning an attack comes "from the inside," sometimes from something as simple as an employee's comments to a friend or neighbor that then are passed along. Employees should be urged not to share information with anyone, Rehder urged.</p>