“Bank robbers once needed to take hostages, wield guns, or crack safes to get their loot. Now the job often requires little more than a pair of dark sunglasses and a menacing note.”
…
“‘Banks, which used to be structured like vaults, with armed guards, and all kinds of imposing structures that said, ‘Don’t mess with us,’ have in general moved to an open, friendly tone, as a means of encouraging depositors to come in and use the bank,’ says Alfred Blumstein of the Heinz School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University. ‘That same appeal could well appeal to bank robbers.'”
(via the Christian Science Monitor: “‘Stick ’em up’: Bandits rob banks with little more than bad spelling”)