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ON GUARD - Fraud Spotter #20
Check Fraud

by Laura Quarantiello
© 2004 Tiare Publications Group

The easiest way for a con artist to gain access to your bank account is by actually using your own checks. How does he get them? The simplest way is by snatching your checkbook when you lay it down on a counter, or when you place your purse next to your chair in a restaurant. Any time your checkbook is out of your sight, it is vulnerable. Depending on the time factor involved, the con artist may take one check or the entire book. If he only takes one or two checks, it may be some time before you realize they are missing, and therefore some time before you can alert the bank to stop payment. A little time is all a con man needs.

Con artists often steal outgoing mail from mailboxes, hoping to find a check before it's picked up by the mail carrier. Never leave outgoing checks in the mailbox for long periods of time before pickup. Try to put them out right before your mail carrier is due. This cuts down the amount of time a check thief could have access to your mail.

If he can't get a blank check through theft the con man will steal a used check and wash it with a special chemical. After about fifteen minutes, the ballpoint ink rinses off and the check can be dried and used again. Never throw canceled or blank checks away without first ripping them into several pieces.

Schemers, who work through the mail or by telephone may ask you to send them a blank, canceled or voided check for verification. This is rarely a legitimate request. Don't let your checks - blank, voided, or used - get into anyone else's hands. Computers and laser printers allow the con artist to produce very realistic-looking checks in a matter of minutes, right from a desktop publishing set- up. Often the design and information on a stolen check is used to create a good illusion on a forged check. Professional check forgers study check styles, printing, lettering size, numbering and routing codes and then design realistic duplicates.

Check forgery costs citizens over five billion dollars a year, yet the experts say that it takes less than ninety seconds to ascertain whether or not a check is the real thing. There are six basic steps the professionals follow:

Look for perforations: a real check has perforations on at least one side. Checks dispensed by state and US governments may be smooth- sided, but they are the only commonly used smooth-sided checks.

Inspect the ink: copied checks are often produced on color copiers. Investigators moisten the tip of a finger and draw it across the face of the check; if the numbers and letters smudge, the check is a forgery. Also, the numbers at the bottom of the check should be flat; on a forged check they may be raised. Modern day check scanners can detect fake checks by reading the ink: real checks have magnetic ink.

Look at the routing codes and transit number: code numbers at the bottom of checks are often forged. Numbers are examined closely for any that disagree, such as a transit number different from a routing code.

Scrutinize check numbers: checks are usually issued with sequential numbers at the top which are repeated in the routing code at the bottom of the check. Pros can catch a forgery by looking to see if the two agree.

Look at the paper: forged checks are often printed on bond or other paper that would be substandard for legitimate checks. An investigator will feel the paper, look for bad printing, misspelled or unaligned words and low check numbers. He will also look carefully at the signature for gaps which might result from the hesitancy of someone attempting to forge the name.

Watch the customer: con artists trying to pass bad checks may act nervous or hesitant. They may also try to convince tellers or cashiers to change their check cashing procedures to give them more time and help to avoid detection. Experts advise anyone working a cashier position to watch for this behavior.

A con man can also use his own checks to commit fraud. He may open a checking account and give a phony number address on a real street. It takes some time for new checks to be printed, so the con artist tells the bank clerk that he is moving and might not be at that address for delivery. He arranges to pick up the checks at the bank, which insures that the address is never tested. The con man accepts his checks and immediately hits the stores for a shopping spree. Banking officials say that it often takes up to five days to discover whether or not a personal check is good. By the time the bounced check is discovered it's too late. Even tracing the name on the check is of no help because the address is bogus.

Deposit slips can be a con man's way in, too. Banks and savings and loans have been ripped off in the past by swindlers using deposit slips. In this case, a knowledge of printing goes a long way. The con man appropriates a stack of blank deposit slips, imprints them with his bank code number and returns them to the customer desks at the bank. Then, every time a customer uses one of these slips, their money is unknowingly deposited in the swindler's account. Laws today prevent pre-printed bank deposit slips from being left out for customers.

*The pages on Lady PP's Heart of the Home are being re-formatted. Page designs may vary until this process is completed. The newly formatted pages will contain links to additional information in the right hand column that you will find useful.

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