IDENTIFYING CHECK FRAUD
People steal stuff. That’s why I, and thousands of people around the world have a job. That’s why you’re here, reading this very article. You want to know how you can stop people from stealing your stuff. You see the hundreds of cool gadgets and tags that you can use to protect your stuff. Great, but what about the people who steal your stuff but actually “pay for it”. You know, perhaps with a phony check? So how do you protect yourself from check fraud?
The more and more that time goes on, checks are becoming a less and less common form of payment. I actually have stores that have accepted less than 2 dozen checks in all of the last fiscal year. On the flip-side, check fraud continues to be big business for the criminals. Unfortunately, a lot of small business owners don’t have the luxury of a third party company to process their checks. So how are you supposed to spot a phony from a real check?
One of my most prolific check fraud cases happened a few years back. I had a very skilled and very organized group of about 10 that were printed and manufacturing their own checks and then using them to purchase large value pre-paid Visa gift cards. They were using actual account numbers from identity theft victims that were obtained by a dishonest person working in the billing department of a local hospital. So as customer’s were writing checks to pay their medical bills, the accountant would lift their information and give it to the printers, who would then print out the counterfeit checks with true account numbers attached. They would also create fake ID cards to shore up the act. Their one calling card, which ultimately led to their arrest, was the bank logo and name used on the phony checks.
A strong indicator of check fraud is the use of an out of state financial institution that the retailer is most likely not familiar with. It’s easier to assume the check is real when the obscure bank is across the country and not in your hometown. When we first identified this group, we immediately recognized that the bank listed on all of the checks was the “First Nation Bank of Arizona”. We immediately attempted to contact this bank to alert them of the potential security breach, but to our amazement, they did not exist! There was clearly a typo in the name, and a resulting investigation showed that the account numbers linked on the checks actually linked back to dozens of legitimate banks.
Law enforcement was able to determine that each victim had written a check to a local hospital and eventually, the scheme was uncovered and the ring broken up. A few people involved actually received some significant prison time. It also gave me a lesson in identifying check fraud that I still use and train to this day: If it looks suspicious, just Google the bank!
Get more information on Check Fraud, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
People steal stuff. That’s why I, and thousands of people around the world have a job. That’s why you’re here, reading this very article. You want to know how you can stop people from stealing your stuff. You see the hundreds of cool gadgets and tags that you can use to protect your stuff. Great, but what about the people who steal your stuff but actually “pay for it”. You know, perhaps with a phony check? So how do you protect yourself from check fraud?
The more and more that time goes on, checks are becoming a less and less common form of payment. I actually have stores that have accepted less than 2 dozen checks in all of the last fiscal year. On the flip-side, check fraud continues to be big business for the criminals. Unfortunately, a lot of small business owners don’t have the luxury of a third party company to process their checks. So how are you supposed to spot a phony from a real check?
One of my most prolific check fraud cases happened a few years back. I had a very skilled and very organized group of about 10 that were printed and manufacturing their own checks and then using them to purchase large value pre-paid Visa gift cards. They were using actual account numbers from identity theft victims that were obtained by a dishonest person working in the billing department of a local hospital. So as customer’s were writing checks to pay their medical bills, the accountant would lift their information and give it to the printers, who would then print out the counterfeit checks with true account numbers attached. They would also create fake ID cards to shore up the act. Their one calling card, which ultimately led to their arrest, was the bank logo and name used on the phony checks.
A strong indicator of check fraud is the use of an out of state financial institution that the retailer is most likely not familiar with. It’s easier to assume the check is real when the obscure bank is across the country and not in your hometown. When we first identified this group, we immediately recognized that the bank listed on all of the checks was the “First Nation Bank of Arizona”. We immediately attempted to contact this bank to alert them of the potential security breach, but to our amazement, they did not exist! There was clearly a typo in the name, and a resulting investigation showed that the account numbers linked on the checks actually linked back to dozens of legitimate banks.
Law enforcement was able to determine that each victim had written a check to a local hospital and eventually, the scheme was uncovered and the ring broken up. A few people involved actually received some significant prison time. It also gave me a lesson in identifying check fraud that I still use and train to this day: If it looks suspicious, just Google the bank!
Get more information on Check Fraud, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
