Check Fraud Training
Check fraud, which occurs when someone uses a fake check to buy something, forges a signature or produces counterfeit identification along with a check, is a growing problem for banks and other businesses. Knowing how to spot check fraud can prevent you from losing time and money.
Other People Are Reading
-
Features
-
Criminals use real checks to make fakes ones by chemically altering them. They may erase the amount or payee's name on a check and then insert their own name or a higher amount. You can detect these changes by paying close attention to a check's physical appearance and texture. Carefully examine the check writer's signature to be sure that it matches his other writing and his signature on his photo identification. A genuine check will also always have a 16-digit MICR number, which includes the bank's routing number and the customer's account number, along the bottom.
Significance
-
Check fraud hurts consumers and banks. Keep your checks and personal information in a secure place. Criminals use unsuspecting people's personal information, such as Social Security numbers, to open new checking accounts and then write bad checks. This form of identity theft hurts the victim's credit history and the bank's reputation. Be sure that anyone paying you with a check has a valid form of photo identification that matches the name on her check.
-
Considerations
-
Many forms of check fraud exist. A common scam occurs when a criminal asks to give you a bad check in exchange for a wire transfer of funds to his bank account. Wire transfers give him immediate access to your money, but his check won't clear for at least several days. By the time his bank rejects the check, your money is gone. Avoid wire transfers, especially to people who you do not know well.
-
References
- Photo Credit check book image by Rob Hill from Fotolia.com
