Today’s counterfeiter has gone high-tech. The "tools of the trade" include the color copier, computer, graphics software and a desktop scanner. A decade ago, this occupation would have required investments of minimally $250,000; today capital requirements can be less than $1,000.

But Why The Urgency?
Take a quick glance at this staggering problem . . .

• Experts have placed global counterfeiting losses at about $150 billion annually, or 6% of world trade!!
• According to the latest figures put out by the American Bankers’ Association, bank losses due to check fraud exceeded $5 billion from 1991 to 1993 (a 40% increase over the previous reporting period).
• The ABA’s Check Fraud Task Force also revealed 1.27 million cases of check fraud in 1993, compared 536,000 in 1991.
• In the same study, the National Retail Merchants’ Association placed their losses due to check fraud at $16 billion.
• Funds allocated for check fraud prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution varied upon bank size. Actual check fraud related expenses ranged from $10,000 up to more than $1 million.

Banking Regulations Make Fraud Easier
Banking regulations have also added to the problem. The Expedited Funds Availability Act requires banks to give customers quicker access to funds from deposited checks. The result is that banks sometimes release funds before they discover a check is fraudulent.

Changes in the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), which took effect in 1993, now place the burden of check fraud on the party who was most negligent in preventing it. In essence, this has shifted the responsibility in most cases to check issuers and NOT their banks, as long as the bank took reasonable care in processing the check. Corporations are being held liable, if they don’t maintain sufficient controls. According to the new UCC codes, the party in the best position to stop fraud is considered liable.

Add a burglar alarm
Some companies compound the problem by not taking advantage of the latest counterfeit deterrents. Although no document is totally safe, security features act as a burglar alarm. The forger may be encouraged to move on to an easier target.

Security features can be easily incorporated into your existing check style and design. and most of them can be added with little or no additional cost the next time you're ready to order checks. We look forward to helping you reduce your risk of liability for check fraud.

There are five steps that business owners can take to lessen their risk of check fraud and liability:
1. When ording checks use state-of-the-art security features
2. Review bank reconciliation statements in a timely manner
3. Update signature cards whenever there is a personnel change
4. Notify the bank immediately when a fraudulent check is found
5. Maintain internal controls over the storage of checks.

For information on how to make your checks more secure call us at 800-285-5862.