Check Fraud Is Back In Fashion - How To Not Get Taken
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Thanks in part to the popularity of “Catch Me If You Can,” a new crop of young crooks and con artists learned the old check fraud tricks and are starting to use them again.
The crooks obtain a legit check and “wash it” using household chemicals to wash off the ink and then rewrite write the check to cash or an alias they use and change the amount to whatever they desire.
One defense against this type of fraud is the use of a “secure” pen — such as the Uni-ball 207 — that dispenses ink impervious to many solvents. It’s cheap protection. The pen costs about $2.
The key is using a waterproof pigment based ink as it attaches itself to the surface of the paper making it fade resistant and virtually impossible to “wash off” the check.
[Check please, thieves say via Consumerist]
[tags]check fraud, identity theft fraud, bank check fraud, check washing[/tags]
2 Comments
Michael Durnack
May 18th, 2007
at 10:34am
Also any 39 cent Bic Roller-ball. My people tried washing it off with every household chemical that it typical in check washing scams, and it barely changed.
We ended up taking some of the original check print off and the Roller Ball ink held up.
Better yet , switch to online bill pay and debit / credit cards to eliminate the paper altogether. While checks are still useful in a few instances, you are much more vulnerable to fraud.
In today’s world you need to be more vigilant about protecting your information on all fronts.
Self defense is the best defense when it comes to your identity and personal information.
I-user
May 22nd, 2007
at 8:57pm
Actually checks are only part of the problem. The record-keeping and safe guarding of the accepting party (corporations especially) is the real problem. This includes online payments too.