How to Deter Fraudsters Who Wash Checks

This post is part of a series sponsored by InsurBanc.

Not all financial fraud in today’s world is in the cybersecurity arena. Fraudsters are going old school and using a scheme known as “check washing.”

Imagine your recently written check taking a “bath.” Mail snatchers erase the ink on a check with household cleaning products and then recycle the checks by rewriting them out to themselves. If the check amount, authorized signature and check number remain the same, the fraud is often discovered too late to remedy. Sometimes the check amount is also increased.

According to the 2021 Association for Financial Processionals Payment and Fraud Control Survey, bank checks account for 66% of payment method fraud, making them the most vulnerable payment method.

Once of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of check fraud is to use electronic payment methods.

If you do issue checks:

Check washing may be low-tech, but it can be very effective. Stay safe.