HOUSTON – As check fraud has surged all across the country, a new campaign called “Practice Safe Checks” is trying to help customers be more mindful and conscious when writing and handling checks.
The campaign was started by the American Bankers Association to educate everyday people on how to protect themselves from check fraud.
“It’s a lot easier these days to get access to chemicals to wash these checks, as well as get access to software where they can actually just recreate your checks completely and cash those checks,” Paul Benda with the American Bankers Association said.
Check fraud has become a much more popular offense in recent years. According to a report from the Associated Press, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network reported that banks issued 680,000 instances of check fraud in 2023, which was up from just 350,000 claims in 2021.
Back in 2022, KPRC 2′s Amy Davis spoke with Amegy Bank Executive Vice President Ken Smiley, who provided a few things you can do to help prevent these scams from happening to you:
- Pay electronically through a bank or app. This can be a payment system through the bank, like Zelle, or with a payment app like Venmo or PayPal.
- Use a black gel pen. It’s harder to lift off paper. Blue ballpoint is the easiest ink to remove from checks.
- Double-check images of checks from your account. Since most banks post images of the checks to your account, go back and make sure nothing was changed on your checks. Check to see if all of the checks that were cashed were legitimate.
- Don’t put your mail in an unsecured mailbox. Smiley suggests dropping the mail off at a box on the *inside at the post office. Don’t let it sit in an unsecured box overnight.
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If you have a problem with check fraud and you need help with your bank, you can file complaints with the Office of the Comptroller here. This agency regulates all federal banking institutions.
“Lastly, you know, check and make sure you know that when that check gets cashed so that it gets deposited, and your bank provides images of those checks,” Benda added. “Look at the back of the check to make sure whoever signed that check is the person who made it out to you.”
