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How to Spot a Fake Check ... Guaranteed!

Posted by Heather Brautman | Mon, Feb 24, 2014 @ 10:19 AM

Fake CheckCollecting payment for your goods and services may often feel like you’re in the midst of a constant battle. You’ve got to swipe high-value paper cash with security markers, and you eyeball credit card machines for “Declined” messages, but what are you doing to combat counterfeit checks?

In many cases, the most merchants do is write down a driver’s license number, but once your goods are gone and that check bounces, you’re out the money. The bad news is, counterfeit and bad checks aren’t going away anytime soon. The good news? Read on...

The Rubber Hits Your Road

If you’ve ever found yourself thinking, “It’s just one bounced check” or “It’s a small loss,” think again. Bad checks are the ultimate example of the snowball effect. Depending on your net profits, even a small loss can compound into a loss far greater than the actual cost of the item. It depends, of course, on your profit margin and the delinquent account, but as you can see from this chart, one counterfeit check can take a big bite out of your piece of the pie.

Learn to Earn

One of the best ways to beat counterfeit checks is to be able to eyeball a check and simply get a feel for what’s right and what doesn’t seem correct. Check out our easy to understand explanation of all those numbers and code strings. Of course, people who consider themselves counterfeit artists make all efforts to create replicas of checks that would fool any expert. In many cases, you can’t just tell by eyeballing. That’s why a check guarantee service can save the day. You take the aspect of having to guess and judge off of your employees’ shoulders. 

Don’t Tell Them to Go Fly a Kite

Check counterfeiting evolves as technology does, so you’re not just fighting off stop payments from people whose checkbooks have been reported stolen or checks being written from false accounts. Merchants are under attack from different types of counterfeiting and check writing ruses, including check kiting and check washing. It’s bleak until you realize that you do have the power to win.

The unfortunate thing to know is that people who want to take the easy, lazy, criminal way out are always going to be working on the newest check swindle. Your best line of defense is to arm yourself with as much information as you can. Start here, with our beginner's guide to becoming a fake check detective:

 

spot fake checks

Topics: Check Fraud

Written by Heather Brautman