Bad Checks And Credit Card Fraud
How to Handle Bounced Checks:
1) Send it through the bank a second time. It is always good to call the bank that the check is from and ask if it will go through before redepositing it so that you are not charged a second fee.
2) Try to contact the check writer and give a time limit on payment
3) Sign a complaint at the City Prosecutor’s Office.
4) The Prosecutor’s Office will handle it from here.
Any bad check in excess of $200.00 is considered to be a felony offense. Several checks written within a 90 day period that total over $200 may constitute a felony
It is easy to get a fictitious name and identification, allowing criminals to open bank accounts and obtain credit cards. Check their identification. I took a check once from a teenager, only to learn from the police a few days later that it was a stolen check with a forged signature. I was then informed I was out that money with no way to collect. Training your employees how to accept checks to be alert to some common signs is your first line of defense.
- Always ask for an ID (A driver’s license is best) and compare the photo and signatures.
- Ask for a date of birth.
- Do not accept a two party check.
- Look for low numbered checks – A lot of bad checks are numbered below 200.
- If only a P.O. box is listed on the check, ask for a residential address.
- Make sure written and numerical amounts agree.
- Make sure check is dated same day you receive it.
- Post check limits.
- Poor print quality of the check. (Counterfeit checks sometimes have poor print quality).
- Signature that goes beyond the signature line (the forger has limited experience writing someone else's name and the signature will often extend past the signature line).
- Legitimate checks should have one perforated edge.
If you have received a check you think is a forgery, take it to the Police Department All forged checks are felonies, even if the amount is under $200.
Credit Card Fraud
Never accept a credit card which is broken, cut, damaged, or expired. Witness the signing of the sales draft.
Ask for supporting identification and compare signatures and/or photos.
Train employees to check for:
- Holograms badly faked with tiny bits of aluminum foil.
- Misspellings on the card.
- Alterations on the signature panel.
- Discolored, glued or painted cards.
- Cards that appear to have been flattened and re-stamped with different numbers
