Forgeries and How To Prevent Them

The other day, the LA Times had an interesting article by a reporter who had become the victim of stolen checks and subsequently forgeries.

The writer, while a frequent user of online bill pay, had ordered new checks to cover miscellaneous expenses. When they arrived, the package wouldn't fit in the mailbox. So, the letter carrier left them on the front porch.

I had no way of knowing that some lowlife had got to them before my wife and I did.

The author makes a good point here. Getting a better mailbox will hide those checks from would be thieves. It might be a good place to point out here, that you should never put out going mail in you mailbox either. Postal Inspectors, call it the "Steal me flag." The reason for both is the same. A would be thief is walking down the sidewalk (or by your home) and sees you have a package (and check packages are very recognizable) at your front door, or you have outgoing mail (and usually it's bill payments --they can "wash" the checks and rewrite them--) and decide to steal them.

Another way to protect yourself is to have the checks delivered to the bank (or credit union) and then pick them up there. For out going mail, take the mail to the post office and drop them in the inside mail drop. Thieves have ways of steal mail from outside mail boxes, although new designs in the newer drop boxes makes it more difficult. Never put mail in a drop box that is full, thieves can grab mail, without any effort, no matter how secure the box design is.

If you think check forgeries won't happen to you, think again. In 2005 losses to check forgeries exceeded $711 million. That number is just what it cost the banks, no one knows how many billions more it cost consumers and businesses, and none of those consumers thought they would become victims either.

Google "check forgery" and "police report" and you'll learn that if you're a victim of the former, you'll need the latter to prove your innocence.

This is something that most people don't think about. When they become a victim, they are victimized by the system, because they must prove that they didn't write the checks. It is never, just a simple thing to say, I didn't write this check. It is a big headache of telling everyone and every authority that it is a forgery and then provide the collectors with supporting documentation of the forgery.

In addition, some companies actually ask to see you ID when you write a check. These are the companies that you should be supporting. For example there are a couple of national companies, that the Topeka Police Department and Shawnee County Sheriff's office won't take reports from for stolen or forged checks. The reason? They won't check ID's. In the view of the police, if the store won't protect theirselves, in the name of convenience to their customers, then it is a waste of their time to take the report. The reason is simple. If the cashier doesn't take time to check the ID then there is no witness to testify that someone was the one who presented the check. Which means they can't make an arrest, if they were able to find someone. All of which means, those stores really don't care about you all they want is your money.

However, forgers have gotten smarter. Even if your store does check your ID when you shop there, they may not be doing it right. First off the cashier should be verifying your name, address and picture. All of which must match on both the ID and check. Further forgers have begun counterfeiting Drivers Licenses even the new counterfeit proof ones. With the right computer programs they can create the holographic images. They then print the design and either glue or stick it to a used gift card. In so doing they can open their wallets and leave the ID behind the plastic window to show "their" ID (with your information on it). Forgery experts with the police suggest (and some businesses have begun requiring it) that you remove your ID from your wallet, so that the cashier can see that it is real.

The idea some people have of, I have been shopping here for xx number of years and everyone knows me, doesn't fly. Even the forgers have regular places they shop. I can recall one such person a few years back. She came in more then a dozen times. Each time she came in to the store, she wrote a check, the cashier didn't check her ID, but she wrote it on the check for the cashier. Every one of those checks came back. Every one of the checks had a different drivers license number on it. This doesn't mean the store thinks you are a thief or forger, it just means they are trying to look out for you, while protecting theirselves as well. For me, I won't shop a store, who won't check my ID.

Remember, the more advanced these crooks become, the more inconvenienced we who are honest become.


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