NEW rules to help beat bank fraud have been recently introduced. People who still write cheques made payable only to a bank or building society may have their cheque declined. To safeguard against cheque fraud, banks and building societies now recommend that extra details like the name or account details of the beneficiary of the cheque should be added. The new arrangements are intended to make it absolutely clear who should benefit from the funds and help prevent fraudsters paying in stolen cheques.
Banks and building societies hold accounts of millions of customers and if the cheque is made payable simply to XYZ Bank/building society, there is nothing to identify which account the money is meant for. By making a cheque payable to XYZ Bank and adding the account number or name, it is clear who the funds are intended for.
Cheques made out to individuals or business customers will be unaffected. Paul Smee, Chief Executive of APACS, the payment industry’s trade association, said: Although most of us are handling cheques less and less on average, we only pay in one cheque every two months this small change to the way we write them will have a big impact on fraudsters. Most customers do this already but we want to reach those others who have not changed how they write out cheques to reduce the opportunities for criminals to commit fraud, as well as minimising the chances of anyone falling victim to this type of scam. Ian Mullen, Chief Executive of the British Banker’s Association said: The new arrangements reflect the importance that financial institutions place on fraud prevention. Although instances where fraud has occurred, it is crucial that the industry continues to make life for the criminal as difficult as possible.
Fortunately, private investigators offer a simple, reliable service when it comes to resolving and finding evidence of cheque fraud.
The new measures are simple, but provide additional security when a cheque is made payable to an institution such as a bank or building society. And Adrian Coles, Director-General of the Building Societies Association, said: It came to our attention that cheques which were written only to an institution, not a named account, had been used in a fraud. We want to stop that happening again. It is important people get into the habit of adding extra details to their cheques rather than risk a cheque being declined or their money being fraudulently deposited into someone else’s account. See also: Fraud Investigations > Online Fraud Investigations > Dating Fraud > Copyright Infringement > Insurance Enquiries > Means Enquiries