A solitary light burns late into the
night in a downtown office tower. Inside, a production assistant toils
alone at his computer, carefully manipulating the images on the screen
with his mouse. At first glance, you might think he's adding the
finishing touches on the latest advertising campaign, diligently
putting in the overtime that will earn him a coveted promotion. Upon
closer inspection, you'll see that instead he is actually using the
company's own computers and color printer to create counterfeit
company checks! For whose company does this employee work?
Unfortunately, the answer could be...yours!
When you think of counterfeiting, do you
conjure up images of seedy characters printing tens and twenties on a
run-down printing press in some remote garage? Nothing could be
further from today's reality. Due to rapid advances in technology, as
well as the relatively low costs of desktop publishing tools,
counterfeiting has become a crime almost anyone can do, and record
numbers of white-collar criminals are joining the ranks.
How do counterfeiters operate?
The methods of check counterfeiters
vary. But the most common scheme is to steal or copy a legitimate
check from their own place of business. (Larger companies are easier
targets, since it is less likely that a single person reviews all
canceled checks, thus able to spot irregularities. In small companies
where fraud exists, the culprit tends to be the person in charge of
the books.)
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Using common desktop publishing tools, a counterfeiter may
scan the check into a computer, alter it, and use it in ways that
appear to be legitimate payments for goods or services purchased by
the company. Usually, the counterfeiter makes the check payable to an
alias or bogus company which he or she has established and cashes it
at a bank where an account has been established under the same name.
Another favored technique of today's
counterfeiter--which poses serious risk to any company, large or
small--is the replication of corporate letterhead or other official
documents for use in fraudulent transactions. Once a letterhead is
scanned into a computer, anyone can send out phony invoices,
investment proposals, requests for lines of credit and other
legitimate-looking documents--and make those documents payable to an
alias or bogus company. The opportunities for fraud using a desktop
computer are virtually limitless.
What can you do?
The good news for companies who want to
minimize their exposure to counterfeiting risk is that the same
technological advances allowing check counterfeiters to thrive are
also being used to combat them. Check makers and banks are
experimenting with new technologies that share a common goal: to make
the duplication of checks more difficult, if not impossible. Among the
latest technologies:
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Magnetic ink that only appears when highlighted
by a special pen; photosensitive watermarks; random visible and
invisible fibers that appear under UV light and distort copies;
chemical alteration agents; micro printing and tighter distribution
systems.
Banks are making enormous strides in reducing the risk of counterfeiting by emphasizing employee training. Employees are versed in the latest methods of check fraud and instructed on irregularities to watch for when cashing checks. Some states have even started the controversial policy of requiring banks to obtain a non-ink fingerprint from unfamiliar customers on the face of the check they are cashing, so if the check turns out to be counterfeit the culprit can be tracked down. (This technique has reportedly reduced counterfeit check cashing by up to 40% in the states where it is used, but poses obvious privacy concerns among some customers).
As desktop publishing technology
continues to improve, companies must be on constant guard to protect
their assets from unscrupulous employees. Checks, letterheads and
official documents can no longer be viewed as merely convenient
documents for the conveyance of funds, but must be recognized and
protected as assets in their own right. Understanding the latest
methods of today's counterfeiter, establishing internal controls, and
using the available technology are essential to avoiding potentially
devastating financial loss.
K
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