Insight
AFS Fraud Insights: Check and ACH cases to study this week
Stolen, altered check triggers six-figure loss before stop-pay lands
A Kansas City case shows how a stolen and altered $881,324 check was deposited and quickly converted to cashier’s checks and cash before a stop-payment reached the bank.
- Require enhanced KYC for new business accounts with large first deposits.
- Tighten large-item review and exception holds for new-to-bank deposits.
- Use payee name verification and teller prompts that flag altered payee names.
Source: U.S. DOJ, W.D. Missouri
Leaders of nationwide check-fraud ring get 421 months combined
Three leaders attempted to deposit at least $15 million in stolen checks and obtained $2.9 million in proceeds through accounts at banks and credit unions.
- Harden business account opening and verify entities and beneficial owners.
- Monitor for multi-state mule deposits and rapid withdrawals.
- Automate reviews for sequential large deposits and cashier’s checks.
- Solution fit: TrueChecks connects to a powerful consortium of historical check information.
Source: U.S. DOJ, S.D. Iowa
ACH insider embezzlement exposes Fed-account gaps
A former bank vice president ran roughly 273 fraudulent ACH transactions over a decade from the bank’s Federal Reserve account, totaling more than $2.3 million.
- Enforce dual controls and separation of duties on ACH and Fed account reconciliations.
- Lock down ACH file deletion and editing, review audit logs daily.
- Set alerts for overdrafts and unusual ACH velocity.
- Solution fit: TrueACH validates accounts and stops ACH payments before the losses occur.
Source: U.S. DOJ, N.D. Alabama
Industry snapshot to benchmark risk
Check fraud continues to dominate, with ACH and wire also elevated. Use this data to calibrate controls and training.
Source: PYMNTS Intelligence
