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Advanced Fraud Solutions

First in Fraud Defense

  • Who We Work With
        • WHO WE WORK WITH

        • Credit Unions
        • Half of the top 100 credit unions trust Advanced Fraud Solutions to serve as their omnichannel deposit fraud mitigation systems, protecting check, card and ACH.

        • Banks
        • Banks from $100 million to $100 billion rely on Advanced Fraud Solutions for their deposit fraud data, and to help them make real-time decisions on items.

        • Partners
        • Financial services hardware and software providers partner with Advanced Fraud Solutions because of their industry-leading fraud mitigation services and years of experience.

  • Solutions
        • TrueChecks Logo
        • TrueChecks®
        • Despite falling check volume and usage, check fraud continues to rise. Our real-time deposit fraud detection software catches bad checks and reduces losses for banks and credit unions.

        • TrueCards Logo
        • TrueCards®
        • Learn about Advanced Fraud Solutions’ card fraud detection tools that use Dark Web sources to pinpoint at-risk cards in your debit and/or credit portfolio.

        • TrueWire™
        • Learn about our wire fraud detection tools that safeguard wire transactions and streamline payment processing.

        • TrueACH® with Account Validation
        • Learn about Advanced Fraud Solutions’ ACH account validation tool that helps keep financial institutions in compliance and reduces faster payments fraud.

        • AFS Positive Pay Logo
        • Positive Pay by AFS
        • Learn about Advanced Fraud Solutions’ proactive check and ACH payment monitoring tool that helps financial institutions and businesses mitigate vendor and payroll fraud.

  • Insights
    • Check Fraud
          • 2022_Changing Landscape of Check Fraud
          • 2022: Changing Landscape Of Check Fraud

            Check fraud remains a pervasive issue. Banks and credit unions still cite check as a major fraud risk. Even despite a lower volume of checks in circulation, fraud… Download now>>

          • Check Fraud Remains a Significant Threat_300x123
          • Check Fraud Remains a Significant Threat

            Check fraud remains tenaciously persistent. Fraudsters continue to take advantage of access to inexpensive technology, social engineering tactics, and remote business practices to engage in illegal and deceptive check fraud schemes. Read now>>

          • Advanced Fraud Solutions Appoints Jordan Bothwell to Vice President of Strategic Partnerships_300x123
          • Advanced Fraud Solutions Appoints Jordan Bothwell to Vice President of Strategic Partnerships

            Advanced Fraud Solutions announced the appointment of Jordan Bothwell to Vice President of Strategic Partnerships. Jordan joins the position following a decade of experience in fraud prevention and… Read now>>

    • Card Fraud
          • Shedding Light On The Dark Web
          • Shedding Light On The Dark Web

            The Dark Web is home to many of the fraudsters targeting credit unions and banks. In this webinar, hosted by Q6 Cyber and Advanced Fraud Solutions, we will venture into the Dark Web (back by popular demand!) and profile the latest trends in financial fraud and cybercrime. Watch now>>

          • Advanced Fraud Solutions Adds Enhancements To TrueCards Platform
          • Advanced Fraud Solutions Adds Enhancements To TrueCards Platform

            Advanced Fraud Solutions (AFS), a leader in deposit fraud detection software, today announced updates to the TrueCards® platform, AFS’ omnichannel debit and credit card fraud prevention solution. Read more>>

          • Beating BIN Attacks: How To Protect Against Card-Not-Present Fraud
          • Beating BIN Attacks: How To Protect Against Card-Not-Present Fraud

            Card-not-present fraud (CNP) continues to flourish. In fact, there’s been a 25% increase in exposed CNP records, a total of 45 million, since 2019. Download now>>

    • ACH Fraud
      • Protecting ACH Payments_2022
      • Advanced Fraud Solutions Announces New Account Validation Tool to Address Nacha’s WEB Debit Account Validation Rule
      • How Financial Institutions Can Manage ACH Risk_300x123
      • Protecting ACH Payments

        How do financial institutions, who increasingly rely on ACH, safeguard faster payments and stay in compliance with Nacha? AFS’ new report issues related to fraud and compliance have also become top-of-mind for financial institutions.  Download now>>

      • AFS Announces New Account Validation Tool to Address Nacha’s WEB Debit Account Validation Rule

        AFS announced TrueACH® with Account Validation – a new ACH tool that enables financial institutions to confirm account status and authorized user(s). TrueACH with Account Validation was developed in response to Nacha’s WEB Debit Account Validation Rule, which requires financial institutions to apply a “commercially reasonable… Read more>>

      • How Financial Institutions Can Manage ACH Risk

        Financial institutions increasingly rely on the ACH Network to facilitate transactions. With that comes a responsibility to manage ACH risk, including helping to prevent fraudulent payments and mitigate any potential losses. Read more>>

    • Positive Pay
      • Fighting Fraud: How To Secure Business Accounts Against The Latest Fraud Tactics, Threats
      • Advanced Fraud Solutions Announces New Positive Pay Solution To Help Financial Institutions Fight Vendor Fraud
      • Looking Out For Payroll And Vendor Fraud: A Financial Institution's Guide
      • Fighting Fraud: How To Secure Business Accounts Against The Latest Fraud Tactics, Threats

        Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, fraud operators have capitalized on the behavioral shifts of workers and consumers, as well as the migration of payments online and the massive increase in PPP loans, stimulus checks, and expansion of unemployment benefits. Watch now>>

      • Advanced Fraud Solutions Announces New Positive Pay Solution To Help Financial Institutions Fight Vendor Fraud

        Advanced Fraud Solutions (AFS), a leading provider of deposit fraud detection software, today announced the launch of AFS Positive Pay – a positive pay solution designed so that financial institutions, and their enterprise customers, can proactively monitor changes in payments information. Read now>>

      • Looking Out For Payroll And Vendor Fraud: A Financial Institution’s Guide

        A financial institution’s guide to protecting business accounts from payment tampering, redirection, and business e-mail compromise. Download Now>>

    • Consumer Scams
      • Beware Of Mobile Deposit Scams
      • Romance Scams On The Rise: How Fraud Operators Exploit The Rise Of Online Dating In A Socially-Distant World
      • Four Dangerous Stimulus Scams
      • Beware Of Mobile Deposit Scams

        According to the FBI, there has been a 50% surge in mobile banking since the beginning of 2020. Download now>>

      • Romance Scams On The Rise: How Fraud Operators Exploit The Rise Of Online Dating In A Socially-Distant World

        The rise in online dating sites, coupled with the onset of social distancing in 2020, have helped make personal loneliness a target for virtual con artists. Download now>>

      • Four Dangerous Stimulus Scams

        Reports of stimulus payment-related fraud have sharply increased following the passage of the second stimulus package. Read now>>

    • Business Banking
      • Looking Out For Payroll And Vendor Fraud: A Financial Institution’s Guide
      • Protecting Business Accounts Against Fraud
      • How Banks And Credit Unions Can Build A Culture To Fight Fraud
      • Looking Out For Payroll And Vendor Fraud: A Financial Institution’s Guide

        A financial institution’s guide to protecting business accounts from payment tampering, redirection, and business e-mail compromise. Download Now>>

      • Protect Business Accounts Against Fraud

        For businesses, trust in their financial institution is paramount. But with so many businesses under attack from fraud operators, where do they turn? In this webinar, the AFS fraud experts explore the latest fraud tactics — including BEC, vendor and payroll fraud — being deployed against businesses… Watch now>>

      • How Banks And Credit Unions Can Build A Culture To Fight Fraud

        Among all the things we train our customers on here at AFS, teaching them the tips and tricks of catching deposit fraud is one of the most important. Read now>>

    • Webinars
      • ACH Payments: Preventing Fraud, Addressing Compliance

        Join AFS experts as they discuss the latest threats to faster payments; how to best safeguard ACH transitions; and what measures banks and credit unions can take to meet Nacha’s account validation requirements. Download Now>>

      • Protect Business Accounts Against Fraud

        In this webinar, the fraud experts at Advanced Fraud Solutions will explore the latest fraud tactics — including business email compromise, vendor and payroll fraud — being deployed against businesses and what financial institutions can do to help businesses proactively identify fraud, mitigate their losses and protect mobile deposits. Download Now>>

      • AFS Presents: Check Fraud Prevention 2021

        Fake check scams cases spiked in 2020. Fraud operators spied opportunities to accelerate their attacks and profit off of romance scams, secret shopper scams, unemployment scams and other fraud schemes. Download now>>

    • White Papers
      • The Changing Landscape Of Check Fraud

        In 2020, check fraud was down, due in part to branch closings and the migration to digital payment methods. Download now>>

      • Beating BIN Attacks: How To Protect Against Card-Not-Present Fraud

        Card-not-present fraud (CNP) continues to flourish. In fact, there’s been a 25% increase in exposed CNP records, a total of 45 million, since 2019. Download now>>

      • Protecting ACH Payments

        How do financial institutions, who increasingly rely on ACH, safeguard faster payments and stay in compliance with Nacha? AFS’ new report issues related to fraud and compliance have also become top-of-mind for financial institutions.  Download now>>

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How To Protect Yourself From Check Fraud Scams

How To Protect Yourself From Check Fraud Scams

While mobile banking continues to rise, check fraud scams — you remember paper checks, don’t you? — remain a big problem. One estimate found more than $13 billion in actual and attempted check fraud in 2015.

And fraudsters aren’t likely to move on for some time. A report from Bluepoint Solutions, which provides check-processing and document-imaging technology and services for financial institutions, suggests checks will remain a popular target because “counterfeiters are still counterfeiting, kiters are hard at work, identity thieves are thriving and more than 90% of all banks still deal with check fraud losses.”

Learn about TrueChecks®

Technology can advance fraud

“With technology advancements, criminals today can defraud you as a consumer … easily with a blank check stolen from your checkbook, a previously paid or canceled check found in your garbage, or a check you have placed in your mailbox to pay a bill,” says Karen Taylor, senior product manager for financial and risk management solutions at Fiserv, a technology provider for the financial services industry.

Here are some things you can do to keep check fraud in check:

  • Store your blank checks, bank statements and canceled checks in a secure place, such as a locked safe, Taylor says. Taking this step leaves you much less likely to be targeted by check fraudsters, says Josh Sheehan, vice president of sales at Advanced Fraud Solutions, a provider of anti-fraud technology and services.
  • Keep track of checks you’ve ordered from your bank or credit union. If the checks haven’t shown up in a reasonable amount of time, notify your financial institution, the Better Business Bureau recommends.
  • Report missing checks immediately to your bank or credit union, Taylor says.
  • If you no longer need them, destroy old canceled checks, bank account statements and ATM receipts, Taylor says.
  • Consider having your mail sent to a post office box, particularly if you aren’t able to check your mail regularly, Sheehan says. If you have mail sent to your home, be sure to check your mailbox frequently so that sensitive financial documents, including checks, don’t become targets for thieves.

Personal checks aren’t the only check fraud scams you should worry about, though. Check fraud scams also are a concern.

According to the Consumer Federation of America, Check fraud scams involve someone giving you a check or money order that looks real and, in return, asking you to wire money somewhere. A victim doesn’t realize it’s phony until he or she deposits or cashes the check. Someone hoodwinked in one of these scams typically loses $3,000 to $4,000, the consumer group says.

Here are a couple of common check fraud scams to avoid.

Lottery winner scams

If you receive a check in the mail and it’s supposedly a payment for lottery winnings but you didn’t buy any lottery tickets, take the item to your bank, Sheehan says. Chances are, it’s a check fraud scam. The bank can advise you about your options.

“The lottery angle is a trick to get you to wire money to someone you don’t know. If you were to deposit the check and wire the money, your bank would soon learn that the check was a fake,” the Federal Trade Commission says.

Overpayment scams

These scams target consumers selling cars or other valuable items through Craigslist, auction websites or other online platforms, according to the FTC. Unsuspecting sellers get stuck when scammers pass off fake cashier’s checks, corporate checks or personal checks, the commission says.

“If you’re selling something, don’t accept a check for more than the selling price, no matter how tempting the offer or how convincing the story. Ask the buyer to write the check for the correct amount,” the FTC advises.

Whenever dealing with checks of any kind, trust your gut, Sheehan says.

“People are generally hopeful and want to believe the best, even when their better judgment tells them not to,” he says. “Retain a level of skepticism and be aware of suspicious activity.”

—originally published in Bankrate.com

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  • Who We Work With
    • Credit Unions
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    • TrueChecks®
    • TrueCards®
    • Positive Pay by AFS
    • TrueACH® with Account Validation
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