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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
        • 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.

        • 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.

        • 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.

  • 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>>

  • About AFS
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Your Check Fraud Training Investigation Checklist

Your Check Fraud Training Investigation Checklist

Here at AFS arming banks and credit unions with the tools to investigate and prevent check fraud is the name of the game. Check fraud is a growing challenge for FIs, despite the modifications in security measures. The risk has also increased due to the new ability of opening bank accounts through the internet and telephone which makes some of the traditional vetting done for account opening tougher. Online and mobile banking increases the challenges FIs face in securing accounts and preventing fraud in numerous ways in fact. Last year, half a million Americans lost an average of $1,200 each through check fraud. Complaints about fake checks to consumer advocacy groups and government agents have almost doubled in the last three years. To help combat these challenges, we’ve compiled a proactive list you can use to investigate check fraud. Make this part of on-going check fraud training with employees – it may help you stop more fraud than last year.

Thanks to technology, counterfeit checks have become almost impossible to spot. Creating authentic looking fake checks with some real data on them can trick even the savviest teller. Here are some ways tellers can investigate check fraud at the front line or in the back office to stop fraudulent checks before they clear.

Learn about TrueChecks®

6 check fraud training tips for tellers at the front line

Forged routing numbers

Every check has a nine-digit routing number, which is the number of the bank the check is drawn from. Forgers mostly change the first two digits that indicate the location of the bank in the 12 Federal Reserve Districts. You should compare these numbers carefully as the forgers buy more time by changing them. 

Confirm customer’s identification with a state-issued, valid photo ID

The use of expired driver’s licenses is a common trend among forgers. Always ensure the information used is current. Also, be sure to get the current address of anyone cashing a check if they are not an account holder at your FI. Having that extra information can help you report fraud if it’s found out later. 

MICR line ink 

Whereas real magnetic ink may have a shine or gloss sometimes, a fake check will be dull and non-reflective. The banks sorting equipment rejects items that use non-magnetic ink as it is unable to read the MICR line. However, this does not stop the processing of the checks as the banks apply a new magnetic strip. This is because there are many legitimate checks with unreadable MICR lines hence this test is not enough to allow the treatment such checks as fraudulent items. For forgers, it only means it will take additional time to process their checks. This significantly reduces the time available for the bank to return fraudulent checks. 

Perforation 

Most companies now use laser printers with MICR capabilities for their checks. These checks are similar to those produced by legitimate printers. Given the presence of micro-perforated edges in these checks, it is almost impossible to detect a fake one. 

Fake check color

When investing check fraud, a slight difference in colors may go a long way in detecting a counterfeit item. It may be possible to identify a fake check when fanning through a group of returned checks by color. By looking for checks with two colors of ink on them or with a different color or darkness on the signature separate from the rest of the check, you may be able to spot a forged check. 

Compare trends on the account

Often, bad checks will be written in amounts unusual for the typical activity on the account. Training tellers to review the account to see if the check value is unusually high can help them flag the check for further review and could potentially save the FI a lot of money in lost revenue.

With new technology and better printers, forgers are excelling at their craft which makes spotting bad checks at the front line of your FI even harder. Deploy these tips in your training programs to help tellers spot potential problems and of course, run every check that meets your FIs guidelines through TrueChecks® to see if the AFS database has data on that check or account that can help your teller make the right call. We’re here to help with fraud training.

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Learn how our powerful fraud prevention tools mitigate losses from check, card, or online banking transactions for banks and credit unions nationwide.

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  • Who We Work With
    • Credit Unions
    • Banks
    • Partners
  • Solutions
    • TrueChecks®
    • TrueCards®
    • Positive Pay by AFS
    • TrueACH® with Account Validation
  • Insights
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    • White Papers
    • Webinars
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