Old-fashioned cheque scam makes a comeback in US:Fraudsters erase name, amount replace with their own details

An old-fashioned scam in the US has returned in a new and dangerous form. Fraudsters are using chemicals to erase the name and amount written on cheques and replacing with their own names. This has caused cheque fraud cases to reach record levels. The FBI and US Postal Service have issued warnings urging people to adopt digital payments instead of paper cheques. Fraudsters use common household chemicals like acetone or bleach to erase information written on cheques and reissue them in their own names. This method is no longer limited to just personal chequebooks; cheques related to business payments, tax refunds, and government benefits like Social Security are also in the crosshairs of fraudsters. An incident that happened with a California couple illustrates the severity of this scam. The couple received a notice from the IRS stating they had not made a quarterly tax payment of $12,000 (₹11.3 lakh), even though their Chase Bank statement showed the cheque had cleared. Later, upon viewing the scanned copy, it was discovered that the IRS name had been erased from the ‘Pay to the Order’ line and replaced with someone else’s name. The couple complained to Chase Bank, but the bank initially refused to help, stating that the deadline for reporting fraud had expired, as the cheque had been stolen and deposited a year ago. Under the bank’s deposit policy and legal regulations, the customer is generally held responsible for losses after the deadline has passed. However, after the couple’s pressure and the case coming to light, Chase Bank reopened the investigation and traced the fraudulent account to which the stolen money had been sent. That account still had approximately $11,000 (₹10.4 lakh) remaining. This resulted in the couple recovering almost the entire amount. Bank spokesperson Jerry Dubrovsky said they are satisfied with resolving this matter and advised customers to avoid sending cheques by mail. Check your bank statement every month without fail. According to experts, in the new era of banking, banks’ automated processing systems clear cheques very quickly. This very convenience is proving to be a weakness. In the auto-clearing system, tampering with cheques, changes in color, or mismatches in handwriting are not detected. Fraudsters are directly benefiting from this. Cheque fraud cases in America have increased by 2,000% in 13 years Cheque fraud complaints in America increased from 3.5 lakh in 2021 to 6.8 lakh in 2022. High-volume mail theft cases were only 2,200 in 2010, which increased to more than 49,000 in 2023, meaning an increase of approximately 2,000%. According to Frank Albergo, president of the Postal Police Officers Association, this is now an era of organized mail crime. The FBI and Postal Service advise using e-cheques and digital payments instead of cheques.