Check Fraud Loss Report - 2003

Check Fraud was the third most frequently reported violation.

SARs reported that checks, later returned for " insufficient funds available," were used to purchase automobiles from various car dealerships.

• Some SARs reported the theft of checks from car dealerships and then fraudulently negotiated by unauthorized individuals, in some cases by former employees.
• Other reports indicated that stolen, forged, and counterfeit checks were used to make payments on vehicles at various dealerships.
• Forged reproductions of a bank's counter-checks were made payable to a used car dealer located in a Gulf State. It is believed that these checks were computer generated.

Excerpted from SAR Activity Review Issue 5, page 69