Are You Still Running “SPF 15” Check Fraud Protection?
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Check fraud has surged, with deposit fraud up roughly fourfold since pre‑pandemic levels.
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Criminals increasingly steal and resell mailed checks via dark‑web markets.
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Banks and businesses now rely on image forensic AI and behavioral analytics to flag fraudulent checks early.
Summer is here, and everyone is talking about SPF. But, while your accountholders are thinking about sunscreen, fraudsters are turning up the heat on your check channels. Advanced Fraud Solutions recently posed a smart question: “What’s your fraud SPF?”—a metaphor for how well protected financial institutions really are in today’s fraud climate.
For check fraud, many banks and credit unions are still operating with the equivalent of SPF 15 in an environment that looks more like UV index 11+. Fraudsters now exploit high‑quality printers, stolen mail, and even generative AI tools to create counterfeits, forgeries, and alterations that are extremely difficult to spot with the naked eye.
The Check Fraud Climate Has Changed
Traditional defenses—manual review, basic rules, and transactional analytics alone—were never designed for this level of exposure. When a fraudulent check looks nearly identical to genuine items on your system, gaps in image‑level controls become the fraudster’s best friend.
Check fraud losses don’t appear as a single “sunburn”—they accumulate over time in write‑offs, investigation hours, and operational friction. By the time a pattern is obvious, multiple accounts, branches, or channels may already be compromised.
High “Fraud SPF” for Checks: Image Forensic AI
For check fraud, a high SPF comes from image‑based, real‑time defenses that see what traditional tools miss. OrboGraph’s OrbNet Forensic AI technologies analyze check images to detect the telltale signs of counterfeit, forged, and altered items—before losses are taken.
Key analyzers include:
- Check Stock Validation (CSV‑AI) to identify counterfeits and stock substitutions
- Automated Signature Verification (ASV‑AI) to flag forged signatures
- Writer Verification (WV‑AI) to flag forged signatures and unusual handwriting
- Alteration Detection (AD‑AI) to catch changes to amounts and other critical fields
By combining these image analyzers with existing transactional and behavioral controls, you dramatically increase your “fraud SPF” against modern check fraud schemes.