Check Fraud Detection at the Dawn of the ’80s vs. Today
- Check Fraud is nothing new - it's been around for decades
- Methods to ID fraudsters were a bit different as the 80's began
- Modern check fraud needs to met with modern tools
An interesting artifact from way back in the '80s depicts a fraudster's-eye view of the techniques in play a little over 40(!) years ago. The film follows a smooth character who has decided, for some reason, to share with the viewing audience his bag of state-of-the-art (circa 1979) tricks for check fraud.
And, yes, this film is old enough to have been projected on a screen in a darkened room.
Now, some crooks use guns. Me, I stick them up with paper -- bogus checks and false ID to back it up. Actually, I make a pretty good living convincing all those marks -- uh, clerks, that all this paper is good.
There are many period-specific visuals.
- The fraudster describes his "corporate headquarters" -- which pure circa -'79 because he's wearing a t-shirt while at his desk and there's a kitchen sink in the background. This is, remember, from the era before home offices and remote working.
- Bad guys wear bad guy newsboy hats. They can't help themselves.
- Doctor, security guard, and police officer disguises designed to put the "paper hanger" above suspicion
Our narrator and guide is also known as a "passer." Home computers and printers are not yet available, so his methodology is "of the times" -- he has to steal checks from a "legit office" (while wearing a classic "I'm a robber" newsboy hat on his head). We know his friend is also a "bad guy" because she's in her bathrobe, smoking in bed while watching TV during daytime (before answering the phone so she can pretend to "verify" a bogus check, she pushes "play" on a tape recording of manual typewriters).
Check Fraud Detection Then and Now
Turns out "store application forms" were not very effective against check fraud if the stores didn't look closely at them, and our scammer is confident that they will not be thorough.
The film ends by listing contemporary methods for detecting check fraud -- and boy, have times changed!
- Look closely at all ID.
- Don't accept ID easily obtained under false names.
- Compare signatures upside down.
- Call bank when in doubt or use verification system.
- Verify information on check cashing applications.
- No one can spot a con artist by experience or instinct.
- Follow established procedures without exception.
- And, finally, don't help the fraud artist rob you!
In 40 years, check fraud has changed drastically -- particularly detecting fraudulent checks. Today, business and individuals rely on their financial institutions (FIs) to protect them from check fraud, which is why FIs are leveraging AI and machine learning for everything from behavioral/transactional analysis to image forensic AI to examine checks. Can you imagine flipping signatures upside down to compare them? Thankfully, we now have technology like Automated Signature Verification, leveraging 512 vector features to do this for us!