Canadian Bankers Association | Senior Money Memos

Apparently with Cheque Fraud there is a new twist on an old con. It is not sufficient to just hear from your bank that the cheque has cleared before you use any part of the funds.

Most cheque-clearing systems used by North American banks don’t know, with 100% certainty, for months if a cheque is good. That’s because cheques have to physically travel between banks, branches and processing centres to be truly verified. Until the journey between the bank where the cheque is deposited and the paying bank is completed, there is no confirmation that a cheque is legitimate. The depositing bank essentially credits the depositor with the funds while the cheque undergoes the “clearing” process. It can take a long time for a bank to figure out a cheque is fake and conmen rely on those bank lag times in order to pull off their crime.

Jay Stark, Vice-President of the fraud department at the Royal Bank, is quoted as saying that “the customer remains responsible” even if the bank has given the cheque clearance. Apparently the law allows a bank to come after a customer, up to six years later, for a bad cheque. Stark has promised to take up the issue of cheque clearance with the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) and the Canadian Payments Association (CPA).

If you suspect the source of a cheque, then you are best advised to not even take it to the bank for deposit, since there can be fees involved in the cheque going through the clearing process. Not all phony cheques look phony. There are many horror stories so be warned and be very, very cautious.

The first Google definition for the word ‘check’ is examine so as to determine accuracy, quality, or condition. The very name is encouraging you to do your due diligence on that piece of paper that looks so much like a genuine cheque. Do check it out: it may save you a lot of money.

Technorati Tags: Canadian Bankers Association, Canadian Payments Association, check, cheque, clearance

Today is Data Privacy Day 2009. On January 28, the United States, Canada, and 27 European countries celebrate Data Privacy Day together for only the second time. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner to show its support for Data Privacy Day offers The Top 10 Ways Your Privacy is Threatened.

The Fraud Prevention Tips e-mail newsletter for January from the Canadian Bankers Association came out this week. Data Privacy is a big part of that message too. The Newsletter provides a useful reminder of the constant vigilance we all need to exercise in our financial affairs. If you do not receive the Newsletter, you might wish to sign on.

It’s not difficult to find information on what you need to do to avoid such bank fraud attempts. For example, the State of Illinois has a short and useful checklist on how to Protect yourself against bank fraud.

The website for the Canadian Bankers Association is another useful resource with a wealth of information on how you can protect yourself against bank fraud. The website covers many of the issues you need to be concerned about:

Credit Card Fraud
Debit Card Fraud
Identity Theft
E-mail Fraud/Phishing
Vishing
Staying Safe at the ABM
Real Estate Fraud
Avoiding Counterfeit Bills
Protecting Your Personal Information
Stay Safe Online

Did you recognize all of those? What about vishing? Apparently it is a word that has been around some time since an FBI webpage on vishing dates back to the early 2007.

Here is a short description of Vishing.

Vishing stands for “voice phishing” and is a new twist on the phishing e-mails that you may have received, but now the criminals are using the phone as well to trick consumers into revealing personal information.

Vishers will send out an e-mail to thousands of people which looks like it is from a reputable organization, such as a credit card company, online retailer, bank or government agency. The e-mail may warn of a security alert and ask you to call a local or toll-free number where an automated attendant will ask you to punch in personal information, such as your credit card number, social insurance number or online banking password. After you do that you may be disconnected without speaking to anyone, but the criminals will have your information.

Perhaps you would not fall for a vishing telephone call, but you should make sure that you have checked out all the other ways someone might be trying to catch you out with some type of bank fraud. Given the current state of the economy, such schemes are even more prevalent. So watch your Data Privacy not only today but throughout the year.

Footnote: If you are interested in books on Banking, then why not visit the Banks section of the Money Bookstore.

FTC has a message for vishing victims (macworld.com)
The Privacy Dilemma (techcrunch.com)

Technorati Tags: Canadian Bankers Association, Data Privacy Day, Identity theft, Phishing

Senior Money Memos

Personal Finance From A Senior Perspective

Tag Archives: Canadian Bankers Association

Check Those Cleared Bank Cheques – A New Scam

Data Privacy To Protect Against Bank Fraud

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