After
The ABA and the law enforcement arm of the Postal Service on Tuesday announced an
Check fraud has jumped 385% since the pandemic, the
“Working together to address the unprecedented rise in check fraud offers us a number of opportunities to make a difference, including educating the public on how to safely use the mail system to send checks while also taking advantage of the advancements in payments technology banks offer,” Nichols said in a press release.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network expects another record-setting year for check fraud.
For the past three years, community banks have been complaining that their
“Certainly a lot could have been done sooner and a lot more needs to be done,” said David Schroeder, senior vice president of federal governmental relations at the Community Bankers Association of Illinois. “This is not the solution, but I don’t want to discount it either.”
Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale said increased awareness of check fraud and check fraud prevention strategies will “empower the public to protect themselves from financial harm while making it more difficult for criminals to perpetrate this crime.”
Frank Albergo, national president of the Postal Police Officers Association, said more needs to be done. Albergo has been calling for years for protection of letter carriers that are routinely being robbed at gunpoint by criminals stealing the mail. He said there needs to be a standardized way to warn customers when USPS Arrow keys have been stolen and to take blue collection boxes out of service if they have been damaged by theft.
“This may be the first time in the history of a law enforcement partnership where an anti-crime strategy does not include the utilization of uniformed police officers,” Albergo said.
As part of the effort to alert consumers, the ABA and Postal Inspectors
The ABA said it is collaborating with law enforcement and its members are training bank employees to spot red flags when consumers deposit or try to cash fraudulent checks.