Although crime involving checks is a relatively recent phenomenon, fraudulent check activity has grown at an alarming rate and is presently one of the most serious crimes facing the business community. This information was designed to help you prevent or minimize your losses from fraudulent (bad) checks and to provide information on prosecuting offenders.

Detection of Fraudulent Checks

• Examine both the front and back of a check for alteration and erasures.
• Feel the check. It should have perforations on one or more sides. Also, if the letters feel raised, it could be a photocopy.
• All checks should be made out in pen, not in pencil or felt-tip pen.
• Bank's name and address should be printed on the check.
• Amount in numbers should be the same as the spelled out amount.
• Examine the writing on the check. Checks that are not legible should be viewed with caution.
• Examine the date. Checks should not be accepted if they are undated, postdated, or dated over 60 days.
• Ask for identification. Check the physical description on the ID with the description of the person cashing the check. Also check the signature on the ID with the signature on the check.
• Be suspicious of the person who tries to rush you or tries to distract you.

Establish a check cashing policy for your business and adhere to it.

Procedures For Prosecuting Fraudulent Check Cases Under Illinois Deceptive Practice Law

Cook County
Checks that can be prosecuted must have been written in Cook County within the past 18 months and written in exchange for goods or services on an account that was closed. Parties who wish to file criminal charges on most NSF (non-sufficient funds) checks should contact your local police. Contact a private attorney on the following "bad" check cases: stop payment or post-dated checks, rent checks, payroll checks, third party checks (not made out to victim), checks on account or checks to pay money that is owed. Before a "bad" check case can be prosecuted in Cook County the following requirement must be met:

• Amount on check must exceed $75.00.
• Check must have passed within the 2nd District of Cook County and not drawn on an out of state bank. Checks received via mail do not apply.
• The check must have been either NSF or Account Closed on the date the check was passed. A stop payment may have been legitimately placed against the check and is therefore not acceptable as reason to institute charges.
• The person who accepted the check must be able to identify the person who presented it to him.
• The person who accepted the check must have parted with something of value, e.g. USC, services or goods.
• The person who accepted the check must not have accepted partial payment to make the check good.
• The person who accepted the check must make a reasonable effort to make the check good, e.g. sending a registered letter to the person who passed the check and demanding it be made good. Two letters must be sent at least 10 days apart.

Lake County
In order to prosecute a "bad" check case in Lake county, the following things are needed:

• The offender must have issued a check (for any amount) at a time when he received goods or services or issued a check over $150.00 for payment of an amount owed on a credit transaction.
• Submit the check to the issuer's bank on two separate occasions at least 7 days apart.
• The person who accepted the check must be able to identify the offender.
• Do not accept post-dated checks, or agree to hold a check prior to presenting it to the bank, or accept partial payment on a bad check you want to prosecute.

Seven Principal Types of Fraudulent Checks

• Non-sufficient funds (NSF) checks are those cashed by a customer with proper ID, but later returned by bank without payment because there are insufficient funds on the account on which they are drawn.
• No-such-account (NSA) checks are drawn on accounts that never existed or have been closed.
• Incorrectly written checks contain one or more mistakes: post-dated, "stale date" (more than six months old), or a written amount that doesn't correspond to the amount in figures. Banks will return these checks unpaid.
• Deliberately altered third party checks are generally payroll, cashier's checks or social security which are endorsed over to the merchant. Common example of alteration include altering the payee's name (person to whom check is payable) and raising the amount on the face of the check.
• Stolen check bearing a forged endorsement.
• Fictitious checks bearing the name of fictitious payee, fictitious maker (person who wrote check), or fictitious endorser. Counterfeit checks, which resemble real checks but are on paper not issued by a bank.