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or stealing and selling carriers' arrow keys, which unlock According to the latest internet crime report by the FBI, in
those big blue mailboxes. Then they get to work creating 2023 a BEC cost a business an average of $137,132, up from
bogus checks. It's an age-old technique: criminals "wash" $125,612 in 2022. Often that money is gone for good.
checks using something as basic as nail polish remover,
leaving the signature untouched. Then rewrite them for Despite the costs associated with fraud, many businesses
large amounts. are falling behind when it comes to protecting against
BECs. The AFP found that only 60 percent of businesses
Some fraudsters deposit checks into their own accounts; have written policies and procedures deemed necessary
others list them for sale on the dark web. Not long ago, to protect against BECs; just under 49 percent have com-
I read an article in the New York Times about a business pleted testing of these policies and procedures.
owner who wrote a check for a bill that was stolen and
rewritten for $7,200, which drained her bank account. Kicking old habits
So, why are businesses, especially small and midsize busi-
"Increasing check fraud should be reason enough for busi- nesses, so enamored with checks? One reason is famil-
nesses still issuing paper checks to ditch them in favor of iarity. They already know how the process works; there's
secure, reliable ACH payments," Michael Herd, executive nothing new to learn. Then there are existing investments
vice president at NACHA said in a statement. in systems and processes that have long supported check
Making a case for electronic payments issuance and collection.
But electronic payments can be prone to fraud, too. Busi- Skewed cost considerations are another reason. Ostensi-
ness email compromises (BECs) are one reason why. In a bly, checks are free. (At least that's the perception.) Not
typical BEC, fraudsters gain access to a business email ac- e-payments, like credit cards, which incur interchange
count by impersonating the owner or a vendor and then and other fees. Transitioning to e-payments also requires
reaching out to employees in accounting, requesting ini- investments in hardware, software and even subscription
tiation of payments. Typically, these bogus payments are fees. Some SMBs believe those costs are too high.
collected via the ACH.

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