52% Rise in Bad Checks says B of A
Robert Randolph, Vice President and director of Investigative Service, Bank of America, Phoenix, says his bank has seen a 52% increase in recent years in check fraud involving accounts opened at its branches. According to the American Bankers Association's 1994 check fraud survey, nearly 42% of fraudulent check deposits at commercial banks in 1993 were to accounts that had been open for 90 days or less. Experts point the finger of blame for new account fraud at the banking industry's eagerness to open new accounts, and compete for business. "Banks are just to anxious to sell accounts, and the crooks know it, says Barbara Hurst, a bank security consultant based in Brookhaven, Pennsylvania. This of course means that to retailers a disproportionate amount of retail loss is the result of new account checks, in relation to new account check sales. This is of course why many smaller retailers, who do not use a check Guarantee company will decline these checks, and conversely, those who do will Guarantee selectively, with these checks at the top of their list.
Overall industry wise, new account checks numbered 1-150 and 1001-1200 account for 22.7% of all bad check loses nationally, with only 17.6% of the dollar value of all check written in this range of check numbers.
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