Re: Check Fraud. On December 29, 2022, I gave a 90-minute webinar on check fraud for CPA Academy (CPAAcademy.org). The audience (1,753 attendees) were CPAs earning CPE credits. Title: "Check Fraud and the Power of Positive Pay: Looking forward to 2023." Those watching rated the webinar 4.75/5.0. It's available for anyone to watch, for free, at this link (copy, paste):
https://www.cpaacademy.org/archived_show/a0D2S00000wH7jGUAS
In this webinar, I explain how both Positive Pay and Payee Positive Pay ARE NOT foolproof; fraudsters are beating both. I also explain that placing a Stop Payment on a check DOES NOT end your legal obligation to pay that check - because of the UCC and holder in due course.
Finally, the quality of your check stock matters. If fraudsters can get you check stock (from the same sources you do), they can replicate your check perfectly - AND you can be held liable for those checks, even if they were caught by Positive Pay and returned to the check cashing store, because of holder in due course AND because the checks looked authentic (Appellate Court case).
Watch the webinar; reach out if you want more info.
Greg Litster, President
SAFEChecks
(800) 755-2265
Greg@SAFEChecks.com------------------------------
Greg Litster
President
SAFEChecks
Simi Valley, CA 93063
(800) 755-2265
www.safechecks.comGreg@safechecks.com------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 01-11-2023 08:02
From: Stephen Flatow
Subject: Check Fraud
List mates, we have run into a situation that I am sure others have experienced.
Over the past month, our Positive Pay program through Peapack-Gladstone Bank, identified several forged checks. Some of the checks do not have our name or address or the bank's name on them, others are terrific knockoffs of our checks. We filed a complaint with our local police department, but I am not sure how far its investigation will go.
However, this week we received a call from a woman in Louisiana who contacted us because she was confirming that what she was doing was legitimate.
What was she doing? She was hired to work at home and print our checks and then send them by FedEx to the payees shown on the checks! After we explained that she was getting caught in a scam, she was kind enough to provide us with an email chain from the fraudster. She also showed us that a FedEx account had been opened in our name. FedEx wouldn't tell us much other than that the account had been opened in California.
My office manager called the fraudster for info on how my manager can get paid to do what this lady in Louisiana was doing- that didn't go to far as the phone number was soon disconnected.
Does anyone on this list have similar experiences?
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Stephen M. Flatow, Counsel
Vested Land Services LLC
165 Passaic Ave, Suite 101
Fairfield, NJ 07004
973-808-6130 P
973-227-0645 F
WARNING – FRAUDULENT WIRING INSTRUCTIONS
Email hacking is on the rise to fraudulently misdirect funds. Before wiring us any money, always call our office to verbally verify our wiring instructions. Please use independent sources such as the internet, to verify our phone number. We will not be responsible for any wires sent to incorrect bank accounts.