Didn’t cheques go out of style with fax machines? Not for fraudsters. They’re still cashing in - literally.

📝 Forgery & Alteration - Crooks "wash" real cheques with chemicals, changing payee names and amounts.

✒️ Disappearing Ink - Victims are tricked into signing with special pens, allowing fraudsters to alter cheque details later.

📬 Mail Theft - Stolen cheques from residential mailboxes or postal drop-offs are still a thriving black-market trade.

💻 Counterfeit Cheques - Desktop publishing makes it easy to print near-perfect fakes that fool unsuspecting victims.

👥 Overpayment Scams - Victims receive cheques for “too much,” then refund the difference - only to find the original cheque bounces.

🏦 Business Compromise - Fraudsters intercept legitimate cheques, replace details, and drain corporate accounts.

Reality check: In 2023, the US Postal Service reported more than 300,000 mail theft complaints, many tied to cheque fraud. Losses hit $1.3 billion in cheque-related scams, according to the FTC; when old-school fraud meets the modern scale.^[ref]

🚨 Advice:

- For individuals: Use gel pens (harder to wash), never leave outgoing cheques in roadside mailboxes, monitor your accounts with alerts, and be skeptical of cheques from unknown sources - especially “overpayments.”

- For businesses: Reconcile accounts daily, limit cheque use to exceptions, store cheque books securely, and adopt Positive Pay or Payee Positive Pay (bank service that matches presented cheques against your issued list). For extra protection, issue cheques with enhanced security features like watermarks or microprinting.