FinCEN: Banks lead in reporting mail-related check fraud

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said it received more than 15,000 reports from financial institutions on mail theft-related check fraud in the six months after it issued an alert on the issue last year.

Bank Reporting: FinCEN said:

• It received 15,417 Bank Secrecy Act reports from 841 financial institutions on more than $688 million in reported suspicious activity in the six months after it issued its February 2023 alert.

• Banks filed 13,618—or 88%—of the reports, while securities firms filed 885 and credit unions filed 882.

• Small and midsized banks accounted for the majority of the reports from banks.

Key Outcomes: In its analysis of the BSA reports, FinCEN identified three primary outcomes after checks were stolen from the U.S. Mail:

• 44% were altered and then deposited.

• 26% were used as templates to create counterfeit checks.

• 20% were fraudulently signed and deposited.

Contact ICBA: ICBA continues to raise awareness of check fraud in the news media and encourages community bankers to share their experiences and input on the challenge of check fraud at checkfraud@icba.org.

Resources: For more information on check fraud, community bankers can:

• Listen to an Independent Banker podcast on the issue.

• Download ICBA’s check fraud guide.

• Join the fraud subgroup on ICBA Community.

• Read Independent Banker’s latest article on check fraud mitigation tips.

• Watch the recording of ICBA’s ThinkTECH Solutions Forum on fraud.

READ FINCEN’S REPORT