ICBA to Congress: Community banks seeking cooperation to combat check fraud

ICBA today is raising concerns to Congress about how check fraud enabled by the U.S. Postal Service and large financial institutions is affecting community banks and their customers.

ICBA Statement: In its written statement for today’s Senate Banking Committee hearing on fraud and scams targeting consumers, ICBA says:

• Community Bankers Association of Illinois data shows how large banks and credit unions of first deposit are slow to reimburse for unresolved checks and unresponsive to community bank concerns.

• Check fraud is enabled by fraudulent accounts opened at these large institutions, despite the Bank Secrecy Act’s Know Your Customer and Customer Identification Program standards.

• Effective Postal Service security is critical to addressing rampant mail theft.

• Community banks are a critical part of the solution, with their relationship banking model preventing fraud on the front lines and supporting customer education.

• ICBA leads an industry fraud work group comprising regulators, law enforcement, and other stakeholders to share information, identify best practices, and discuss emerging approaches to combating fraud.

Resources: Amid a dramatic rise in check fraud, ICBA encourages community banks to use:

• Nacha’s ACH Contact Registry, which includes thousands of check contacts.

• The Treasury Department’s Treasury Check Verification System to catch canceled, duplicate, or other problematic Treasury checks at the time of presentment.

• Tips for filing Suspicious Activity Reports from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s alert on fraud schemes.

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