Rebeca Romero Rainey: Battling Check Fraud Together

It’s becoming a frequent and unfortunate occurrence to hear community bankers recounting stories of fraud, and the attacks range from sophisticated digital scams to paper-based fraud rings. On one hand, we’re dealing with AI-induced deep fakes and advanced phishing scams. On the other, we’re having a real Back to the Future moment as old-school check washing makes a comeback, supported by digital image-altering technology that makes it simpler than ever before. 

But with all we’re fighting, check fraud remains one of the largest single contributors to our fraud problem. Industry data puts check fraud losses over the course of a year at $21 billion, and organized crime continues to ratchet up the intensity of the attacks.

Addressing the demand

Despite these constant issues, checks remain a payment instrument of choice for our customers. In fact, the latest survey from the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) found that while 63% of businesses experienced attempted or actual check fraud in 2024, 91% reported using checks, and more than 75% said they had no immediate plans to stop using them. Thus, we still see a steady volume of checks flowing through our organizations, a rate that our customers demand.

Mitigating the fraud

To continue offering checks safely, we all must seek out advanced risk mitigation efforts. Fortunately, that’s where ICBA can help. For one, we offer our Check Fraud Resource Center, which provides guides and online courses to help community banks better prepare for emerging fraud scenarios. We also have delivered a way to connect with technology providers via our Solutions Directory, which aggregates community bank-supportive service providers that can help to address fraud. In addition, to aid customer awareness and education, we developed a customizable news release and check fraud prevention flyer that can be shared within your communities.

Perhaps one of the most powerful tools at our disposal, ICBA Community has a members-only fraud subgroup, which allows this community of community bankers to share information on the latest scams and offer heads-up alerts on emerging threats. This important information sharing helps community banks to be on the lookout for fraud that might affect them. 

Fraud is ever present, and locking arms as a community will empower us to address all that is coming this way today and all that is on the horizon for tomorrow. While we can always count on new threats, together with the right knowledge and tools, we can mitigate and lessen losses, supporting a safer, more secure environment for our customers and the communities we serve.

Where I’ll be
this month

I’ll be kicking off May at the ICBA Capital Summit. Remember, whether or not you were able to join us, you can always take part in advocacy through the ICBA Be Heard grassroots action center (icba.org/beheard).