State Treasurer Issues Check Fraud Advisory to Delawareans
Dover, DE - Delaware State Treasurer Jack Markell reminded Delaware businesses and consumers today to remain especially vigilant in watching for fake checks bearing the signature of a state treasurer. A recent wave of fraudulent checks has been reported by residents and businesses in other states who are being paid for items with official-looking checks that have been forged with a state treasurer's signature.
"We've had numerous reports of people in Ohio and Minnesota whom counterfeiters have attempted to dupe into accepting fake "official looking" checks from the State of Delaware for all sorts of items - even new cars," Mr. Markell said. "If you have an item for sale, and someone tries to pay you with a local or state government-issued check, be very, very cautious."
Many of the checks have been mailed from outside of the United States and while official looking with an imprint of the state seal and address, the checks often have the amount and payee information hand-written in.
"Generally, the only part of a state-issued check that is handwritten is the signature," Mr. Markell stated. "If you have a check and something just doesn't seem quite right, it's always prudent to either call the bank or agency that issued the check to verify its authenticity."
Thanks to advances in readily-available technology such as personal computers, scanners and color photocopiers, fraud professionals have become increasingly sophisticated. The Treasurer warns citizens to use common-sense and caution when dealing with people they don't know.
"If you are doing business with people who are unfamiliar to you, including over the internet, it is particularly important to use caution when receiving checks. One of the recent scams involved a gentleman in Minnesota who was selling a dining room table online for $1,500. The purchaser sent him a check for $4,000 and instructed him to just give the balance of $2,500 to the delivery people," Mr. Markell said. "The check had a Delaware State seal and all of the contact information correct, complete with a forgery of my signature. The check was postmarked from Holland. Happily, the gentleman thought that there was something fishy and contacted our office."
The Office of the State Treasurer has a number of safe-guards in place to prevent losses to the State in situations of attempted fraud, including a "positive pay" system which catches and kicks-out checks from clearing that are suspicious. "We also continue to promote the use of automated clearing house expenditures and purchasing cards to cut down on the use of checks for vendor payments to further reduce the incidence of fraud," Mr. Markell added.
Citizens who have questions may call the Delaware Attorney General's Office Fraud & Consumer Protection Division: 302/577-8600 or toll free 800/220-5424.
