Johannesburg - Bank customers should be
wary of scams involving cheque fraud, the SA Banking Risk Information Centre
(Sabric) said in a statement on Monday.
Despite the noticeable
decline in cheque usage, various scams were being devised by perpetrators to
defraud cheque users especially where business transactions took place, Sabric
said.
A business would be
approached with an urgent order and promised payment, supported by a cash
deposit or proof of an electronic payment.
The payment would then be
made with a fraudulent cheque, leaving the business out of pocket.
Sabric CEO Kalyani Pillay
said it was crucial that payments be made in cash, or if by cheque the
recipient should wait for the cheque to clear before releasing any goods.
The centre said: "In
some cases, banks are noticing incidents where pages of business cheques are
removed from cheque books and then presented by fraudsters for large cash
withdrawals."
It was not unusual for
staff at those businesses to collude with perpetrators, with directors'
signatures forged.
"Sabric advises bank
customers to keep their cheque books in a safe place at all times, and to
immediately report lost and stolen cheques."
The centre advised to keep
returned cheques in a secure place, complete payee details in full and write
the amount in figures as closely as possible, and include the account number in
the payee line when making account payments.
Other advice included using
crossings appropriately, always marking crossed cheques "not
transferable", regularly reconciling bank statements, and using
alternative payment methods.