When someone illegally obtains money using cheques, this is known as cheque fraud.
Types of Cheque Fraud
Cheque fraud can involve:
- Counterfeit cheques – where fake cheques that look genuine are created and used, paying for goods and services from an unauthorised account, or one that does not exist
- Forged cheques – fraudsters may steal a genuine cheque and then forge the signature of the account holder to make the payment appear authorised
- Fraudulently altered – where the details are changed on a cheque that has already been filled in and signed, such as changing the payee name or the payable amount
Preventing Cheque Fraud
According to UK Finance’s Annual Fraud Report 2024, the overall prevention rate for cheque fraud was 69% in 2023, showing that when we know what signs to look for, we can avoid falling victim to this type of fraud.
If you suspect that you, have fallen victim to cheque fraud, you should immediately contact your bank or building society, and report this incident to Action Fraud.
To help stay safe from cheque fraud, you can also:
- Look after your cheque book by keeping it in a safe and secure space
- Only accept cheques off people you know and trust
- Not accept cheques for higher amounts than you were expecting from the cheque writer
- Ask for an alternative payment, such as direct debit, especially if the payment involves a lot of money
- Look out for cheques that look or feel different to what you are used to
- Don’t pre-sign any blank cheques
- Use ink pens when writing a cheque rather than something like pencil which can be easily erased and altered
- Use a pen to put a line through any blank spaces on cheques (e.g, where you write the payment amount in words, or after the payee name) and avoid leaving large spaces between words
- Be very wary if someone writes you a cheque for more than the agreed amount, and then asks you for change – don’t accept cheques that are for a greater amount than you requested
- Avoid releasing goods or services until you’re sure the cheque has cleared
- If you’re expecting a new cheque book to arrive and it’s late, contact your bank to make them aware
- Regularly check your bank statements so that you can identify any fraudulent payments leaving your account quickly
- If your cheque book is lost or stolen, report it immediately