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Small Business Crime: Bookkeepers Save Employers from Fraud |
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Written by HBM
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 | | home office |
Avoid check and credit card fraud
America’s small businesses are 100 times more likely to be the victims of fraud, says Steve Sahlein, co-president of the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (www.AIPB.org). Many small firms are simply swept under by what has become an annual $50 billion in check fraud and $1 billion in credit card fraud.
To avoid check fraud, look for:
Any check without at least one perforated edge.
Signs of alterations or erasures, especially in the signature or numerical and written amounts.
The absence of a background design on the check.
The absence of either a bank logo or bank name in the regular lettering.
The absence of the bank address.
A glossy, crayonish appearance or any lack of detail or sharpness (indicates counterfeiting).
A rough texture (indicates possible erasures).
Faded colors (may indicate chemical bleaching).
Routing numbers (at the bottom of a check in computer-style type) in proper dull, non-reflective magnetic ink.
The numbers on the signature panel slant left and match the numbers on the front of the card; and
Embossed account numbers on a Visa card begin with a 4 and are 13 or 16 digits — on a MasterCard account numbers begin with a 5 and are 16 digits.
The account number begins with 34 or 37 and is 15 digits;
The account number on the front and back match; and
The signature panel has wavy black lines and is not plain white or smudged (altered card). HBM
Previously published in the February 2007 issue of HOME BUSINESS® Magazine, an international publication for the growing and dynamic home-based market. Available on newsstands, in bookstores and chain stores, and via subscriptions ($15.00 for 1 year, six issues). Visit www.homebusinessmag.com |
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