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A new program sponsored by the Texas Banker’s Association and the Clearing House Association of the Southwest will hopefully have a noticeable impact on fraud. At least 90 banks in the state have implemented a program that requires tellers to obtain the customer’s thumb print prior to cashing any check written on a different bank. Later, should a check prove to be fraudulent, there will be something substantial to turn over to law enforcement.
Initial estimates by the nation’s largest bank processor, Bank America, which has implemented the program at 15 Texas banks, is that fraudulent check activity has decreased significantly: between 40 and 80 percent. Thumbprint programs in Nevada and Arizona have produced similar decreases.
Concerns have been raised that although the program may be putting a spoke in the wheel of fraudsters, it may turn out to be a temporary one. The only permanent solution may be when all businesses – retail establishments, check cashing services, and any others that might be willing to exchange cash for a piece of paper that looks like a valid check – go to a similar security system.
Florida banks have recently started a similar pilot program. They hope it will put a dent in the $50- to $100-million check fraud problem in the Sunshine State.
Texas has received inquiries from banking organizations across the country. The program may soon be tried in West Virginia, Wisconsin, Oregon, Alabama, Ohio, Oklahoma and other states trying to decrease fraudulent check activity.
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