Comments on: Internet Check Services Let Anyone Write Fraudulent Checks on Your Checking Account!

By: Dante

Dante — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 02:26:16 +0000

After receiving a check from you, the scammer goes to an Internet check-issuing service, such as Qchex.

yea, i had the Exact same thing happen to me, although they went through http://www.webmasterchecks.com

grrrr

By: Dry Dave

Dry Dave — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 00:58:51 +0000

I have a little used account that got hit twice between back statements. Under “Description” of the payee is “CHECKFREE SERVIC DIRECT DEB RMR” Yes, the spelling of SERVIC was without the final E. On bank statement next to the first withdrawal is also the name “Training Club (The)”. The only Training Club I can find on the internet is in SanDiago and I live a couple of states away. I called anyway and the SanDiego club does not have me listed as a member. I googled CHECKFREE SERVIC but came up empty. Anybody know anything about CHECKFREE SERVIC or The Training Club? Dry Dave

By: Glenn Welt

Glenn Welt — Thu, 04 May 2006 18:48:19 +0000

Commentors must live in a foreign country. In the USA bank drafts drawn on business and personal checking accounts CAN be disputed up to 60 days. If any readers doublt me and want to make a bet, bring your money to Vegas and i’ll show you a few. The CFR that applies to credit card disputes also applies to checks and drafts.

Regarding scams… If anyone contacts you by email, phone or US Mail saying they will share a large sum of $$$ with you if you help them get money out of their country RUN THE OTHER WAY!!! They’ll ask you for your bank info so they can “supposedly” wire the money into your account. Instead they create a bank draft and drain your account. This scam has been going on for over 20 years and according “60 Minutes” it still costs Americans HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR. From my experience, most of the emails and lettters originate from Nigeria which is why this scam has also been nicknamed “The Nigerian Letter.”

On the flip side, many legitimate attorneys, banks, credit unions, businesses and even law enforcement agencies do process thousands of bank drafts a day. I know because for over 12 years, I’ve provided them with the software, paper and special MICR toner cartridges.

Glenn Welt, Owner and Publisher of ChecksNet Software

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 16:00:48 +0000

Red flags should be wildly flying if Qchex and/or Nigeria or Indonesia are involved…..

By: anonymous banker

anonymous banker — Sun, 29 May 2005 05:31:21 +0000

Gosh, heaven forbid anyone go to http://www.nacha.org (National Automated Clearing House Association) or to their bank and actually *read* these regulations. Urban legends are better. X__X

If you have a business checking account, follow the advice you were given WHEN YOU OPENED THE ACCOUNT. Just check your account daily, because NACHA gives only one day to dispute fraudulent transactions. A court of law, of course, has greater power. Follow the advice you were given, though, and you can avoid seeking a judge’s help reversing a transaction.

If you have a personal checking account, check your account *monthly* for unauthorized charges. As long as you catch them within 60 days they can be disputed.

In either case, your money doesn’t just vanish when an unauthorized transaction is processed. Every movement of money within the banking system leaves an audit trail. Hollywood != real life.

(Or, to summarize, call your bank and speak to an actual banker if you’re concerned. That’s what we’re here for.)

Disclaimer, in case anyone figures out who I am: I am a bank employee but this is not banking advice. Situations vary, so contact your own banker for situation-specific advice.

By: Gurgi

Gurgi — Sun, 29 May 2005 04:25:05 +0000

Hmmm… Finally - a good reason to just get rid of checks completely!

By: Glenn Welt

Glenn Welt — Thu, 26 May 2005 15:23:32 +0000

Neither the author of this editorial nor any prior commentors have provided the REAL FACTS about bank drafts. As the publisher of ChecksNet Software which is used by banks & credit unions, criminals are constantly trying to purchase my software and/or use it to steal from businesses and individuals. Thus, years ago, I had to learn the laws and develop techniques to protect all of us. First, federal law says you have 60 days or 2 statement cycles to dispute a draft that you did not authorize. Most banks will require you to sign a sworn affadavit within that time frame. Then BY LAW, that bank MUST refund your money and send the document back through the banking system as unpaid. Second, unlike my competitors such as Qchex, ChecksNet Software includes a Banks Database and other tools for the sole purpose of verifying Accountholder information BEFORE a bank draft is deposited so that we know if it’s a legit transaction or a case of stolen ID. We use our own database to verify EVERY new order before we deliver anything that allows purchasers to create even 1 bank draft. Third, as one Chicago detective told me by phone one day, “criminals really aren’t that smart or they’d find honest ways to make a living.” Thus, criminals continue to try and purchase ChecksNet Software using stolen or bogus bank info. As my staff & I catch them, we inform victims, their banks, law enforcement and we post suspect information on the checksnet.com website so law enforcement agencies can cross-reference cases and arrest criminals. Fourth (and this one may surprise you) giving someone permission to draft your account is SAFER than mailing them a check because, checks are frequently stolen from US mailboxes AND anyone with your check also has a copy of your signature. Therefore, with the aforementioned 60 day rule and lack of your signature, doing a check by phone/fax/email or website to pay a bill or make a purchase really is the safer choice. - Glenn Welt, Owner/Publisher of ChecksNet Software

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 26 May 2005 12:20:15 +0000

Does saying “Qchex.com does not endorse, guarantee, verify or investigate transactions undertaken by users of Qchex.com” really shield them from liability if someone uses their service to fraudulently write a check?

Should I preemptively sign up just to protect my own accounts?

How many other “services” are there like Qchex?

This is insane…

By: martinelli

martinelli — Thu, 26 May 2005 04:46:33 +0000

You’ve got about 24 hours to reverse demand draft checks if you knew beforehand they were submitted for payment from your account, otherwise it’s a lawyer and a criminal case if you can get the evidence together. The paying bank (your bank account) has only 24 hours after receiving the check to determine if it’s fraudulent. If nothing raises flags, you have lost the money. Given the high state of automation today, nothing will raise an exception. See MSNBC “Easy check fraud technique draws scrutiny”.

73% of demand draft checks audited at one bank were fraudulent.

Qchex does not in any way verify that the person opening an account has any rights to the routing and account numbers used. Treat ALL CHECKS from this company as suspect.

If a criminal has set up an account using your bank routing number and account number, verbatim “Qchex also protects you from unauthorized use of your bank accounts by locking out ALL your bank account numbers from use by any other Qchex user without your explicit approval.”

Any recourse, verbatim “Qchex.com does not endorse, guarantee, verify or investigate transactions undertaken by users of Qchex.com.”

And how does Qchex guarantee security from fraud? Once again, verbatim “Registering your bank accounts with Qchex ensures no one else can setup or access your account numbers on the Qchex system,”

This is only one of many such avenues for demand draft check fraud, but I’m trying to find where this particular site might have a fraud hotline to report misuse of account information.

It needs to be up front and personal.

By: Justin Mason

Justin Mason — Wed, 25 May 2005 18:50:21 +0000

Crazy.

So, essentially, we should monitor everything that goes out of our checking account via the printed and online statements?

So what exactly happens if such fraud occurs? Will a bank consider us “innocent until proven guilty”, or vice versa?

This sounds like a total mess.