NEBS Provides Big Dog Cheque Security for Your Small Business
Unfortunately, it is impossible to totally prevent cheque fraud. But you can significantly minimize the risk to your business through a two-stage process: establish guidelines for cheque processing and choose cheques with multiple cheque security features.
Establish guidelines for cheque processing
Here are a few suggestions of steps you can take to strengthen your cheque issuing process to prevent fraud.
- Keep your cheque stock in a secure location and restrict access to it.
- Provide sufficient employee monitoring, segregate duties and regularly rotate staff in key positions so that no one person is responsible for both cheque issuance and reconciliation.
- Order only one set of cheques per account and immediately destroy unused cheques from closed accounts.
- When you print cheques, account for all the cheques since the previous run and remember never to leave cheques unattended at the computer printer.
- Reconcile your statements promptly and verify that the payee names on cancelled cheques have not been tampered with or altered.
Security features on cheques
Of all the varieties of cheques available in the marketplace, those that incorporate multiple layers of security features, are the wisest choice for your business, including:
- The use of holograms – multicoloured reflective foil fused to each cheque – is the single most visible deterrent to counterfeiting.
- Special features can be manufactured into the cheque paper stock itself. These work by anchoring dry toner to the paper, so printed words and images cannot be scraped off or they can be physical features of the paper that allow instant visual authentication of the document.
- Chemical protection provided by special indicators in the paper will appear as stains if the paper is exposed to common ink solvents.
- Background motifs in colour on the front and security patterns on the back of the cheque provide verification and continuity of design.
- Preprinted consecutive numbering on cheques provides a means to track your cheque supply and usage.
When you implement security procedures and choose cheques with multiple fraud-prevention features, it is less likely that your business will be subject to cheque fraud. If you would like more information, read our White Paper, How To Protect Yourself And Your Business From Cheque Fraud.
NEBS business cheques now have 7 built-in fraud protection features, the highest level of cheque fraud protection available.
