What the banks are doing to prevent fraud

There are a range of other fraud prevention measures at both bank and industry level. These include:

• C&CCC shares information with Financial Fraud Action UK regarding fraudulent activity in the cheque and paper credit world. Financial Fraud Action UK is the umbrella under which the financial services industry co-ordinates its activity on fraud prevention, presenting a united front against financial fraud and its effects. Financial Fraud Action UK ( www.financialfraudaction.org.uk ) works in partnership with The UK Cards Association on industry initiatives to prevent fraud on credit and debit cards, with the Fraud Control Steering Group on non-card fraud and the Cheque & Credit Clearing Company on credit clearing and cheque fraud.
• The industry sponsors its own specialist police fraud squad - the Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit (DCPCU) to target the organised gangs behind cheque fraud.
• Banks are focusing on identifying lost or fraudulent cheques as they pass through the clearing system. The industry has a good track record: in 2009 the overwhelming majority of attempted cheque fraud was spotted and stopped in the cheque clearing process.
• The Cheque Printer Accreditation Scheme (CPAS) helps combat fraud by requiring all customer chequebooks are printed to the highest security standards. All cheque printers have to be accredited by this Scheme.
• Security features on cheques are particularly effective in combating both counterfeit and fraudulently altered cheques. CPAS is managed by the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company.