Scam artists come in all shapes and forms. While working at the bank I recall a customer calling me stating emphatically that the their payment had been made. I was polite and requested the customer to come in with the copy of the receipt, so that I could research the payment. I wanted to find out what happened to the payment also. The customer had a money order. The customer’s copy showed the bank’s name as the payee. I made a copy of it and researched it only to find the cashed money order showed the bank name scratched off. Another payee name was listed. It also, showed that it was cashed by the other payee and not the bank. Now was this an honest mistake or was this a scam of the customer? This was the paper trail that had been left from this transaction.
Kiting
I remember an employee that was discharged because of kiting. When you write a check knowing that there are no funds in the account to cover it, this is considered illegal. When you write another check to cover that check and attempt to use that float time (which is the actual time the bank collects the money) that is considered “Kiting.” People that do that are hoping for the 3-7 days clearing of the checks through the bank before it is discovered there were no funds there originally. This type of procedure is against the law. Employers frown on that type of behavior. That is another reason not to mail out your payment for your bills until you have verified that the money has been deposited into your account.
Cashier Checks
Another incident that I remember involved cashier checks. This was also publicized on the News. A new bank employee, who was very nice and quiet, was involved in cashier check fraud. At the time, the employee apparently gave a cashier check to a relative in the amount of $10,000. The person in question went to another state attempting to cash it. When you cash an amount of $10,000 or more, a red flag alert goes out to the Federal Government. Also, this person falsely indicated that the President of the bank had signed and okayed the check. This was a sad incident, because I really liked the new employee, but realized I did not really know this employee. While this employee appeared to be very presentable and sociable, this employee had a dark side no one knew about.
Teller Stamps
On another occasion both husband and wife came into the bank. The husband and wife, assured me that their account had been paid up-to-date. They informed me that they had the teller stamp. They attempted to give it to me over the phone. I explained I needed a physical copy of it. They came in I made the copy, and researched it. There was no record of payment. Apparently, the husband and wife had purchased a receipt stamper at the store and stamped the coupon book themselves. I explained to them a teller stamp has her own ID number on that stamp. Now was the husband and wife attempting to scam the bank?
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Source:
Personal Experience