Business Check Fraud Is On the Rise

Check fraud is a real—and costly—risk.

We are proud to serve a wide range of businesses, including not-for-profits, yet all have one thing in common: the threat of fraud. Unfortunately, criminals are actively scheming ways to steal from business accounts and it’s important that we hear from you within 24 hours of a suspected fraudulent item posting to your account or it’s unlikely your funds will be recovered.

What Is check fraud?

Check fraud occurs when a criminal manipulates a legitimate business check for their own benefit OR when the fraudster simply steals the information necessary to create a counterfeit check. Many times, the perpetrator then negotiates the bogus check through an out-of-state bank. Here are a few examples of what this fraud can look like.

Learn More About Check Fraud

C&F Bank is dedicated to staying on the cutting edge of fraud detection and protection services and keeping best practices in place. We are working hard to protect your business and you can play an active role, too.

Here Are Steps That You Can Take to Protect Your Account:

Enrolling in Online or Mobile banking to monitor all your transactions daily.
Online Transaction Alerts to monitor transactions the moment they occur.
Electronic Statements to avoid mailbox theft of documents and information.
Online Bill Pay to minimize exposure to the information on your paper checks as they travel through the mail to vendors.
C&F Positive Pay service to notify us of the checks you’ve legitimately issued.
ACH Control to tell us what electronic debits you have authorized.
ACH Origination to send and receive payments electronically.
Payroll Services to pay your employees by direct deposit or reloadable payroll card.

Learn More About Positive Pay and ACH Control

We’re always here to help if you have concerns about fraud, and it’s important that you contact us within 24 hours of a suspected fraudulent item posting to your account or it’s unlikely your funds will be recovered.

Please call or visit your local C&F Branch or call our Customer Support Team at 800.296.6246 if you have questions about these tips or the fraud prevention services available to you through C&F Bank.

Check Fraud