The ever-present need for check fraud protection is nothing new. Fraudsters have used checks to steal other people’s money ever since the Bank of England introduced the first modern business checks in 1694.
However, since we last blogged about check fraud, the statistics have become even more alarming:
- The Federal Reserve estimates that 30% of all fraud losses nationwide in 2024 were attributable to check fraud, second only to debit card fraud (39%).
- According to the S. Department of the Treasury, more than $30 billion was believed lost to check fraud in 2024.
- Check washing schemes have intensified, thanks in part to organized crime rings purchasing USPS® mailbox master keys on the black market.
For small businesses looking to purchase business checks, the focus on business check security features has intensified. Secure business checks are on the front line in the war against check fraud and ordering security print checks and forms has never been more important.
This blog will explore the various security printing processes and the types of features that support business check processing compliance and enable high-security business checks to deter check fraud. Our goal is to empower small businesses ordering business checks online to distinguish between the different technologies that give secure checks their name.
What is check washing?
Check washing may sound like a relic of the past but it’s a fast-growing threat that is driving heightened demand for secure business checks today. Criminals often target residential mailboxes or U.S. Postal Service collection boxes, looking to steal envelopes that might contain checks. Once they find one, they use chemical solvents — such as bleach, the acetone found in nail polish remover, or alcohol-based cleaners — to erase the ink on the check without damaging the paper.
After the ink is removed, the fraudster rewrites the check, changing the payee name and/or dollar amount. For example, a check originally written for $50 to a utility company might be altered to $5,000 payable to a fake identity. The altered check is then deposited or cashed, often before the victim even realizes it’s missing.
Of course, check washing is not the only scheme to inspire printed document security features. Fraudsters sometimes create fake checks using desktop publishing software, photocopiers and high-quality printers. Forgers may sign someone else’s name to a check without authorization. The payee or dollar amount of a check can be manually altered without the use of a chemical wash. The sheer variety of check fraud schemes in use at any one time underscores the many benefits of high-security business checks when a small business chooses to order secure checks online.
What are examples of security printing?
“Security printing” is a subcategory of the business form printing industry in which specialized techniques, materials and design elements are used to produce documents that are difficult to replicate or alter without detection.
In the case of secure business checks, the following printed document security features are utilized to provide check fraud protection.
Artificial Watermark
Symbols can be printed on corporate checks in white or transparent ink that become visible to the human eye when viewed at a 45° angle. The symbols can also be designed to fluoresce under a black light. These features are also known as simulated watermarks.
Strengths
- Artificial watermarks are difficult to replicate, providing moderate protection against copying and counterfeiting.
Defaced Voucher
A relatively simple modification to most business checks, a defaced voucher adds background printing (sometimes a logo or seal) to the blank areas of the document.
Strengths
- Pre-printing the phrase “non-negotiable” (or something similar) makes it more difficult for a fraudster to use the paper for counterfeiting.
Laid Lines
Lines are printed onto the surface of the secure checks in a specially formulated gray ink that makes alteration difficult for the fraudster.
Strengths
- Laid lines are difficult to accurately replicate with desktop inkjet printers and make cut-and-paste alterations easier to detect.
Microprinting
Microprinting is a reduced line of type that appears as a solid or dashed line — until viewed under magnification. Characters, words or phrases are then distinguishable in the image.
Strengths
Most copiers and scanners, unless capable of very high dots-per-inch quality, will “see” the microprinting as a solid line.
Tamper-Evident Coatings
A protective chemical coating is applied to high-security business checks that activates the word “VOID” when exposed to bleach, solvents or hypochlorites commonly used for washing check documents.
Strengths
- Provides moderate protection against chemical alteration of the image, although fine use of chemicals can limit visibility of the voids.
- Can be used to field-authenticate a document with the use of a chemical pen or bleach.
Thermochromic Ink
Thermochromic ink changes color or disappears when warmed and returns to its normal color upon cooling. Also known as mood ink.
Strengths
- This feature provides a good level of protection against the copying and counterfeiting of business checks.
- It can easily be authenticated in the field without any special equipment.
Toner Lock
A clear coating is printed over sensitive areas of secure checks to protect against alternation of those areas later on. The coating makes removal of laser printer toner extremely difficult compared to untreated paper.
Strengths
- Some printer and paper combinations offer poor toner bonding — which makes the check easier to alter. The coating enhances the bonding of toner to paper, complicating alteration for the fraudster.
Void Pantographs
Void pantographs are warning messages hidden in printed pantograph backgrounds which are difficult to reproduce and provide effective protection against color copier fraud. A “void” warning message appears when the corporate checks are photocopied.
Strengths
- Void pantographs provide protection against color copying. The word “VOID” appears on the photocopied image, defacing what would otherwise appear to be a good copy of the original check.
Warning Bands
Text on the face of business checks informs the persons accepting the check which security features should be present.
Strengths
- A warning band encourages verification of the document and discourages criminal activity.
Shop.Taylor: Secure Check Ordering and Forms for Businesses
Taylor has been leading the way in printed document security features for decades. In fact, many of the most advanced business check security features used nationwide were originally developed by Taylor.
Through Shop.Taylor.com, small businesses now have access to high-security laser checks and pressure seal checks with security features. Ordering security print checks and forms has never been easier. All of the check fraud protection features described above are available when you order secure checks online through Shop.Taylor.com.
Offering much more than business laser checks, Shop.Taylor.com is also a convenient online resource for business form printing including:
- Invoices and statements
- Medical forms
- Pressure-seal forms
- Purchase orders
- Shipping and receiving forms
- Tax forms
Before placing your next secure checks order, visit Shop.Taylor.com and see what’s available. Taylor, long a leader in all things related to printed document security features, has brought its many patented check fraud protection features to small businesses that prefer to order secure checks online.
