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Due diligence: Dig out the truth or pay the price
Remember those days digging for clams on the beach? It was always a pleasant surprise when you dug into the moist sand and found one. Then you’d put it in your bucket and move randomly along to see if you could find more for the planned steamed supper.
There is another type of digging that, if done randomly, would present a much less pleasant result. The book Digging for Disclosure Tactics for Protecting Your Firm’s Assets from Swindlers, Scammers, and Imposters is a guide book written by Kenneth S. Springer and Joelle Scott for digging for clues before an investment is made in assets, companies or people. The authors’ goal is to help investors avoid paying the price for not conducting an adequate due diligence inquiry.
Some of their suggested lures for success are not that difficult, even for the novice clam digger.
They say it’s important to conduct an exhaustive background check on anyone you’re thinking of hiring or investing money with. Review court documents if an initial background check reveals any civil, criminal or bankruptcy filings, and institute an ongoing monitoring procedure.
Too often, people are not what they appear to be. Congressman Weiner, Senator Edwards and Governor Spitzer are a few recent examples of chameleon-like characters.
Click here to read more about ways to do due diligence before hiring or investing.
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Stop check fraud at the source
It depends on who you talk to about the total actual losses that are incurred annually from check fraud, but it is estimated to be between $10 billion and $20 billion.
Most of these losses are money that is lost for good. The FBI will not usually pursue the recovery of anything less than $100,000 because of its overflow of cases.
 This recently hit home with a client who had over $1 million of fraudulent checks presented against his account. Fortunately, the company had services in place that stopped every check from being cashed.
It used to take weeks of work to cash a fake check because the thief had to handcraft the checks from scratch, and information about a company’s checking account was not so freely available.
In today’s technology-based world, anyone can find out the account information needed to create a fake check with a little investigation.
In addition, the basic tools to craft a fake check are more readily available. Check stock paper can be easily purchased in any office supply store, and today’s color graphic printers and scanners can be purchased in
all-purpose drug stores or discount merchandise stores. This equipment is decreasing in price while increasing in capabilities every month due to the heavy competition in the printer and scanner industry.
Here are some security features that can be implemented by a company to prevent or substantially reduce the risk of a loss from a fraudulent check being cashed by your bank.
Click here to read more.
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Tips for protecting against credit card theft
Hundreds of millions of dollars are lost to credit card fraud each year. For consumers and companies using credit or debit cards, adopting certain safeguards can be critical to avoid becoming another statistic.
Recent events
Earlier this year, Michael’s Stores announced that it and its customers were the victims of a massive debit card  fraud perpetrated against their stores located on the East Coast.
Data thieves had hacked into their processing equipment, stealing debit card accounts and PIN numbers. Thieves created bogus cards and proceeded to make ATM withdrawals on unknowing victims’ bank accounts.
Types of credit/debit card fraud
A common misconception is that your cards must be stolen for someone to charge on them.
Data thieves have become increasingly sophisticated in their practices.
Dishonest clerks are using skimmers or readers to scan your information while processing your cards for purchases. Others are taking pictures of the cards/security codes. Stores or online merchants retaining account numbers/security codes have been hacked into, exposing this information to thieves who quickly resell it.
Click here to read some of the ways you can decrease your risk as a consumer and credit card user.
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