Cheque fraud is arguably his specialist area; in spite of a drop in global consumer cheque volumes in recent years, one of the oldest forms of payment fraud remains in worryingly rude health.
According to recent figures released by the UK’s Cheque and Credit Clearing Company, losses increased from £34.3 million in 2011 to £35.1 million in 2012. In the US, it’s also a salient issue for corporates; the latest ‘Payment Fraud and Control Survey’ reports that 87% of cash managers, analysts and directors claim to have incurred instances of cheque fraud in 2012.
“In the US, 75% of payments made from one company to another are still made by cheque,” explains Abagnale. “That’s something like 39 billion cheques a year, so there hasn’t been that much of a drop. And, worryingly, with new technology, it is becoming even easier for criminals to forge and doctor cheques.”
During his own spree, Abagnale created fake cheques through the use of a Heidelberg press so cumbersome and large, it necessitated finding a room the size of an auditorium to house, not to mention transportation via scaffolding.
In the US, 75% of payments made from one company to another are still made by cheque.Today’s perpetrators, he argues, have a considerably easier time of it, needing nothing more than a laptop, scanner and colour printer to produce “almost perfect” duplicates.
“There is a certainly an argument for technology breeding crime,” says Abagnale. “Forty years ago, cheque forgers needed everything from solvents and ink eradicators to acetones and hydrochloride. And even then, you had to be extremely careful not to disturb the fibres behind the paper.
“Today, all you need is to steal a cheque out of the mailbox, put it in the scanner, delete and replace the payee’s name, load up some cheque paper and press print. It’s that simple.”
Abagnale believes there needs to be greater vigilance on the part of banks and customers. For the latter, this entails exercising ordinary care and ensuring that statements are reconciled on a frequent basis in order to avoid culpability.
The same goes for banks, particularly front-office staff and tellers. Has an overdependence on automated technology, such as high-speed sorting machines, come at the expense of human rigour and adequate training?
“Three decades ago, when I was asked to speak in front of banks, my audience was nearly always comprised of tellers,” he says. “Today, I am hired to speak in front of corporate customers instead. With such little training available, most tellers don’t even know how to spot a counterfeit bill, no less a counterfeit cheque.
“There could also be more exposure in the media. In the 1970s, I used to do spot ads under the tagline ‘Take a tip from a retired master forger’, offering advice on how to protect your cheque book and privacy. Sure, they were goofy, but I think they served a real purpose.”
