Fraud is on the rise. Earlier this year, MMFA had five checks stolen from the blue postal service box outside our office. The MMFA Investigative Team (Laura, Libby, Hanna, and Valerie) determined the actual chain of events. Criminals steal, make copies of the mailbox keys, and then steal any mail that looks like a check. Thankfully, our Graystone Morgan Stanley partners alerted us to our account number circulating on the dark web, so we became aware of the more significant problem.
The US Treasury Department has sounded the alarm on the scale of the issue, reporting nearly 700,000 cases of possible check fraud in 2023, resulting in staggering losses of billions of dollars. Thieves are employing sophisticated methods, using chemicals and high-tech inks to ‘wash’ checks, altering the payee names and sometimes the amounts. Fortunately, our banking partners swiftly intervened to prevent any loss at MMFA. Our accounts have robust fraud protections, and this incident prompted us to bolster these protections to the maximum level. We are utilizing all available services to safeguard our accounts. You may not have the options we have, but explore ways to protect yourself and the assets of your organization.
What can you do? I have some recommendations:
- Don’t use checks! Use electronic transfers through your bank account, often called ACH transfers. ACH stands for Automated Clearing House and allows banks to transfer money securely between accounts in daily batches. If you haven’t done so, please work with Valerie Kiger to provide MMFA with your banking details for money movements from MMFA. As a bonus, you also avoid mail delays.
- Don’t put checks in the regular mail. Take any check to your post office and mail it directly by placing it in outgoing mail within the post office building itself. Don’t use the blue mailboxes or the mail carrier.
- Be diligent in checking your bank accounts for any strange activity. Check your bank account daily. Church Treasurers check the church’s account every day. Alert your partners of any odd transactions immediately.
- Do not leave mail sitting in a church mailbox. Secure mail so thieves do not have access.
- Guard against fraud. Verify information and protect your account numbers from getting into the wrong hands.
Nothing is 100%, but be vigilant to protect our financial resources. MMFA will take additional steps to guard against fraud and protect your assets. Forgive us if we verify things or take extra precautions with transactions. It is all for your benefit. Please help us by doing as much as possible electronically. As always, please contact us with any questions.
