ICBA spotlighted payments fraud trends in a presentation to the Financial Education and Literacy Commission, a statutory commission chaired by the Treasury secretary and comprising the heads of 24 federal agencies.
About the Presentation: ICBA Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Policy Scott Anchin—the only presenter not representing a federal department or agency—discussed the outsized economic impact of community banks, how payments fraud and scams affect Main Street communities, contributors to the surge in check fraud, and how community banks are working with customers to reduce payments fraud and scams.
Federal Check Transition: The federal government launched an updated webpage with information on its Sept. 30 transition away from issuing paper checks for most federal payments, which responds to a March executive order. In an announcement this week, the IRS confirmed paper tax refund checks for individual taxpayers will be phased out beginning Sept. 30.
ICBA Resources: ICBA has strongly advocated a federal response to rising check fraud and offers resources to help community banks combat the problem. For instance, ICBA:
Encourages community bankers to use the Treasury Check Verification System to catch canceled, duplicate, or other problematic Treasury checks at the time of presentment.
Offers physical copies of a check fraud prevention flyer to distribute to customers.
Is partnering with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service on these flyers and other resources, including a customizable news release available on ICBA’s Marketing Resource Center.
Offers additional community banker resources—including guides on check fraud and online fraud courses—via the ICBA website.
Hosts the Fraud subgroup on ICBA Community, which features nearly 1,000 members dedicated to discussing fraud.
