You’ve taken the first step and identified where in your operations you may be vulnerable to counterfeit fraud.
The next step is to target the appropriate solutions to those vulnerabilities and design an overall solution strategy. This is achieved by determining what are the types of fraud and the level of potential losses at each of the different points of vulnerability?
We could take two sample businesses as an example of how this might work – a bank branch and a fast-food restaurant.
In a bank branch, customers can conduct transactions in a number of locations. Teller windows, new accounts desk, loan department, safety deposit, currency exchange, and even a wire transfer window may exist, depending on the bank and the location. In this scenario, each of the transaction locations has the potential to be exposed to a variety of different fraud-types, e.g. counterfeit currency, fake identity, forged negotiable instruments, etc. However, the greatest risk exposure is likely to occur at the loan officer’s desk, and at new accounts. It is these locations where counterfeit ID’s may be used to perpetrate a large fraudulent event, such as a line of credit against a home, or the opening of a business checking account which might be used by money launderers. In addition, the bank will be required to adhere to several prominent regulatory requirements to make sure they know the individuals with whom they are transacting.
In this instance, it may not make sense to make the investment into high-end equipment in all of the transaction locations. Rather, it might be enough to place an
ID-150 or
Penta scanner in a location where the loan officer and the new accounts person can easily access it so they can comply with the Know Your Customer laws. In the meantime, simpler, lower-cost
UV Products can be placed at the various teller window and safety deposit locations to enable the tellers to examine the wide variety of documents that FraudFighter UV detectors are able to verify.
Automated Currency Detectors might make sense in the wire transfer or currency exchange counters where large quantities of cash may be seen more frequently. This allows for the multi-layered approach to fraud prevention that most experts are recommending these days.
Turning now to the fast-food restaurant location, the primary focus is going to be on currency losses. Assuming the restaurant does not deal with alcohol sales, nor do they accept personal checks, the need for ID authentication is significantly reduced. Instead, the location should be focused on authenticating currency. For this purpose, the question comes-down to – do you want the cashiers making a subjective decision (e.g. “Yes, I see the appropriate ultraviolet security feature), or would you prefer that the equipment they use make the decision for them? Also, the restaurant management should consider whether other types of payment are seen, and have they experienced problems with, for example, traveler’s checks, gift checks and coupons. However, if currency is the sole concern, then it is likely that the restaurant can place a
CT550 at the front counter, and another at the drive-through, and be fully covered.
Every business is different, and every situation is variable. If the restaurant offers alcoholic beverages, then ID authentication becomes an issue. If the bank is strongly focused on international commercial clients, or originates a large number mortgage loans, then ID Authentication and Identity Credentialing become greater concern and the need to prove compliance with Bank Secrecy Act will become more prominent.
