Understanding Your Local Problem

The information provided above is only a generalized description of check and card fraud. You must combine the basic facts with a more specific understanding of your local problem. Analyzing the local problem carefully will help you design a more effective response strategy later on. 

Asking the Right Questions 

The following are some critical questions you should ask in analyzing your particular problem of check and card fraud. (Depending on the local circumstances, you may need to focus on one specific type of fraud. In general, it is best to focus on one small aspect of the problem at a time, such as a single merchant or bank.) Your answers to these questions will help you choose the most appropriate set of responses later on. 

Incidents 

• Have checks or cards been targeted in other crimes such as burglaries of homes and offices, pickpocketing in shopping malls, muggings, and thefts from cars?
• When you receive reports of check or card fraud, what kinds of offenses do they usually entail: check alteration, card counterfeiting, assaults at ATMs, Internet fraud, etc.?
• Who typically reports these crimes: checking or card account holders, retailers, banks, or card issuers?
• Is online fraud (from card-not-present sales) a problem in your area? Online fraud may become apparent when fraudsters order online but arrange to pick up merchandise at the store. Do merchants report any such instances?
• Are the offenses being committed at the same or similar businesses (e.g., small, local businesses, large retailers)? If so, what are the policies of the business that manage transactions? What are the protections the business has in place to verify checks or cards?
• Are there any cases of parcels stolen or “lost” during delivery of items ordered online?
• Are there known fencing operations in or near your area? If so, what kinds of items are most commonly fenced, and are they traceable to any local stores? Do new items frequently appear in pawnshops?
• What national, regional, or local databases do public or private agencies maintain concerning check and card fraud?
• Is a specific bank, or ATM, being targeted for thefts? Is a specific retailer the common element in retail fraud purchases? 

Offenders

• Do fraudsters work alone, or in groups? How many work alone? How many work with others? How and where do they get together? How do they offend together? Why do they offend together? (Arrested offenders are a good information source, but remember that they may differ from active fraudsters in important ways.)
• What are fraudsters' demographic characteristics, such as age and gender? What is their ethnicity, as this may relate to the source of counterfeit or stolen cards, or the targeting of victims?
• Where do fraudsters live, work, or hang out?
• Do they know their victims?
• How active are fraudsters? Do particular offenders account for a few frauds, or many? Do they specialize in one particular type of check or card fraud?
• What, specifically, motivates fraudsters? Do they need quick cash to party or to support a family? Are they addicted to drugs, and if so, to what? Are they recently jobless, or are they long-term offenders?
• Do they show evidence of planning their crimes, or do they take advantage of easy opportunities?
• What special skills and techniques do they use to commit their crimes?†
• What tools do the offenders use or have access to (e.g., skimmers, network scanning at open cafes)? 

† In one study, fraudsters had worked out over 100 different ways of committing credit card fraud (Jackson 1994). In another, offenders displayed considerable innovation in switching from one technique of check forgery to another (Lacoste and Tremblay 2003).

Victims 

• How do individuals respond to their victimization?(It is likely that you will rarely speak with cardholders, because they usually report stolen cards to the card issuers, rather than to the police.)
• Are particular individuals repeatedly victimized? If so, why?
• How do businesses respond to their victimization? Do they routinely report check and card fraud to the police? (Some may be unwilling to do so for fear that police attention will drive business away, or, in the case of card fraud, because they do not have to bear the loss.) What information do they collect on the fraud? What kinds of stores report fraud: small family stores, large retail chains, supermarkets, local or regional banks, etc.? Why do they report it?
• What are merchant attitudes regarding police involvement in dealing with fraud?
• What information are the corresponding banks collecting on the fraud activity? Do they have a Financial Investigation Unit that can assist local police with addressing the issue? What procedures do they have for detecting or preventing fraud among their customers? Do they have information or notices that can assist with education of consumers and businesses?
• What procedures do they have for detecting or preventing fraud?
• Are particular businesses repeatedly victimized? If so, why? 

Locations/Times 

• Does check and card fraud occur in a specific area, on a particular day, and/or at a particular time?
• Are specific types of places targeted, such as supermarkets, electronics stores, retail chains, restaurants, or online stores?
• Do muggings or thefts from cars that entail theft of credit cards occur in neighborhoods where drug dealing is common?
• Does fraud occur at checkout in local stores?
• How do fraudsters travel to and from the scene?
• If fraudsters make “card-not-present” purchases, do they use the telephone or the Internet? Do they call stores from home or from public phones? Do they access online stores from home computers or those available in public places (e.g., college campuses, public libraries, Internet cafés)?
• Are there temporal patterns of check and card fraud? These may change due to time of year (e.g., tax return check fraud, increased card fraud at holiday season) and can assist you in focusing efforts to manage potential crime. 

Measuring Your Effectiveness