The crimes are being committed by lone computer buffs to international organized crime groups. Recently, experts from the Secret Service and the FBI warned Congress about the thriving new kind of fraud from conterfeit checks. The motivation behind these schemes is greed. The goal is always money.
Estimates vary widely about the magnitude of the problem.
He added that the counterfeit checks finance gangs that traffic in narcotics, commit extortion, and run auto and jewelry theft rings. The rapid spread in this type of crime can be attributed to the rising use of personal computers and desk-top publishing programs. Ten years ago, producing quality counterfeit checks required expensive offset printing equipment and a fair degree of skill. Today, all that is needed is a laser scanner to capture the image of an original check, a personal computer to alter the data and a quality laser printer. To offset this problem, banks are attempting to use technology to fight technology.