Once the activity was discovered, the authorities could put out a warning bulletin to let merchants and banks know that counterfeit checks on that company in a particular amount had been uncovered and everyone could watch out for those particular checks. With this new method of gathering information to produce counterfeits, thousands of unique items could be produced, leaving no pattern to follow. Lockbox services are provided almost exclusively by large banks. Lockbox is a mature, consolidating banking business. Competitive break-even volumes are rising, and banks are being pressured to either increase their volumes, exit the business, or out source the function.
Retail lockbox tends to involve higher processing volumes than wholesale lockbox.
The leading retail lockbox bank processes about 27 million items per month, while the leading wholesale lockbox bank processes only about 4 million items per month. Look for any clues about the source of the counterfeit. With the customer's permission, notify your state bankers association and your local clearinghouse and law enforcement authorities.