Patent ID: 7922098

Claim:
Apparatus comprising: a card reader, wherein the card reader is operative to read card data from a user card, wherein the card data corresponds to a financial account; a check acceptor, wherein the check acceptor is configured to receive and scan financial checks that include thereon magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) symbols, wherein the check acceptor includes: at least one magnetic sensor, at least one transport, wherein the at least one transport is operative to move a check adjacent to the at least one magnetic sensor, wherein the at least one magnetic sensor is operative to generate electrical signals corresponding to the presence of magnetic indicia on the check; at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is in operative connection with the card reader and the check acceptor, wherein the at least one processor is operative to cause a financial transfer at least one of to and from a financial account corresponding to the card data, wherein the at least one processor is operative to determine locations of a plurality of zones on the check, which located zones include a MICR zone that includes a plurality of MICR characters therein, and which located zones include at least one further zone that does not include any MICR characters therein, wherein responsive to the electrical signals corresponding to the presence of magnetic indicia on the check, the at least one processor is operative to determine for each located zone whether the zone is dirty or clean, wherein a dirty zone corresponds to a zone that includes a detected amount of magnetic indicia that is above a predetermined threshold for the respective zone, wherein a clean zone corresponds to a zone that includes either no detected magnetic indicia or detected amount of magnetic indicia that is below a predetermined threshold for the respective zone, wherein the at least one processor is operative to determine a probability associated with the check being fraudulent responsive to whether each located zone on the check is determined to be clean or dirty.