Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued an alert for financial institutions due to a rise in check fraud schemes aimed at the U.S. Mail. Despite a decline in the use of checks, check fraud has become a significant money laundering threat.
According to a BSA report, check fraud cases have grown significantly in the past three years. In 2021, the financial institutions had 3,50,000 SARs pointing to potential instances of check fraud. This number nearly doubled in 2022, touching almost 6,80,000 SARs.
Investigating the Check Fraud Cases
Investigating check fraud cases can be overwhelming, as it often involves examining numerous checks and verifying additional documents such as deposit slips and bank statements. Gathering and sorting this extensive data manually is time-consuming and prone to errors. Additionally, deciphering handwritten checks can be challenging.
There are tools like Adobe and other OCR-based software that can capture the data automatically from checks. However, they have their limitations.
- The data captured by this OCR-based software are not 100% accurate.
- Most OCR-based software solutions are incapable of providing systematically organized data in excel sheets.
- Some of these solutions cannot process handwritten data accurately.
- Most of these solutions fail to provide features like
- one-click source verification
- automatic audit trail
- automatic creation of financial models like the flow of funds for asset tracing
- case management capability for effective collaboration
To streamline the investigation process, using a tool that efficiently collates data into an Excel spreadsheet that seamlessly integrates with visualization software like Microsoft Power BI is the optimal solution.
An ideal check fraud investigation software must also be capable of detecting, reporting, and preventing red flags outlined by FinCen, like unusual check withdrawals, checks taken from the mail and placed into unidentified accounts, and checks deposited in an unusual manner.
Here is a list of best-picked check fraud investigation software to help financial institutions to stay vigilant and identify suspicious activities.
- ScanWriter
- Seon
- Actico
3 Top Check Fraud Investigation Software to Look at in 2024
#1. ScanWriter
The ScanWriter by Personable is a cutting-edge solution to conduct check fraud investigations. It empowers banks and financial institutions with actionable insights. It is capable of converting any paper document or a digital file including bank statements, bills, invoices, receipts, insurance forms, check images, etc, into excel within minutes.
In partnership with Microsoft Power BI (Business Intelligence), it automatically prepares financial data visualizations of models like ‘flow of funds’.
Moreover, the solution offers on-premise deployment which makes it highly secure. Scanwriter supports 21 languages including Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, French, Arabic, and many more.
Why Users Love ScanWriter | Key Benefits
#1 – Quick, Accurate, and Easy Check Image Data Capture
With ScanWriter, investigators can effortlessly gather data from various sources, such as documents, pictures, and PDFs, and arrange it in an Excel sheet. The software enables users to extract information from different kinds of forms, such as bank records, credit cards, check images, and brokerage documents.
Consequently, ScanWriter saves 90% of the time that would otherwise be spent manually checking checks, while streamlining and improving data preparation.
ScanWriter can process both the front and back of a check. The software can process one 1,000 check images in under an hour and handle cases with anywhere from 500 to 100,000 check images.
#2 – Batch Processing of Check Images
ScanWriter’s bulk processing capabilities have made it a favorite among users, who appreciate its ability to handle large volumes of check images efficiently.
With the capacity to process anywhere from 500 to 100,000 check images, and the ability to capture data from up to 24 check images per page, ScanWriter simplifies the task of automated data entry. Simply direct the software to the folder containing your check images, and it will take care of the rest.
In addition, ScanWriter’s dual-screen data preview allows bookkeepers to easily review the check image and data side by side, ensuring accuracy and saving time.
#3 – Accuracy of Reading Handwritten Checks
ScanWriter’s ability to decipher handwritten checks has made it a popular choice among users. Regardless of whether the handwriting is in cursive or block letters, ScanWriter’s advanced recognition technology can accurately capture the necessary information.
Even when dealing with different computer layouts and fonts, the software is able to automatically identify and extract the relevant data.
And for those rare cases where a particular piece of information may be difficult to read, ScanWriter’s zoom feature allows you to easily magnify the image within the software for closer inspection.
#4 – Systematic Organization of Captured Data into Excel Sheets
ScanWriter has the ability to automatically capture and standardize various types of data, including dates, payers, payees, account numbers, memo fields, routing numbers, signage, and MICR codes.
Additionally, the software allows you to easily reconcile data by clicking on a particular data cell, which will highlight the corresponding information in the check image on the other side.
Furthermore, when the captured data is organized into an Excel sheet, the software also stores images of the original checks for easy reference.
#5 – Faster Way to Normalize Data
During investigations, it’s crucial for investigators to normalize the data for consistency.
With ScanWriter, you can easily normalize and organize data in an Excel table format according to your preferences, without having to manually change each non-standard occurrence, by creating rules.
For instance, ScanWriter enables you to create rules for displaying payer and payee names in all caps, improving readability and ensuring consistent formatting throughout the data.
It also allows you to create a normalization rule to display amounts in a familiar format such as 10,000.00 instead of 1000.
Additionally, you can create normalization rules to identify and group together variations of names belonging to the same entity, such as ‘Raymond & Associates,’ ‘Raymond & Associates LLC,’ and ‘RAYMOND AND ASSOCIATES LLC.’
#6 – Ease of One-Click Source Verification While Reconciling Data
With ScanWriter’s dual-screen data preview feature, you can view the check image and captured data simultaneously, reducing the chances of errors and ensuring accurate data capture. This feature eliminates the need to switch between different applications or print out check images, making the entire process faster and more efficient.
Additionally, the captured data can be easily edited or corrected on the same screen, further minimizing the chances of errors.
Furthermore, ScanWriter offers a Source Link option, which helps you verify the accuracy of the information with just a click. By right-clicking on any cell in the spreadsheet, you can quickly access the PDF file where the check originated, with the exact part highlighted.
This feature is particularly useful when reviewing the work of a colleague or when checking the accuracy of information.
#7 – Ease of Identifying if the Fraudster Tried to Be Over Smart
ScanWriter is equipped to assist you in identifying suspicious credits that may seem ordinary at first glance but can lead to potential fraud. For example, if you integrate deposit slips with a bank statement and notice a recorded deposit of $1,000, but later discover that there was a $12,000 check deposit involved, with $11,000 cash withdrawn before the deposit hit the bank, this information can be critical in identifying potential fraud.
Investigators can use this level of detail to identify patterns and red flags, enabling them to investigate further and potentially file a SAR report, if necessary.
Also read: How to Prepare a Compelling Narrative for Your SAR Report?
#8 – Automated Data Visualizations like Flow of Funds
ScanWriter’s integration with Microsoft Power BI enables data validation, detecting common errors such as using commas instead of periods.
The pre-built visualization models in ScanWriter, including “All Transactions,” “Flow of Funds,” “Benford’s Law,” and “SAR Analysis,” allow for easy detection and investigation of suspicious activity, even for those without extensive knowledge of Power BI.
Such automated visualizations and the ability to add filters on top of them are highly assistive during asset tracing. Check out – “Asset Tracing: How Technology Can Help Fraud Investigators Follow The Money To Trace Assets?”
With automated visualizations, fraud examiners can quickly identify potential fraud, without requiring complex Excel formulas or advanced data analysis skills. This powerful tool helps banks detect and investigate fraudulent activity in their accounts.
Pros
- Dedicated customer support to cater to any questions and requirements
- The tool reader supports various formats of financial documents from more than 40,000 institutions, with more than 15,000 financial institutions, including credit unions.
- Enables adding any new check format in the reader within 48 hours if it doesn’t have existing document formats
- Home-grown software solution in the USA, trusted by major government offices
- On-premise software solution ensures to safeguard sensitive data
- Supports 21 languages, including English, Spanish, French, Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic and more.
Cons
- Presently, the solution is not capable of real-time transaction monitoring.
Pricing
The cost of a standard ScanWriter Excel is $5,495 per license for a workstation user and ten customized readers.
Demo
Feel free to request a demo using this demo request form, where the presenter can walk you through the tool and answer all your queries.
Customer Reviews
“ScanWriter is a Game Changer. And I am on the winning team.”
“ScanWriter allows me to focus on more important tasks by taking care of data preparation & analysis.”
“We have used other software like Bank-Scan but nothing beats ScanWriter.”
– Source: Capterra
#2. SEON
Seon is a holistic fraud prevention SaaS solution designed for enterprises, SMEs, and startups. The advanced fraud detection software benefits investigation and data enrichment to identify anomalies and take active action. The platform is customizable and offers granular visibility to businesses leveraging the capabilities of AI and machine learning to evaluate risk.
Key Benefits
- It provides comprehensive fraud monitoring
- It has custom fraud parameters to conduct deeper checks
- It can identify anomalies based on pattern recognition
- It is capable of approving transactions
Pros
- The solution is flexible and powerful to reduce ID fraud, account takeovers, or chargebacks
- It gives a unique reverse digital footprint lookup
- The pricing plan is flexible and transparent. Seon provides a free demo along with a cancel-anytime policy within 14 days.
Cons
- It doesn’t support on-premise accessibility.
Pricing
The paid plans for SEON start at $299 per month. They also offer a 14-day Free Trial.
Customer Review
“Without SEON we would suffer from a high amount of chargebacks”
“SEON helped us every step of the way with our implementation and has continued to be super responsive to all our questions.”
Source -Capterra
#3. Actico
Actico is an ideal partner for businesses looking to elevate their compliance checks. The “digital decisioning platform” is favored by some big names for financial services. It is a compliance suite that offers solutions like PEP and sanction lists investigations. Actico provides help to financial institutions in case of anti-money laundering regulations. The tool is also capable of providing real-time transaction monitoring.
Key Benefits
- It provides the capability of automated data processing, AI, and machine learning in a unified model
- It offers a drag-and-drop graphical editor to enable businesses to create and manage custom rules
- It improves digital interactions and empowers businesses to increase efficiency and gain agility.
Pros
- A reliable compliance investigation tool to get visibility of users and transactions and avoid KYC fines
- Trusted by renowned financial institutions for fraud investigation
Cons
- The user interface is very traditional which impacts the user experience
- Not accessible to all verticals especially online stores and iGaming companies
Pricing
Available upon request
Customer Review
“Intuitive handling, good adaptability, state-of-the-art in terms of regulatory requirements and technical implementation.”
“Integrated solution for the entire KYC process including sanctions check and risk model.”
Source: Capterra
ScanWriter – A Reliable Solution for Check Fraud Investigation
Check fraud is increasing leaps and bounds. A recent case in the limelight included a global financial institution called Danske Bank. Danske Bank, the largest bank in Denmark, pleaded guilty to fraud on U.S. banks for facilitating access to the U.S. financial system for high-risk customers, including in Russia, and agreed to forfeit $2 billion.
The bank admitted to lying about its deficient anti-money laundering systems, inadequate transaction monitoring capabilities, and high-risk customer base to U.S. banks. Danske Bank Estonia processed $160 billion through U.S. banks on behalf of its non-resident customers. The bank failed to provide U.S. banks with truthful information and ignored red flags indicating suspicious and potentially criminal transactions.
In today’s vigilant financial world and with stern rules introduced by the US government, financial institutions, and banks need to pull up their guard. And doing it manually is not a solution.
With its automated process and precision in identifying anomalies, ScanWriter can help banks and financial institutions scan checks at a faster pace and uncover the trail of suspicious transactions.
Enhance the effectiveness of your internal SAR investigations with Scanwriter – the ultimate solution for categorizing and analyzing suspicious transactions.
Designed with the unique needs of financial institutions in mind, Scanwriter offers unparalleled data sorting capabilities to identify anomalies, trends, and patterns, allowing for prompt action against fraudulent activity.
With its automated process and precision in identifying anomalies, it can help banks and financial institutions scan checks at a faster pace and uncover the trail of suspicious transactions.
With the added security of an on-premise solution, your data is protected from any potential breaches. Don’t settle for less – choose Scanwriter for a transparent and comprehensive view of your financial data.
Protect your institution from the uncertain challenges of check fraud with Scanwriter and ensure that no suspicious transaction has the power to put your bank’s reputation at risk.
Contact us today for a free demo and discover how Scanwriter can help your organization stand against surging cases of check fraud with advanced check fraud investigation capabilities.