Show Bad Check Passers Amass Illegal Fortune FBI Says The Ther plague al of fraudulent Check passers assers who day daj to day 4 amass amassa a fortune In Illegal profits from American business and citizens Is assuming proportions t of a ana no notional tI nal pestilence Dosed based on av avable avd able data and police pollee experience employment in the criminal oc oe- occupation of b bad d check passing is at a new high level with no recession in hi sight Continued fi financial ft fi success for tor this type of criminal considered the elite eUte in the crime world can only enlarge the problem and further furth Curth er victimize the public a report from Cram the Federal Bureau of Information In In- Information Information formation states A survey of law taw enforcement ment agencies gen les by an American industrial industrial indus indus- trial firm in 1957 reflected th that t the annual loss due to fraudulent fraudulent lent checks amounted to million In the fiscal year of 1957 there were bad checks having a n face value of submitted to the FBI laboratory for tor examination Our services in this field mounted in the fiscal year of 1958 when fraudulent checks totalIng totalIng total- total Ing were examined Recently a police official as asserted asserted as as- that the estimated annual loss from worthless checks in his state was 20 million Even these start stark statistics only a n partial view of the enormity of the problem as there is nl no na noway way to tabulate the countless worthless check which go unreported unreported unreported ported by indifferent individuals In the battle against fraudulent fraudulent lent check passing the victim represents the principal hope for success The bad check passer does not have to contend with the danger of physical violence confronting the armed robber His major obstacle lies in alertness alertness alertness alert alert- ness and good judgment on the part of ot his victim Although ly on skill and cunning a 11 fundamental fundamental fundamental funda funda- mental factor In their prosper- prosper these unscrupulous criminals re- re ity is the carelessness of shopkeepers shopkeepers shopkeepers shop shop- keepers and business concern employees in requiring cation Numerous recorded Instances instances in In- stances of checks cashed such os one signed U R. R Stuck Shuck and andone andone andone one drawn on on the East Bank of the Mississippi serve to mu illustrate illustrate strate the extent of this gence gene 9 tt In addition tion there is certainlY a need to re-examine re the all too prevalent theory that acceptance of ot checks without demanding sufficient identification is a necessary necessary necessary essary business gamble A nation nationwide nationwide wide store chain-store organization recent recently y estimated that It loses nearly a a year year ar on bad n bad checks a loss amounting to the pr profit nt on 25 million worth of tage enjoyed by the bad check passer is the reluctance of many sales Another nother frequent merchants and other victims tb Id prosecute the known offender if restitution is made The common commo common com com- mo mon practice is nothing but a form of license to steal for the violator with no fear of penalty In many localities business and civic groups have joined with withlaw withlaw withlaw law enforcement in countermeasures cures against the bad check pass pass- er The organization of at bogus check squads in local police agen agen- ties cies the establishment of telephone tele teJe- phone Warning nets and ana inter inter- store communication systems in local communities the use use of crime laboratory facilities and the utilization of hidden n cam cameras cam cain eras and other other scientific t techniques tech techniques arc re commendable efforts rU T Td To cope with the ranging far activities of this class of criminals criminals crimin als however the counterattack must be intensified on a It nationwide nationwide nation nation- wide scale Carelessness of the victims themselves which keeps bad check passers in busIness business bus bus- business iness must be a It primary tar tar- get The united efforts of merchants merchants mer mer- chants the public and law en- en authorities are arc essential essen essen- Only when the work becomes be becomes be be- comes difficult the profits small and the risks great will wUl the nefarious nefarious ne ne- ne farious trade of worthless check passing cease to flourish nourish |