ALERT: Check Fraud Using Institute of International Banking Law & Practice Checks

For more than two years, fraudsters have forged checks that purport to be drawn on Institute accounts and have attempted, sometimes successfully, to cash them or to use them to pay for services or goods, often paying several times more than the value of the goods and seeking the balance in cash.

If you are presented with such a check, it is fraudulent.

The Institute only deals with long established vendors and rarely pays bills other than those related to utilities via checks.

Having been provided with a number of samples of such checks, it is apparent on their face that they are fraudulent. They are sometimes drawn on banks at which we have no account or on bank accounts that have been closed. The name of the Institute is often misspelled and the checks are either unsigned or the signature is of a person who has never worked at the Institute.

One of the sources of this fraud is access to an account number that is available publicly on our website, namely an account to receive payment from our customers via wire transfer. This account is maintained at Bank of America and is numbered 4460-1411-6337. A prior account (now closed) at M&T Bank is also used. Its number is 4253-0190. Any check that you receive containing these account numbers is fraudulent. There have never been checks printed for either account as they are ONLY used to receive incoming funds and NEVER used to make payments.

Under applicable law, the Institute has no liability for forged checks. This fraud has been reported to law enforcement authorities but, since, the Institute has not lost any funds, they have been reluctant to proceed with investigations.

IF YOU ARE APPROACHED BY SOMEONE SEEKING TO PAY FOR GOODS OR SERVICES WITH A CHECK PURPORTEDLY DRAWN ON THE INSTITUTE, DO NOT PART WITH ANY GOODS IN EXCHANGE AND IMMEDIATELY CONTACT LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES.

IF YOU ARE APPROACHED BY SOMEONE SEEKING TO CASH A PURPORTED INSTITUTE CHECK, YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK.

NOTE TO CHECK CASHING SERVICES: The premium that you will earn from cashing such checks is not worth the fact that it will not be reimbursed since it is fraudulent.

YOU ARE WARNED: GOVERN YOURSELVES ACCORDINGLY.


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