Check-Cashing Rules Viewed as Fraud Threat

WASHINGTON —  Merchants across the country are handling personal checks and credit card transactions in ways that may lead to fraud and invasion of privacy, a consumer group said today.

The organization, Bankcard Holders of America, assailed the practice of many merchants requiring customers who pay for purchases with personal checks to provide a major credit card number and expiration date, plus a telephone number. This information is then written on the check.

“Store clerks often pressure consumers into writing their bank card numbers on personal checks, but these consumers don’t realize the potential danger in doing so,” the group’s director, Elgie Holstein, told a news conference.

He contended that “mail order fraud and application fraud are increasingly popular crimes, and placing this information (a card’s number and expiration date) on a personal check enables a thief to make purchases or apply for credit in the customer’s name.”

“Requiring customers to present a major credit card as identification, or even noting on the check that the consumer holds a Visa or MasterCard, can be an appropriate merchant practice,” Holstein said.