Making Cents: Thumbs-Up for Anti-Fraud Strategy

Bad checks cost banks 10 times as much as robbers do. Can an ink pad help? Some banks are finding out, requiring non-customers to put their thumbprints on the backs of checks so that if a check is bogus, police will have a head start. The banks don’t keep the prints on file--they go no further unless a check turns out to be phony. So far, security experts think some forgers are being discouraged.