TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Re: New Electronic Check Law Sinks 'Float'

Re: New Electronic Check Law Sinks 'Float'

Rick Merrill (RickMerrill@comTHROW.net)
Sat, 30 Oct 2004 18:45:42 GMT

Lisa Minter wrote:

> WASHINGTON (AFP) - Electronic banking in the United States took
> another step forward as a new law took effect allowing digitized
> images of checks to become their legal equivalent.

> The new law, aimed at easing the burden of transferring billions of
> paper checks between banks, has drawn praise from the banking industry
> as a more efficient way of moving money, but is being criticized by
> some consumer advocates.

> The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act, or Check 21, was pushed
> by the industry and regulators in the wake of the disruption to
> banking following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

> Under the law, any bank in the check-processing chain can convert the
> original check into a digital image known as a substitute check and
> throw away the original. Banks are required to accept the digitized
> images as the "legal equivalent of the original check for all
> purposes."

IF these images were accessed it would give criminals access to an
image of the customer's signature. Said criminal could then use a
laser printer with 640 dpi resolution to print checks that would be
indistinguishable from the photo check after a 240 dpi Scan!?

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