With the technological development of mobile banking, it has become more important than ever to balance your business’ books to insure that your vendors and employees aren’t depositing your checks twice. It is a simple mistake when made honestly, but it has also become an easy way for dishonest people to gain more money.
You may have read about this issue in regards to some University of Georgia football players who were arrested for “double dipping.” According to WSB-TV, three players were depositing their stipend checks on their mobile phones and then immediately cashing them at a convenience store, drawing against the university’s account twice. This is classified in the law as “theft by deception.”
In the banking industry, mobile deposits are known as Remote Deposit Captures (RDCs). In an NBC News article last year, it is suggested that banks have a lot to worry about when it comes to RDCs. “Part of the regulation around RDC states that if a check is deposited twice—whether accidentally or intentionally—and that second deposit harms the person who wrote the check, the bank is responsible for the damages,” the article outlines.
The number of RDC duplicates that are fraudulent versus those that are unintentional is impossible to determine, says Dan Fisher, president and CEO of The Copper River Group, a bank-technology and payments-system consulting firm based in Fargo, ND. In an October 2013 article for DigitalTransactions.net, Fisher suggests banks develop customer profiles similar to those used for credit cards to monitor all types of transactions. “Such systems detect unusual behavior that could indicate problems like duplicates or fraud,” says Fisher. He adds that “banks’ agreements with their customers are another risk-management tool. Agreements should include specific standards about the types of behavior customers are permitted to engage in.”
Should RDC duplicates happen to you, know that your bank is responsible for the gap in processing and they should work with you to rectify your account.