Am I at risk?
What Security Features Are On Your Cheques and Cheque Paper?
Do You Screen Orders?
Is Your Server Secure For Online Orders?

Am I at risk?

Cheque fraud is so rampant that banks don't like to reveal the extent of the problem, but it appears to be in the billions of dollars.

Unforunately, the responsibility for forgery losses is shifting towards bank customers, rather than solely on banks. And on top of this, there is the expense and lost time related to investigating the crime.

To minimize the possibility of becoming a victim and being responsible for the losses, you must exercise due diligence. One part of this is to implement careful practices regarding your cheques as described in our free Cheque Fraud Prevention Tipsheet. Another is to use cheques with well implemented security features, as described below. 

What Security Features Are On Your Cheques and Cheque Paper?

ASAP Cheques is the industry leader in offering you the most security features affordably! When comparing to other suppliers, you will see for yourself that we are the only ones to include important features such as TouchGuard and Toner Grip. And did you know that to include the padlock symbol on the face of a cheque indicating certain security features, the cheques must be approved by the CPSA (Check Payment Systems Association)? Yet ASAP Cheques is one of the few to have done so.

The following features are standard on all of our printed cheques and blank cheque paper.

TouchGuardTM - on the back of each cheque, we include a fingerprint symbol printed using thermochromic (color change) ink. When you rub or breathe on the fingerprint, the color fades and some time after you stop, the color returns.

Toner Grip - if you print cheques using a laser printer, or if the cheque printer uses laser printers, the toner can be removed from the cheque very easily, allowing the payee, amount, etc. to be altered. Unless the cheque paper is treated with a "toner-fusing" coating such as ASAP Cheques uses.

Tracing Code - each time we run a batch of cheque paper, a unique code is included on each page of that batch. This allows us to work with law enforcement to narrow down who may have made a fraudulent purchase.

Invisible Fibers - these will glow under black light, something that cannot be reproduced.

Chemical Protection - brown stains and black dye appear when chemicals are used to remove/alter the cheque.

Erasure Protection - attempts to erase areas of the cheque face are visibly obvious.

Watermark - a true watermark that is immediately apparent when you hold the paper up to light. This cannot be reproduced by color copier, scanner or printer.

Microprinting - the rectangle around the padlock on the face of the cheque and the endorsement line on the back of the cheque are not actually lines but text that is so tiny that they cannot be reproduced by copiers, scanners and printers.

Warning Text - on the face of the cheque, warns tellers or recipients of cheques that security features exist which can be used to verify that the cheque is an original.

Do You Screen Orders?

In addition to verifying credit cards (eg. card is not stolen, ship address matches address on credit card, CVV security number on back of card matches), for sensitive products such as cheques, cheque paper and MICR toner we also verify that the person placing the order and the ship-to address of the order match what their bank has on file. We also include information on the cheque paper to help track fraudulent orders and work closely with police and investigative agencies.

Picture this. It is frighteningly easy for anyone (eg. staff, someone you have written a cheque to) to purchase blank cheque paper and counterfeit your cheques. To help protect our customers, we require a bank contact and account number to verify that the order is legitimate.

While we regret that some will find this inconvenient and buy elsewhere, we believe that most of our customers welcome this additional safety.

Is Your Server Secure For Online Orders?

Of course! Once you click the "Shopping Cart / Check Out" on the top left menu bar, then the order is processed on a secure server (you will see the key/lock symbol on your browser) which uses a secure site certificate.

We are also working on allowing you to sign in and review your order status and history .. all securely of course!