US Secret Service Releases Guidance on US Stimulus Check Features
US Secret Service Releases Guidance on US Stimulus Check Features
In conjunction with the US Treasury, the Secret Service launched the “Know Your US Treasury Check Campaign” on April 20, 2020 to ensure citizens, retailers, and financial institutions can identify counterfeit stimulus checks. While your customers await their paper checks, you may want to provide training to your frontline to ensure they know to look for these 6 features:
- Treasury Seal – A new “Bureau of the Fiscal Service” seal has been added to the right of the Statue of Liberty. This replaces the former seal.
- Bleeding ink – When moisture is applied to the aforementioned seal, the ink should “run” and turn red.
- Watermark – All Treasury checks are printed on watermark paper. The watermark reads “U.S. TREASURY.”
- Ultraviolet overprinting – The guidance states 2 UV patterns are present on the check, but may not be visible to the naked eye. This quality cannot be photocopied.
- Microprinting – “USAUSAUSA” is printed on the back of the check.
- Economic Impact Payment – “Economic Impact Payment President Donald J. Trump” is printed on the lower right side of the Statue of Liberty.
The Secret Service released a short information guide with visual close-ups of the features noted above at https://www.secretservice.gov/data/press/releases/2020/20-APR/Check-Security-Features-for-Economic-Impact-Payments.pdf. While finding out the check being presented is a counterfeit would undoubtedly cause frustration and disappointment for your customer, don’t let fraudsters add financial losses to the problem!
For additional information contact the author at jmixtacki@fosaudit.com.
Julie J. Mixtacki | US Secret Service Releases Guidance on US Stimulus Check Features