The cheque fraud's in the post

The cheque fraud's in the post

We are bombarded with adverts for insurance to protect us against identity theft, reminded numerous times not to let credit cards out of our sight at restaurants and warned of the dangers of "phishing", where fraudsters steal our details online. But who thinks about falling victim to fraud by way of the humble cheque these days?

It was almost exactly six years ago that I had the misfortune to be on the receiving end of cheque fraud, losing £920 when an HSBC chequebook I didn't know was being sent to me was stolen in the post. The fraudster made a cheque out to himself and signed it with a name and signature completely different to mine. The money was nevertheless his and I had to undergo a protracted battle with the bank to get my money back.

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Roll forward six years to October 2009 and 19-year-old Cambridge student and Cash reader Suzanne Burlton was shocked to find herself the victim of a similar scam, also losing £920 via a cheque from an HSBC chequebook she didn't know was in the post to her.

"I think of myself as quite careful with money," she says. "My general banking practices tend to be that I keep a mental tally (and often a written tally) of how much I ought to have in my bank account and then every week or so check that it matches up with how much I have.

"Just before going to bed on Monday 19 October, I checked my bank balance online and was surprised to see it was £700 overdrawn. I knew I hadn't spent anything like that much, so I started going through my bank statement online to find out what on earth had happened. I found one large transaction that I didn't remember, a cheque paid out on 15 October to the tune of £920."

She continues: "HSBC promised to raise an investigation into what was evidently cheque fraud and I was told it would get in touch within two working days. Three days later I had heard nothing, and so began a cycle in which I telephoned the bank and asked for an update and the person on the other end appeared to have no information whatsoever. I received a generic letter on 20 October informing me the matter was under investigation and that HSBC would 'keep [me] updated with progress', although it may take 'several weeks'."

Suzanne heard nothing more but checked her account on 29 October and found the money had been reimbursed. However, when she opened her post she was incensed to find another chequebook had been sent to replace the stolen one. "Obviously it is convenient to get your chequebook in the post but it seems odd there is no kind of security procedure to stop this kind of fraud. I rarely use my chequebook and didn't know another one was being sent," she says.

A spokeswoman for HSBC said: "HSBC's standard practice is that we will automatically send out chequebooks to customers, unless they request we don't. HSBC will refund any customer who is a genuine victim of fraud."

The amount lost to cheque fraud was £15.6m in the first six months of this year, although this is down on the £21.2m in the first six months of last year. More than half of the £15.6m – £8.6m – is down to "forged cheque fraud", which covers chequebooks that go astray in the post. Although banks send out chequebooks automatically you can ask any of them not to send chequebooks to you until you request them.

"About 90% of cheque fraud gets stopped before there is a victim," says Jemma Smith, a spokeswoman for UK Payments. "Banks don't tell you when chequebooks are coming so it is up to the customer to keep an eye out for them when they get down to the last 10 cheques in their book."

■ Have you ever fallen victim to cheque fraud? How did your bank respond? Let us know your views at cash@observer.co.uk or by writing to us at Cash, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9GU.

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