How do you forward checks?

How to spot fradulent checks in the retail environment?

• I work for a retail store and there is a customer who came in the other night who is either giving fradulent checks or stolen checks. She basically bought about 500 bucks worth of stuff including gift cards. I noticed that the checks she gave me looked very very fake and on top of that it was not even in a check book. I then asked for her id and she gave me a piece of paper that was her temp. id. It was not even a card, just a piece of printed paper with a photo and some dl number. Any who although I was suspicious I attempted to run the check and it was declined, I then called the authorization number and it said there was not enough of info about the check to process. It was odd bc the customer did not have another method of paying and was insistent on us taking the check as cash which we refused. The thing is that I remembered this same customer who came in a month before with a friend with the same paper temp id and the managers took the payment as cash since the check would not go through. Basically the 2 girls were flirting with the manager the entire time so he kind of just took it as cash. I want to mention that they were making another HUGE purchase. I am new in retail and maybe I am just being too cautious but in general how do you spot fradulent checks or stolen checks in retail. As I said her check did not even look real and she was trying to conceal the fact that it was not in a book by putting her purse in front so I could not see what was going on.

• Answer:

  Anytime you try to authorize a check and can't you immediately decline the sale. That's what the service is for. There isn't any guessing needed. Temp checks, checks with very low check numbers, extremely large purchases done in a 'hurry' are all signs to be cautious. But the bottom line is if your store uses Telecheck or other such service, use it. And decline any sale that won't authorize.