Ontario brokers increasingly the victims of cheque fraud: regulator

Ontario’s broker regulator says it has received a significant increase in the number of phone calls from brokers who have been recent victims of cheque fraud.
“Similar to the instances that occurred in the past, the broker’s accounts payable cheque from their trust account was intercepted by unknown parties and subsequently cashed by other than the intended payee,” Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario (RIBO) says in its Fall 2010 newsletter.
“RIBO would like to remind brokers to be diligent in monitoring their bank accounts for any irregular activity. Online banking is an excellent tool to assist in this regard.”
RIBO advises using plain manila envelopes, and sending these out in a larger batch of mail to the same insurance company.
Also, RIBO says, “avoid using the color coded envelopes or ones that are specifically marked ‘accounts department.'”