Check fraud

Cheque fraud (Commonwealth English) or check fraud (American English) is a category of criminal acts that involve the unlawful use of cheques to illegally acquire or (effectively) to borrow funds that do not exist within an account balance or account-holder's legal ownership. Most methods involve taking advantage of the float (the money made available by a bank for a time between the presentation or negotiation of the cheque, and its clearance at the cheque writer's financial institution) so as to draw out or permit access to funds. Specific kinds of cheque fraud include cheque kiting, where funds are deposited before the end of the float period to cover the fraud, and paper hanging, where the float offers the opportunity to write fraudulent cheques but the account is never replenished.