FORGED CHEQUES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 44, 23 June 1947, Page 4

FORGED CHEQUES

NEED FOR PRECAUTIONS WARNING BY CHAMBER Because there has been “a wave of forging and cashing cheques” throughout the Bay of Plenty and adjoining districts the Whakatane Chamber of Commerce considers that the public should be warned against obliging complete strangers by giving them cheque forms. In bringing this matter before the notice of the Chamber at its meeting on Tuesday, Mr D. G. McCallum said it was a serious matter, and the Chamber had a duty to the public to warn holders of cheque books not to give cheque forms to people whom they did not know. There had been a wave of forgeries throughout the district. The same thing had occurred throughout the country from time to time. Often such a wave might go on for, say, two years. The best way of dealing with it was for people to be on their guard against assisting forgers who asked for cheque forms. The president, Mr R. T. Morpeth, quoted cases that had come to his notice in the district. The would-be forger first obtained cheque forms from people with bank accounts, and then signed the names of wellknown people and cashed the cheques with business firms where the people were well known. Businessmen could not be expected to know every signature. They only knew the name on the cheque. People with cheque books should exercise the same care as banks did about giving away cheque forms, added the president. The banks were very careful about whom they gave cheque forms to.