SQN Banking Systems, a leading provider of integrated fraud detection and process improvement products for the financial industry, today introduced SENTRY: UltraCheck™, its latest solution to help identify potential check fraud.
With more checks being coated with ultraviolet (UV) ink as a protective measure, SQN's new software automates the inspection of the UV ink to determine if the check has been tampered with or altered.
When a check has been altered, the area previously treated with UV ink becomes distorted or erased. Using modern image processing techniques, SENTRY: UltraCheck can quickly find any discrepancies. The complex software and algorithms of SENTRY: UltraCheck can detect even the smallest changes to embedded UV marks on key areas of checks, such as the Payee Name, Legal Amount, Signature Block and logos. The software will also automatically detect UV logos as required by global financial regulators.
Furthermore, large volumes of checks can be processed in less time, saving countless hours of manual review and potentially stopping more fraud.
"We know that criminals commonly use chemical alteration to manipulate check details, so an appropriate solution to that problem was needed," said Stan Jaslar, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of SQN Banking Systems. "Use of UV ink can be effective, but manual inspection is time consuming. With SENTRY: UltraCheck, detection of chemically altered checks is automated, making it a much more efficient and practical preventative measure."