The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Flin Flon RCMP are advising businesses to be extra cautious due to a surge of bounced cheques around the community. "People are using cheques that are useless and getting goods and services for those cheques," said Cpl. Leslie Beck. The problem is costing businesses thousands of dollars but police say it's preventable. Cpl. Beck said that businesses should ask for photo identification from people who use cheques. "When you take a cheque and you haven't taken any ID, it's very difficult to prosecute that person in court because the person who accepts the cheque has to identify the person," she noted. Businesses with signs stating that NSF cheques will be subjected to a surcharge, should be aware such signs prevent people who pass off bogus cheques from being prosecuted. "People cannot be prosecuted in those cases because there is a civil agreement," said Cpl. Beck. Insufficient funds isn't the only problem businesses have had with cheques. One case this year involved an individual obtaining some blank cheques, which had been thrown away, and forging the owner's signature in an attempt to make some quick cash. A thief who stole a purse from an uptown residence tried the same crime with cheques kept in the woman's handbag.
