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Revolving Funds

 

If Fraud is Suspected

  1. Notify your bank as soon as possible if you suspect fraud.
  2. Notify your Revolving Fund contact
    • Your revolving fund contact may also be able to notify the bank for you. They have good relationships with many banks, particularly Wells Fargo and Bank of America. These relationships can be extremely helpful in resolving these issues quickly.
    • They will notify Internal Audit and the University of Washington Police.

The Next Steps

  • The bank may request that you close the account and open a new one.
  • They may request a list of outstanding checks on the account.
  • A fraud claim form may be required to reclaim the funds. The Revolving Fund contact can provide copies of the Bank of America or Wells Fargo claim forms.

Most banks will advise to close an account and open a new one if they suspect fraud activity. Some banks will ask for a list of checks still outstanding on the account. The old account can be monitored for a month and the bank will cover only the checks on your list which will prevent reissuance of checks. Once the bank close the old account, any checks still outstanding should be considered as staledates.

Bank of America will usually close the account immediately and advise to open a new one. Complete a new signature card and send it with a list of all the checks that are still outstanding to the Revolving Fund contact. The bank will monitor the old account for a month and any checks clearing the old account that are on the list will be deducted automatically from the new account. The bank will transfer the remaining funds on the old account to the new one. Other banks may have other fraud procedures. You are under no obligation to close an existing account. However, it is a good security measure to do so.


Preventing Fraud

  • Assign someone to review online transactions each morning for fraudulent activity.
  • For Wells Fargo accounts, assign a payment authorization level.
  • Consider paying research subjects with gift cards.


Fraud Detection

  • The account is unexpectedly overdrawn.
  • Checks clear with higher amounts. Fund and Bank reconcilations are off.
  • Checks come through with out-of-sequence check numbers.

There are other ways a fraud check may be detected. Banks may notify you for overdrawn checks even the reimbursement requests are current. Checks may clear the bank with higher amounts or out of sequence check numbers. A fraud claim form may be required to reclaim the funds. The Revolving Fund contactcan provide copies of the Bank of America or Wells Fargo claim forms.