Fingering fraud: Businesses’ increasing use of fingerprinting checks draws claims of privacy invasion

Erica Johnson

Thursday, June 28, 2001 | 10:49 a.m.

Before long, many Las Vegans won't have to be suspected of criminal activity to be fingerprinted. They'll just have to cash a check, as local banks and casinos move toward using fingerprinting to put an end to check fraud.

But a local American Civil Liberties Union representative says that while such programs may protect business owners and assist police, the negative consequences for private citizens are far greater.

"This is just part of a larger push by the government and industry to infringe on people's privacy," Allen Lichtenstein, attorney for the local branch of the ACLU, said.

The Henderson Police Department with fanfare last week launched a program called "Put a Finger on Crime," providing businesses with fingerprinting materials and urging them to get a print on all checks they cash.

Already many casinos ask for fingerprints of those who cash payroll checks at their casino cages, and banks get prints from new customers or those who don't have accounts with them.

Henderson's program expands that use, but police say for good reason.

Check fraud cases, while a national phenomenon, have increased in the Las Vegas Valley, from about 20 a month last year to about 30 a month this year.

"We're trying to educate business owners," Officer Terry Bowler, Henderson Police spokesman, said. "If businesses are losing money, it affects everyone."

The program, which began in May, calls for businesses to fingerprint anyone cashing a check. If the business later discovers the check was fraudulent, police use the fingerprint on the front of the check to identify the check casher.

Police said they can access the fingerprints later if criminal activity is suspected -- even if that criminal activity is not related to check fraud. But they don't have access to all of the prints taken, they said. Only checks suspected as counterfeit are sent to police.

Lichenstein, who called the fingerprinting outrageous, said the program allows police to create a database of fingerprints to use at their discretion. Only people suspected of criminal activity, not innocent citizens, should be fingerprinted, he said.

"Those who have had positive experiences with authority may see this as benign," Lichtenstein said. "But those who are often suspected of criminal activity for reasons such as race, ethnicity or lifestyle will see this as another case of the government spying on you."

Bowler said people shouldn't be offended by fingerprinting, because it is for their own protection. "The program is to protect the client and their assets," he said. "They are the ones being victimized. We're trying to protect them so they won't be victims."

Steve Hampe, owner of the Lake Mead Lounge and Casino, 846 E. Lake Mead Drive, and a participant in the Henderson program, said his business four years ago lost more than $30,000 due to fraudulent checks, despite surveillance cameras in the business. The money came out of his pocket, he said.

The lounge, which cashes up to 200 checks each day, received a rash of retirement checks stolen from a local post office and cashed with fake IDs, he said.

Hampe instituted the fingerprinting in response to those events, and his losses fell to $1,200 this year, a difference of almost $29,000, he said.

"If you can't identify the person, then it's a lost cause," Hampe said. "These people need to realize that someone is watching them."

Some area banks have had similar programs in place for years.

Doris Charles, president of Wells Fargo Community Banking, said local branches fingerprint non-account holders cashing checks, new customers opening accounts and account holders notarizing documents.

Charles said customers usually aren't offended if they know why they are being fingerprinted. She said tellers are trained to explain that the fingerprinting is in the customers' best interest.

While most Bank of America customers don't object to being fingerprinted, those who do often open accounts with the bank to avoid it, Bruce Daley, the bank's regional executive for the Las Vegas area, said.

Daley said the 38 area branches have decreased their losses by a third since implementing the program more than six years ago.

Most people cashing checks at local casino cages said they didn't mind the fingerprinting.

A man cashing his check at Boulder Station, which uses fingerprinting for payroll checks, said no one has ever explained to him the reason behind the fingerprinting.

"I guess it's to make sure I don't bring in a bad check," said Rafael Rubio, who noted he cashes his check at the casino each week. "But I don't mind, because I'm not one of those people."

Audrey Anderson, who cashed her check at Sam's Town -- which has the same policy -- said she wasn't fingerprinted when she cashed a small personal check. She has been fingerprinted in the past, but she wasn't offended, she said, because she knows it's for security reasons.

Police said the most common types of credit card fraud include using fake IDs to cash stolen checks, creating fake checks on home computers and washing checks with caustic materials to change the name.

Henderson Police said the program helps the department make better use of its two fraud detectives.

Before the program, investigators used chemicals to detect prints on fraudulent checks, which took a whole day. Even then the results proved only that the fingerprint belonged to someone who handled the check at some time, not that the person had cashed the check.

First- or second-time fraud offenders are usually placed on probation and must repay businesses. Repeat offenders can face jail time.

Materials needed to participate in the fingerprinting program are issued by the Henderson Police Department and include an inkless fingerprint pad, display signs and window stickers. Business owners interested in participating in the program should contact the Henderson Police Department's investigation division at 565-2000.