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Check Washing

Definition

A cheque alteration technique in which organic solvents dissolve the original ink entries while leaving the pre-printed bank security printing intact, allowing the fraudster to rewrite new payee name or amount.

Related terms

CTS-2010 (Cheque Truncation System)
RBI's standard for cheque security features in India, requiring watermark, void pantograph, UV-reactive printing, and MICR E-13B encoding; cheques not meeting CTS-2010...
Digital Signature Certificate (DSC)
A cryptographic certificate issued by a Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA)-licensed CA in India (or equivalent trust-service provider under eIDAS in the...
Embossed Seal Counter-Matrix
The female die component of an embossing seal press, whose surface marks and imperfections transfer as positive elements in the paper impression...
Error Level Analysis (ELA)
A technique that re-compresses a JPEG at a controlled quality setting and maps the pixel-level difference between the re-compressed and original images....
ESDA (Electrostatic Detection Apparatus)
A non-destructive technique for detecting indented impressions on paper caused by writing pressure. A physical ink signature on paper produces detectable ESDA...
MICR E-13B
The Magnetic Ink Character Recognition font standardised by the American Bankers Association and adopted by the RBI for CTS-2010; uses iron-oxide magnetic...
Rubber Die Defect Inventory
A catalogue of individualising defects (nicks, cracks, compressed elements, border degradation) on a specific rubber stamp's die face, used to associate questioned...
Void Pantograph
A fine-line background print pattern on a cheque or secure document that reveals the word 'VOID' when photocopied or scanned, due to...
VSC (Video Spectral Comparator)
A multispectral imaging instrument used in document examination; illuminates the document at multiple wavelengths (UV, visible, near-IR, IR) and captures fluorescence and...

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