Collaboration among competitors doesn't often make sense. But when it comes to fighting fraud and protecting the broader financial system, collaboration is a first line of defense. 

Conventional wisdom suggests that check fraud should be in deep decline. After all, check usage has fallen somewhat in recent years. But check fraud remains a very real threat to credit unions and banks of all sizes. The 2011 American Bankers Association Deposit Account Fraud Survey Report revealed that, industry-wide, check fraud costs financial institutions nearly $900 million annually, with the leading causes being counterfeit checks, returned deposit items and forgeries. Sixty-eight percent of community institutions and 95% of mid-sized institutions are victimized each year. 

In light of these disturbing figures, it is clear that all of us in the financial services industry share a common threat: fraudsters. This is important especially for small- and mid-sized institutions because they are particularly vulnerable to losses.