Excluding Duplicate Detection, check returns are governed by the Federal Reserve's guidelines and not Advanced Fraud Solutions.
Below are the definitions of each return reason, along with the corresponding recommendations. These definitions can be an asset when reviewing the types of alert suppressions you decide to create.
| Return Reason | Return Definition | AFS Recommended Action |
| Closed Account | This means the account holder's financial institution account that was associated with that check is closed. No closed account or account-closed items can be re-deposited. | Deny |
| Item Cannot be Re-Presented | Item Cannot be Re-Presented" cannot be processed again due to an issue with the item itself, such as illegibility, damage, or missing information, making it impossible to present it to the paying financial institution for payment a second time. | Deny |
| Lost/Stolen | Lost/Stolen checks have been reported to the financial institution by the account owner as unaccounted for. | Deny |
| Stop Payment | The account holder requests the financial institution to stop payment on a specific check number, amount, and even payee. The financial institution in turn looks for this check, or range of checks, and returns the item(s) unpaid marked Stop Payment. | Deny |
| Duplicate Detection* | Duplicated Detection occurs when a check with the same routing, account, and check number has been searched in the TrueChecks database multiple times. The dollar amount is not a factor. This is an AFS alert and not defined by the Fed. | Deny |
| Duplicate Presentment | Duplicate presentment means that the same check was deposited twice, either through different channels like mobile deposit and then physically at a financial institution, or by submitting the same paper check multiple times; this is considered a form of check fraud and results in the check being returned as invalid. | Deny |
| Divested Account | A divested account on a check return is a branch or account that has been sold and is no longer associated with the financial institution. The check return code for a divested account is R. | Extended Hold |
| Forged and Counterfeit Warranty Breach | This indicates that the financial institution believes the check presented to them has either a forged signature or is a completely fake check, and therefore, they are not responsible for paying it and are returning the check to the depositing financial institution due to a breach of the warranty that the check is legitimate; essentially, the depositing financial institution is liable for verifying the check's authenticity before accepting it. | Extended Hold |
| Frozen Account | When the financial institution is required to lock or Freeze an account, This can be due to a divorce judgment, IRS tax lien, wage garnishment, court order, or other legal reason | Extended Hold |
| Kiting | Kiting or check-kiting is defined as the practice of covering a bad check from one account to another. Persons with multiple accounts use this advantage because it takes multiple days to process checks. The check that has been deposited increases the funds available. | Extended Hold |
| NSF | NSF means that at the time the check was presented to the account holder's financial institution, there were not enough funds in the account to pay the check or draft. | Extended Hold |
| Unable to Locate | This means the financial institution cannot find any account with that account number in its records. Unable to locate checks or drafts may have details as to what exactly was wrong, such as a circled account number, or invalid routing number message. | Extended Hold |
| Counterfeit\Alteration | This can be either a completely fake check that was created fraudulently or a genuine check that has been modified in some way, like changing the payee's name or the amount, after it was issued, making it invalid. | Hold |
| Forgery | This occurs financial institution has returned a check because someone has falsely signed the check by imitating the signature of the account holder, essentially creating a fake signature to cash the check; this is considered a fraudulent act and is illegal. | Hold |
| Lottery Winner | A check returned stamped Lottery Winner is usually an invalid check. Much like a rebate coupon, or gift certificate that is deposited in error as a real check. | Hold |
| Non-Negotiable | Non-Negotiable means that the check cannot be directly exchanged for cash and must be deposited into a bank account; essentially, it is not transferable to another party and can only be used by the named payee to deposit funds into their account. | Hold |
| Not Authorized | Not Authorized is typically a result of the account holder disputing the item during the payment presentment process. | Hold |
| Overpayment | Overpayment means that the check was written for an amount that exceeded the agreed-upon price or the amount owed, essentially meaning the payer sent more money than was necessary for the transaction. | Hold |
| Refer to Image | Refer to image indicates the image could not be used due to gross image defects or illegibility. | Hold |
| Refer to Maker | Refer to maker means, you should contact the person who wrote the check to find out why the item was returned. Items stamped RTM or stamped Refer to Maker cannot be re-deposited. | Hold |
| Secret Shopper | Secret Shopper on a returned check typically refers to a scam where someone receives a fake check as part of a supposed mystery shopper job offer, where they are instructed to deposit the check and then use the funds to purchase gift cards or wire money, only to later discover the check was fraudulent and they are liable for the entire amount. | Hold |
| Signature Irregular | Signature irregular returns are caused by a signature that does not match the account holder, or if the signature appears damaged, altered, or otherwise obscured. | Hold |
| Uncollected Funds | Uncollected funds means that the check was drawn on an account that does not currently have enough available funds to cover the check amount, likely because a deposited check is still pending and has not yet cleared making the funds unavailable for immediate use. | Hold |
| Work From Home | Work From Home indicates that the check is suspected to be part of a scam where a fraudulent company or individual is using a scheme asking victims to deposit the check and then send a portion of the money back to them. | Hold |
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If you have any questions, please contact AFS Support at support@advancedfraudsolutions.com.
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