In a digital age where chip-enabled cards and AI-driven security dominate the banking sector, an unlikely villain is making an unexpected return—cheque fraud.
Jamaica’s financial institutions are now confronting a dual-front battle: confronting the resurgence of analogue fraud while bracing for a new wave of hyper-intelligent digital threats. According to the Bank of Jamaica’s (BOJ) latest Financial Stability Report, cheque fraud has soared to unprecedented levels not seen in over half a decade, surpassing $400 million in reported losses for the year ending March 2023.
This resurgence coincides with an overall fraud spike across the banking system, nearly doubling since the pre-pandemic years. While digital threats still account for the majority of fraud—credit card, debit card, and online banking combined represent over 70% of total losses—the steep rise in cheque scams has surprised many in the sector.
“Fraudsters are adjusting,” noted Jide Lewis, BOJ Deputy Governor, in a recent press statement. “As chip technology makes card cloning more difficult, criminals are revisiting older, less protected channels.”
Scotiabank CEO and Jamaica Bankers Association president, Audrey Tugwell Henry, echoed these concerns, describing cheque-based transactions as increasingly risky and largely obsolete for most clients. Her comments come amid sector-wide discussions about possibly phasing out cheque issuance altogether.
Yet the dangers extend well beyond outdated fraud methods. The BOJ is sounding the alarm on artificial intelligence’s growing role in financial crime. Globally, AI is already being weaponized to deploy convincing phishing schemes, fabricate deepfakes, and automate breaches at previously unimaginable scales.
A recent study by fraud-prevention firm Feedzai revealed that nearly half of all detected fraud cases globally now involve AI in some form. The company warns of criminals using generative AI to build synthetic identities and execute real-time attacks that can penetrate traditional security layers.
Though Jamaica’s manual banking culture—still reliant on signatures and in-person verification—provides a natural barrier against such sophisticated AI threats, Lewis cautions that this insulation won’t last forever.
“It’s not that we’re being heavily targeted now,” he explained. “But the tide is coming. And we’re not going to be immune for long.”
Notably, Jamaica still faces the threat of old-school physical heists. The BOJ reported over $145 million in losses from robberies, including attacks on cash-in-transit carriers and ABM machines. These highlight the country’s unique position—where high-tech and low-tech threats coexist.
To stay ahead, the BOJ has implemented a series of cybersecurity mandates under its new “Standard of Sound Practice on the Management of Cyber Risks.” This includes the rollout of real-time fraud detection and debit card blocking functions that were once exclusive to credit card systems.
The central bank has also spearheaded the Jamaica Cyber Information and Intelligence Sharing Initiative (CIISI-JM), a collaborative platform allowing financial institutions to share real-time threat data and strengthen system-wide resilience.
“This is about building muscle memory,” said Lewis. “You don’t wait for the storm to come to start learning how to swim.”
For now, the return of cheque fraud serves as both a warning and a metaphor: Jamaica’s financial system, long accustomed to battling traditional threats, must now learn to fight on multiple fronts—one physical, one digital, and both evolving.
As institutions strengthen their security posture, one thing remains certain: complacency is not an option. Whether inked on paper or written in code, fraud is adapting—and so must Jamaica.
