Supermarkets on lookout for fake government cheques

THE Social Development and Family Services Ministry has released a list of names and ID numbers being used to cash counterfeit grant cheques.

The ministry urged grocery owners, shopkeepers, supermarket managers, cashiers and staff to be extremely vigilant when examining senior citizens' pension, disability and public assistance grant cheques and the ID cards of the people presenting them.

It advised people to pay close attention to the apparent age of those presenting cheques, to make sure it matches the information on the ID card.

Biondi Bachew, president of the Supermarkets Association, told Newsday while there have been no reports of fraudulent grant cheques being presented at stores, his members are remaining vigilant.

"While we have no confirmation on when that (listed) fraud was caught, whether before, during or after an attempted purchase, it is in the collective interest of groceries to heed the ministry’s advice to be observant when accepting these cheques."

He said a push towards more direct deposits for government grants could prevent incidents such as this.

In a press release on December 12, the ministry encouraged grant recipients to register for its direct deposit services, which provide a secure payment method that eliminates exposure to fraudulent cheque activity.

Names, numbers to look out for:

Anthony Ali: 19551010012

Earnest Salandy: 19470617026

Eric James: 19560808029

John Charles: 19550719022

Steve Thompson: 19530403075

Paul Fortune: 19551919036