For real estate professionals, ensuring secure transactions is essential, whether you're cashing commission checks, sending refunds to clients for canceled property inspections, paying fees to the National Association of Realtors or purchasing marketing materials. Explore fraud prevention techniques and how real estate business checks and envelopes can keep your funds secure and improve your relationships with employees.How to Prevent Fraud in Real Estate TransactionsA multilayered approach to security is required in any industry — no single method can prevent all payment fraud. Here are some effective fraud prevention strategies:Educate clients: One common type of fraud in the real estate industry is wire fraud, which occurs when fraudsters send fake wire transfer instructions to divert the funds into their accounts. Encourage clients to be wary of last-minute wiring instructions and to confirm wiring instructions verbally using known phone numbers.Train employees: Some fraudsters assume the identity of a property owner and attempt to sell the property without the owner's knowledge. Real estate agents must confirm seller identities through multiple means, especially when it comes to unimproved property.Don't rely solely on wire transfers or digital payments: While secure wire transfers are beneficial for time-sensitive transactions, business checks give real estate professionals a physical record of transactions.Purchase secure business checks: Purchasing business checks with visible security features helps deter criminals and make transactions more secure.Combining these methods can protect your business from fraud, especially when you're dealing with high-value transactions.Benefits of High-Security Business Checks for Real Estate ProfessionalsWhile many real estate professionals increasingly rely on digital transactions, paper options still provide advantages, including:Physical record of transactions: Business checks remain a tried-and-true payment method because they provide a physical record of every transaction.Simplify accounting: A paper trail makes tracking your expenses and payroll easier.Employee trust: Some employees may prefer checks over digital payments. With secure business checks, you can pay your team the way they want.Enjoy security features: Look for business checks with visible security features to avoid check fraud. You can also supplement your business checks with solutions like Positive Pay. Financial institutions that offer Positive Pay require the check number, check value and issue date to be validated before processing.Standard checks won't cut it — options with advanced security features provide peace of mind for protecting against check fraud, which is an extremely common type of payment fraud.Security Features to Look for in Real Estate Business ChecksReliable business checks should have some or most of the following security features:Simulated watermark: The ink cannot be copied or scanned.Fourdrinier watermark: The watermark is impressed upon the paper using a Fourdrinier machine. The pattern becomes visible whenever the paper is held up to a light source.Padlock: A padlock icon on the front of the check tells the bank teller that the check is secure.Microprinting: Small printed words appear as a line to the naked eye, making duplication nearly impossible.Enhanced toner adhesion: Images cannot be lifted or scraped from the check because of a technique that improves the toner's adhesion to the paper.Ultraviolet (UV) security ink: Invisible ink is revealed under UV light and cannot be reproduced on a copier or scanner.Stub backer: The word non-negotiable is printed on the back of the check.Anti-splice backer: Diagonal and horizontal lines of varying thicknesses are printed on the back of the check to prevent fraudsters from using the cut-and-paste method to alter information.Endorsement warning: These warnings alert to the presence of security features.Warning band: The warning band tells the teller or recipient that the check has verifiable security features.Copy-void endorsement: If an endorsement is photocopied, the word void appears on the copy.Copy-void pantograph: If a check is photocopied, the word void appears on the copy.Image-friendly amount box: The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (Check 21) enables banks to handle more checks electronically. Business checks with this feature ensure the courtesy amount can be reliably scanned.Voidless postal window: These checks have no void in the addressee area to ensure checks can be mailed.Covert fluorescent fibers: The check glows when held under a UV light.Gradient background: Checks with a two-color gradient background make it difficult to alter the document without detection.Thermochromic heat-reactive ink: Colors fade to white when held between the fingers.Solvent-reactive color spotting: If a fraudster tries to alter the paper using a solvent, the check will display a chemical stain.Coin-reactive mark: An invisible layer changes color when scratched with a coin.Security blackouts: Enhance the confidentiality of printed data on pressure seal forms.Business checks should also adhere to check-processing standards set by the Accredited Standards Committee X9 (ASC X9). ASC X9 is accredited by the American National Standards Institute to maintain international standards for the financial services industry. Canadian cheques should comply with standards issued by Payments Canada.Where to Buy Secure Business ChecksRELYCO offers premium blank business checks in more than 50 layouts and numerous color options. You can also customize your new real estate business checks with special perforations and enjoy some or all of the security features mentioned above. Our line of business checks includes:DETERACHEK: 17 security featuresBASICHEK: 15 security featuresFUTURACHEK: 15 security featuresMAGNACHEK: 15 security features ULTRASEAL: 14 security featuresULTRACHEK: 12 security featuresPiracle: 10 security featuresWe also offer Canadian cheques designed to comply with Payments Canada standards, substitute checks and image replacement documents for guaranteed Check 21 compliance.Pair Your New High-Security Checks With Business EnvelopesYou can complement your real estate checks with business envelopes that strengthen security and boost professionalism. With security tints to prevent unauthorized parties from seeing what's inside, tamper-resistant properties and customizable window placements and sizes, our envelopes are ideal for mailing your real estate checks. Piracle envelopes, in particular, are designed with exclusive window placements to align with our Piracle checks.Find Checks and Custom Envelopes for Real Estate From RELYCORELYCO has more than three decades of experience providing functional paper for businesses in various industries. We provide products to more than 30,000 customers, including real estate professionals. With our premium checks and envelopes, you can combat common payment scams and streamline your accounting.In addition to envelopes and checks, we offer durable paper you can use for signage, property blueprints, contracts, brochures and more. Shop our high-security business checks, explore our envelopes or browse our other real estate paper solutions today! We're also always ready to embrace new challenges, so reach out to us if you don't see a stock product that fits your needs.