The purpose of this guideline is to provide those who participate in the paper document processing system, namely financial institutions, check vendors and merchants, with the information they need to educate their employees and customers about fraud, and to identify and implement the fraud prevention programs appropriate for their business. It is with the idea of maintaining and even improving the efficiency of the check payment system that we ask all check acceptors to assess their risk of loss due to fraud and take prudent measures to reduce that risk without unduly inconveniencing or alienating honest customers, or compromising legitimate dealings with suppliers and creditors.