The town’s Finance Department on Monday reported attempted check fraud using the town’s accounts payable account to the Hopkinton Police Department, according to department staff members.

“The Treasurer for the Town [CJ Paquette] filed a police report since there was attempted check fraud,” Chief Financial Officer Kyla LaPierre stated via email. “The checks and balances [reviewing software] caught the fraud in advance and we followed up with the bank and police accordingly.”

Stressed LaPierre: “At this time the Town has no liability for the attempted fraud.”

In a phone interview Wednesday afternoon, Paquette, who discovered fraudulent checks before they were processed, described what transpired. He filed the police report on Monday and notified UniBank, where this town account is held.

“Basically, we process hundreds of accounts payable checks a week,” he said. “We print the checks for the School Department and the town all under the same account number.

“What happened was that a vendor was taking our account number and the routing number and trying to write checks,” he continued. “This actually is not an uncommon situation, and it has happened to other communities. I don’t think people realize that our account number is out there all over the place because of the number of vendors we have.”

He compared this situation with past mailbox fishing schemes in which people commit fraud by retrieving envelopes containing checks from mailboxes to alter the amounts and payees. This is one reason why most blue United States Postal Service mailboxes now have slits through which to deposit outgoing mail rather than openings with handles.

Paquette noted that the checks in question were issued via the town’s accouts payable account with UniBank.

“Luckily, we are very protected,” he said. “The bank uses the Positive Pay software system to deter check fraud. It uploads any check to our system before it is approved to be processed. If the check does not match our records, we have the option to say to pay it or not.”

Paquette said he personally goes through each check approval process this way. He corroborates whether the payee name, signature and check number align with the town’s records.

“The technology is very advanced,” he explained. “We are very grateful to have such a good banking relationship with UniBank.”

Paquette described Positive Pay as a “lifesaver.”

He added that UniBank also might file a police report. Although the checks were not cashed, it still is considered a case of check fraud.

While Paquette said he could not divulge the name of the person involved or the amount of attempted transactions, he noted that the person involved tried to cash multiple checks from this account. He also spoke with a detective in the town where the attempt was made to cash a check. Paquette was told that this is a problem many municipalities face.

He noted that it can take a few days to track down a deposited fraudulent check. If a bank cashes the check, it is liable for the amount of the transaction.

Paquette reiterated that the town is not responsible for the attempted fraud and that the town’s finances are secure.

Said Paquette: “There shouldn’t be any fear that fraud would happen because of the precautions we have in place.”

HPD Sgt. Detective Gregg DeBoer confirmed Tuesday via email to the Independent that the police report had been received and was being processed as of late Tuesday morning. He stated that he will review the report once he receives it and will provide an update “early next week” after the situation is analyzed.

Paquette confirmed that he had not received a copy of the police report as of early Wednesday afternoon.