Editing Cheque fraud (section)

{{Short description|Criminal acts involving unlawful use of cheques}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2013}}
'''Cheque fraud''' or '''check fraud''' ([[American English]]) refers to a category of [[crime|criminal acts]] that involve making the unlawful use of [[cheque]]s  in order to illegally acquire or borrow funds that do not exist within the account balance or account-holder's legal ownership. Most methods involve taking advantage of the ''[[Float (money supply)|float]]'' (the time between the negotiation of the cheque and its clearance at the cheque writer's financial institution) to draw out these funds. Specific kinds of cheque fraud include '''cheque kiting''', where funds are deposited before the end of the float period to cover the fraud, and '''paper hanging''', where the float offers the opportunity to write fraudulent cheques but the account is never replenished.