Business Notes BANKS

Bank checks have been known to bounce. But disintegrate? Several banks, including at least two in Illinois and one in Tennessee, have unwittingly accepted checks coated with a chemical that made them begin to deteriorate within hours after being deposited. In a few days they were little more than confetti. One or more unidentified scam artists have passed at least 14 such checks, cheating the banks out of some $70,000.

In one case a customer, apparently using a fictitious name, opened an account at Chicago's Northern Trust Bank and later deposited a $4,000 check drawn on an out-of-state bank. The customer could not withdraw the funds immediately because Northern Trust, like most banks, puts a hold on such a deposit for several days to see if the check will be returned for lack of funds. When the culprit came back in nine days, the check had not been returned, so the bank allowed a $4,000 withdrawal to be made. In this case, though, the check had not been returned because it had apparently disintegrated in transit. By the time bank officials figured out what had happened, the trick-check passer was nowhere to be found, and Northern Trust was out $4,000.

If police know what chemical is being used to coat the checks, they are not saying, probably for fear of inspiring copycat check cashers. Says Chicago Police Captain James Zurawski, who is investigating the case: "It's like something out of a James Bond movie."