alarming extent, sometimes by trusted employees, as well as
professionals.

The raising of checks and drafts is the principal method employed by
the men who make a business of defrauding the unwary. The simplest way
of explaining the operation of raising a draft or check is as follows:

Two men are necessary for success at any given point, and hence they
are not so liable to detection as if a number of confederates were
engaged. It is the business of one of these men to enter a bank, and
purchase a draft on New York City, for a certain amount of money,
usually about fifteen hundred dollars, and a short time after this
another draft would be procured from the same bank for a small amount,
seldom over ten dollars. These drafts procured, they are handed to the
"raiser," or the man who is to alter the paper for their dishonest
purposes. In a short time the small draft is raised to be a perfect
duplicate of the large one, in every sense of the word, both as
regards number, amount, place of presentation, etc.

This work of alteration being fully completed, one of the men would
then remove to another city, and forward the "raised" draft to New
York, by express, for collection, or else would go to that city
himself, and have it cashed through some respectable person.
Immediately on receiving the money he would telegraph his companion,
in words previously agreed upon, informing him of the successful
result of the first move. The other confederate, upon the receipt of
this information, would at once go to the bank where the drafts had
been procured, and presenting the genuine draft for the large amount
of money, would request that the money be refunded, giving as an
excuse for not using it, either that he could not be identified in the