According to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), check fraud incidents reached an all-time high in 2022 with 680,000 cases nationwide. Let’s review some practical pointers to avoid check scams.

Criminals increasingly target the United States Postal Service to commit check fraud. Criminals steal checks from mailboxes, and then alter them, a technique known as “check washing.” Criminals use chemicals to erase information and rewrite the check. They also save the information you have on your check including the bank account number and the routing number.

By law, banks are required to make deposited funds available quickly, including funds from a deposited check. However, even though the funds may be available, and the bank may state the check has cleared, that doesn’t mean the check is legitimate. Fake checks take weeks for banks to discover. By then, the scammer already has the gift cards, money orders, etc. that you sent to them. Unfortunately, you now are responsible for covering the amount of the fake check.

How to Avoid Check Scams:

  • Use your debit card, digital wallet, online and mobile banking, and Bill Pay. Digital banking is the safest way to send payments. Period.
  • Never use money from a check you received in the mail to send gift cards, money orders, cryptocurrency, or to wire money to anyone who asks you.Many scammers demand that you buy gift cards and send them the PIN numbers, or buy cryptocurrency and transfer it to them, or send money through wire transfer services like Western Union or MoneyGram. Once you do, it’s like you’ve given them cash and it’s almost impossible to get it back.
  • Ignore offers that ask you to pay for a prize.If it’s free, you shouldn’t have to pay to get it. Only scammers will ask you to pay to collect a “free” prize.
  • Don’t accept a check made out for more than the selling price. You can bet it’s a scam.

Remember, every time you write a check, you expose your personal information:

  • Your name
  • Your address, phone number, and driver’s license number
  • Your entire bank account number AND the bank routing number