Check Fraud

[JoeWras]

BTW, on Nextdoor, we get the opposite reports. We get: "Some Weird Guy is scanning houses and mailboxes, look for him."

Recognized neighbors get a pass, even if we don't know their names.

Suburbia at its best.

 

[always_learning]

We had a story locally about someone using string with a wad of gum at the end to 'fish' mail out of the blue mailboxes and getting checks that way.


Supposedly, he did some 'fishing' in broad daylight, too.

 

[jazz4cash]

That's a scary story. Sorry for your trouble, OP. I think the only checks I've written the last few years were for birthday presents and having work done on the house (plummer, gutter cleaning, etc.). When my property tax bill is due, I use the county website to pull the payment from a checking or savings account. They charge 1.49 vs. .50 to mail a letter and I get a receipt instantly.

I keep looking for software that will fill out my checks so I could just sign them but haven't found any and not sure if it would be any more protection against "check washing" any way. That's a new term to me.

 

[Sunset]

That's a scary story. Sorry for your trouble, OP. I think the only checks I've written the last few years were for birthday presents and having work done on the house (plummer, gutter cleaning, etc.). When my property tax bill is due, I use the county website to pull the payment from a checking or savings account. They charge 1.49 vs. .50 to mail a letter and I get a receipt instantly.

I keep looking for software that will fill out my checks so I could just sign them but haven't found any and not sure if it would be any more protection against "check washing" any way. That's a new term to me.

The best way to make it harder to check wash is to use liquid/gel pen instead of the normal pens. The idea being the ink goes deeper into the fibers of the paper instead of sitting on top. A dark color also is better like black.

 

[rk911]

Here's the ultimate. I pay my water bill in cash in a building, and get a receipt. Only thing to worry about is counterfeit bills, lol.... always something, right?

yup. before i retired we switched all of the employees from paper checks to ditect deposit. one employee requested to op out stating he did not have a bank account. he said he paid all of his bills in cash and didn't need one. he was told that we were not going to print a check for one person.

 

[socca]

This reminded of my 6-figure check loss when the bank teller screwed up.

A few years ago I deposited a check for $36k from a bank's drive-up lane and the deposit slip came back reading $360k. I got a good chuckle out of that one. Normally a hold would be put on a check that size; I don't know why that didn't happen in this case.

 

[rk911]

...I keep looking for software that will fill out my checks so I could just sign them but haven't found any and not sure if it would be any more protection against "check washing" any way. That's a new term to me...

do you mean create the check with the magnetc inkor just fill in a blank check? we've been using Quicken for years to print what few checks we do write.

 

[REWahoo]

I keep looking for software that will fill out my checks so I could just sign them but haven't found any and not sure if it would be any more protection against "check washing" any way. That's a new term to me.

Had to smile at this.

I spent 27 years in the check printing industry and what you are looking for is like trying to find a digital buggy whip or a robot programmed to use a typewriter. You are about 25 years late as there is no longer a demand for such a product.

Check fraud, much like horse theft, is a dying crime due to lack of opportunity. Check washers have to get their hands on a check to wash it, and that's getting increasingly hard to do. US check volume has declined spectacularly since reaching its 1995 peak, dropping by an estimated 90% and still going down, although not as rapidly.

Far easier to steal an identity or credit card number and do some electronic theft - all without leaving the comfort of home.

 

[HI Bill]

I used to worry about my octogenarian mother mailing checks. I always told her that she's potentially 100% liable for check fraud, and I was always worried about her losing her check book.

I have most things on auto pay now, and use credit cards for online payments for smaller things. I write property tax checks twice a year, and almost write no other checks annually. I mail payments from a locked mailbox openable only by the mail carrier.

Credit cards usually protect you agaist all, or most fraud, with a $50 limit of liability, assuming you notify them when something suspicious happens.

 

[jazz4cash]

do you mean create the check with the magnetc inkor just fill in a blank check? we've been using Quicken for years to print what few checks we do write.

I mean software that works like the feature to address an envelope on any word processing program. I type the entries on my keyboard, load my standard check into my printer, hit “print” and then sign it manually.
I hear what Rewahoo is saying, but my credit union uses similar software if I request a teller check. My handwriting has become illegible in the last few years.

 

[Sunset]

I mean software that works like the feature to address an envelope on any word processing program. I type the entries on my keyboard, load my standard check into my printer, hit “print” and then sign it manually.
I hear what Rewahoo is saying, but my credit union uses similar software if I request a teller check. My handwriting has become illegible in the last few years.

I print the letters on my checks, as my scribble is too terrible.

You could probably just use an electric typewriter, but of course best is to pay online from your bank as much as possible, or auto-pay via credit card, and then pay that online at the bank website.

 

[cathy63]

I mean software that works like the feature to address an envelope on any word processing program. I type the entries on my keyboard, load my standard check into my printer, hit “print” and then sign it manually.
I hear what Rewahoo is saying, but my credit union uses similar software if I request a teller check. My handwriting has become illegible in the last few years.

This is easy. You just need blank checks that fit in your printer, and any kind of word processing program to print them. You can buy the blank checks at compuchecks.com and you can use MS Word or Google Docs to create a template that will put the payee name and amounts in the right spots. There are free templates for MS Word. Quicken or QuickBooks also have this capability built in.

 

[misshathaway]

When my property tax bill is due, I use the county website to pull the payment from a checking or savings account. They charge 1.49 vs. .50 to mail a letter and I get a receipt instantly.

Very timely thread for me. I was going to put my property tax check in the mailbox and decided to add the town to my online banking after considering the thread posts. It already works with the water bill but they want you to use their pay site for property tax. Didn't want to fight town hall (literally) but I can't see why it makes a difference if you include the parcel number and bill number on the check and do it for free from online banking. It's early enough that if they reject it I can just do a paper check hand delivered and not get a penalty.

 

[grasshopper]

Several times while traveling, for up to 7 months at a time, we received checks in the mail which our son spotted while he was checking our mail. Since they are usually only valid for up to 90 days he got good at scanning them in, front and back, and emailing a copy to me. To begin with I would print out a copy so I could sign the back and do a mobile check deposit, even did this from a Holiday Inn Express once, but I later discovered how to use Adobe Reader to apply my signature to an image of the back of the check then do a mobile check deposit.

Last week I received an unexpected paper check at my daughter's address in LA for $12.48 so it was deja vu, getting her to photograph it and send it on where I printed it and endorsed it before doing a mobile check deposit to my US bank.

Hummm, I have never endorsed a mobile check deposit ever. I only do phone deposits to my CapOne saving, not my brick and mortar bank.

 

[rk911]

Very timely thread for me. I was going to put my property tax check in the mailbox and decided to add the town to my online banking after considering the thread posts. It already works with the water bill but they want you to use their pay site for property tax. Didn't want to fight town hall (literally) but I can't see why it makes a difference if you include the parcel number and bill number on the check and do it for free from online banking. It's early enough that if they reject it I can just do a paper check hand delivered and not get a penalty.

does your county assessor offer an option of a direct debit of your account? ours does and that's how I pay our property tax. I can either pay it all at once or schedule the two regular payments to be direct debited automatically at a future date.

 

[jazz4cash]

Very timely thread for me. I was going to put my property tax check in the mailbox and decided to add the town to my online banking after considering the thread posts. It already works with the water bill but they want you to use their pay site for property tax. Didn't want to fight town hall (literally) but I can't see why it makes a difference if you include the parcel number and bill number on the check and do it for free from online banking. It's early enough that if they reject it I can just do a paper check hand delivered and not get a penalty.

Please let us know how this works. Exact same situation for me. I hate to authorize anyone to pull from my checking account. I use BOA Billpay to push just about everything else including transfers to other banks. I’ve been tempted to use billpay for property taxes but since I usually pay close to the due date I don’t have room for error.

 

[jazz4cash]

Hummm, I have never endorsed a mobile check deposit ever. I only do phone deposits to my CapOne saving, not my brick and mortar bank.

I wish I could submit Mobile check deposits with no endorsement. Navy Federal CU requires you to write “edeposit at NFCU” on the back. If they decide to reject it, I think it would be very tough to get anyplace else to accept. My success rate on 1st attempt is about 50%.

 

[audreyh1]

do you mean create the check with the magnetc inkor just fill in a blank check? we've been using Quicken for years to print what few checks we do write.

That’s how we started with Quicken in the first place - to print checks. But that went away when we moved to all ebillsand started living in an RV. Now we do almost everything electronically, and I write fewer than 10 checks a year.

 

[audreyh1]

When my property tax bill is due, I use the county website to pull the payment from a checking or savings account. They charge 1.49 vs. .50 to mail a letter and I get a receipt instantly.

does your county assessor offer an option of a direct debit of your account? ours does and that's how I pay our property tax. I can either pay it all at once or schedule the two regular payments to be direct debited automatically at a future date.

Last year my county ran into trouble with people being debited multiple times for their property taxes. They were using a very common standard epay service used by many other counties and municipalities.

This year I’m driving over to a close Lone Star Bank to pay my property taxes by check and they will give me a receipt. It’s not far from some of my errands.

 

[jazz4cash]

This is easy. You just need blank checks that fit in your printer, and any kind of word processing program to print them. You can buy the blank checks at compuchecks.com and you can use MS Word or Google Docs to create a template that will put the payee name and amounts in the right spots. There are free templates for MS Word. Quicken or QuickBooks also have this capability built in.

I guess I wasn't clear that I want software to use with the checks I already have.That would enable me to print them or fill them out manually when away from home. I usually only write about 5 checks/year and that # is going down.

P.S: The feedback on my comment inspired me to search again using the word "template" (Thanks, Cathy) and I think I found just what I was looking for but haven't tried it yet.

 

[Alan]

I wish I could submit Mobile check deposits with no endorsement. Navy Federal CU requires you to write “edeposit at NFCU” on the back. If they decide to reject it, I think it would be very tough to get anyplace else to accept. My success rate on 1st attempt is about 50%.

It is not just the receiving bank that may require a signature but also the issuing bank. The year after retiring I received a bonus check from my ex employer. Bonus checks were always paper checks and this one was above the mobile deposit limit. We were in England at the time so I contacted both my US bank and my employer and got agreement from them to accept the check without a signature. My son then wrote “Deposit to A/C xxxxxxxxx” on the back of the check and mailed it to my bank with a deposit slip.

 

[jazz4cash]

I was under the impression you could always write “for deposit only” along with payee account # and deposit checks at your own bank. Maybe they hold it or whatever. I’ve done that many times.

 

[Sunset]

I was under the impression you could always write “for deposit only” along with payee account # and deposit checks at your own bank. Maybe they hold it or whatever. I’ve done that many times.

I have had them stamp it, the teller has a stamp just for that at the counter.
However, depositing a check at an ATM inside my bank, without a signature, caused my bank to refuse the deposit, and mail me back the check.

I think they did this to force my account below the minimum so they could collect a fee.
Since I saw this on the account online, DW and I drove to the bank, complained and then DW wrote me a check from her account to float me a loan.

Then I had to wait for the mail to be delivered, Very annoying.

So next time the bank offered me $300 to open a savings account for 3 months, I did, collected my $300 and closed the savings account. As my fee for being annoyed.

Now I only deposit checks at the teller !

 

[misshathaway]

does your county assessor offer an option of a direct debit of your account? ours does and that's how I pay our property tax. I can either pay it all at once or schedule the two regular payments to be direct debited automatically at a future date.

Yes, but they charge $1.90 for each ACH transfer, on top of our crazy property tax.

 

[morriss003]

Here's where mailing at the post office outside boxes is dangerous...


I've noticed that early in the morning, the outside boxes are so full you can feel and see the mail in the full box! Someone could come up and take out a handfull or two of mail no problem. And this may be the important stuff, since we've now all been trained to not leave it in the home box.


I first noticed this because I literally could not fit my mail in the box it was so full. Subsequent trips were similar, I could see the last mail "peaking up" in the slot accessed from the car. I even jammed it down a few times!


Since then, I go inside and mail it there. The outside boxes are not secure, in my opinion.

I've seen this occur inside also.