Cases of check fraud escalate dramatically, with Americans warned not to mail checks if possible

3 years ago by jmp242 to c/worldnews

Check fraud is back in a big way, fueled by a rise in organized crime that is forcing small businesses and individuals to take additional safety measures or to avoid sending checks through the mail altogether. Banks reported roughly 680,000 reports of check fraud to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, also known as FinCEN, last year. That’s up from 350,000 reports in 2021. Officials are warning Americans to avoid mailing checks if possible, or at least to use a secure mail drop such as inside the post office.

Kempeth 12 points 3 years ago

It's completely baffeling to me how an advanced country like the US can still be stuck with such an obsolete system.

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szeis4cookie 9 points 3 years ago

Seriously - it's 2023, why are we still moving money around with paper IOUs

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SkyNTP 3 points 3 years ago

Same reason US politicians insist on having AM radio in cars, we mostly hate electronic voting, and a lot of people still like cold hard cash

it's tangible
it's reliable
it's anti-fragile

I say this as a tech enthusiast myself: we vastly, collectively underestimate the fragility of high technology. Not just fragility of the operation, but fragility in the supply chain (silicon manufacturing is super specialized and centered in one of the world's most contested locations: Taiwan), fragility in the event of disaster, and fragility of the digital security.

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szeis4cookie 5 points 3 years ago

I'm not sure that checks rate any better in security here, or in reliability. The check doesn't have any mechanism within it to verify that there's actually money to be moved, and doesn't guarantee that the payment is yours irrevocably. It also doesn't verify the actual intent to move money, or that the writer of the check is authorized to do so. I get that digital systems have vulnerabilities but let's not pretend that this paper system doesn't.

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redditors_re_racist 2 points 3 years ago

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BackOnMyBS 3 points 3 years ago

whose validty is verified by...checks notes...the payer's penmanship when writing their name in cursive

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cjones666 2 points 3 years ago

There are so many small to midsize business that are still paying with paper checks for whatever reason even when other options are available.

My wife is an accountant and some of the stories she tells about helping business try to get paper checks to government entities to pay taxes or fees just leave me shaking my head every time.

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bjwest 5 points 3 years ago

If some company or the government wants to charge me 3% to 10% or more to electronically pay, I'm writing them a check.

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lntl 2 points 3 years ago

My landlord charges 2% to pay rent electronic. A stamp is 50¢.

They get a check.

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kilgore 4 points 3 years ago

I left the US nearly 20 years ago and couldn't believe that Germany didn't use checks...like at all. I haven't written or used checks in 20 years and wonder why they're still around.

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Kempeth 2 points 3 years ago

I've owned cheques at some point but in close to 25 years of doing bank transactions I've never actually seen one filled out or the possibility of using one even mentioned. Even as a kid I can't remember one ever coming up in conversation. I remember one time that my parents got travelers cheques and that stood out so I'm pretty sure I'd have noticed regular ones. I'm 40 now and it’s just always been a curiosity from the movies.

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