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Home 
Banking
Banking Education
About Lost Or Stolen Checks
While no
federal law limits your losses if someone steals your checks and
forges your signature, state laws protect you. Most states hold the
bank responsible for losses from a forged check. At the same time,
however, most states require you to take reasonable care of your
account. For example, you may be held responsible for the forgery if
you fail to notify the bank in a timely manner that a check was lost
or stolen. Contact your state banking or consumer protection agency
for more information. How it works: Someone steals checks from your home, office or mailbox and forges your signature. Crooks don’t need blank checks to pull off a check fraud. Many know how to easily remove the ink on checks, often by “washing” them with a cleaning solvent. They also will alter what’s already been written, such as by changing a check payable to the I.R.S. to one payable to J.R. Smith. A counterfeiter also can make new checks in your name using a home computer and a printer. Warning signs: You notice that checks are missing from your checkbook or your reserve supply of checks. Mail containing checks or bank account information is “lost” or appears to have been tampered with. You spot unauthorized transactions on your bank statement. Best defense: Don’t carry more checks that you need. Keep extra checks in a secure place. Write checks using a pen with thick, dark ink. Draw lines to fill in gaps in the spaces where you designate to whom a check is payable and the amount. John Brugger, a U.S. Postal Inspector in Washington, adds that consumers should “insist that their checks have built-in security features that help make them tamper-resistant to check washing or counterfeiting.” Also immediately report to your bank any irregularities in your bank statements. Report mail theft or tampering to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which is listed in your phone book.
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