What Can Someone Do With a Stolen Check | Stolen Check & Precautions

Cashing a stolen check is not a good thing to do, as it is illegal. So, if you get a stolen check by chance, you should not cash it in any way. Because redeeming a hijacked check is called fraud, you must only exchange checks that are yours. So, if you’re curious about what a thief can do with a hijacked check, read on.

When your checks are stolen, thieves might intercept mail sent to mortgage firms or the Revenue and process it directly. This is a simple method for people to generate a lot of cash with very little work. Keep on reading this article in detail.

It’s a sad truth, but one in every twenty Americans has been the victim of check fraud. With more and more people banking online these days, criminals are increasingly using stolen or forged checks to commit their crimes by intercepting mail with your routing number on it before you can pick up your package from the post office or open an account at a bank under someone else’s name after stealing all sorts of personal information such as driver license numbers!

Someone with your check can raid your account: Money matters:

If your check has been stolen by any means, it is essential to take immediate action so that you will not be proved liable for any funds that are illegally taken from your account. 

Here the question arises, how can any person who has your bank routing number and bank account number take money from your checking account without your signature? The answer is that if you write a personal check to someone and provide your name, address, routing number, account number, and phone number, anyone can do a lot of damage to your checking account.

To solve this situation, I will recommend you do two things firsthand.

• It would help if you asked your bank to stop someone from harming you who has all your personal information given on the front of the personal check.
• It would help if you did not take a chance. You should open a second checking account; if it is co-operated and does not have many funds, which are not used for direct deposits, or made electronic withdrawals for insurance, your checking account will be a good option linked with your debit card.

What you Should do if Someone Stoles your Check

• If your check is stolen, you should call your bank immediately and freeze your account. A freeze will remain until you find your missing check or debit card. 
• You should be aware of all your necessary transactions, so gather them. As soon as you collect your items, you can choose your transactions more quickly.
• Place an application to close your current account. 
• Then file a police report to identify the theft protection. 
• It will help if you deal with Automatic debit card transactions, deposit slips, and bank statements.

A mailbox isn’t safe:

One of the main reasons someone has stolen your check is that you might have an unsecured mailbox.

Keeping your mailbox safe:

To avoid the case of theft your checks, you can keep your mailbox safe in the following ways:

• You should sign up for Notifications of mail delivery from USPS. 
• To increase the security level, get a locked mailbox.
• In addition, you can install a mailbox alarm in your mailbox.
• You can also install a mailbox security camera.

What happened when you already got your Third Stimulus Check?

A bonus amount may be on the way

Individual taxpayers, who provide their adjusted gross income up to 75000$ be suitable for the full $1400 stimulus check.

• If you need more cash and not getting extra support for stimulus, don’t worry. Here are some financial tips recommended.
• If you depend on your credit card and spend more than 45% on your purchases in March compared to the last year, you should slash your credit card and pay it off as soon as possible. You can do it by changing your balances into a debt consolidation loan with the minimum interest rate.

Instantly increase your credit scores for free

Yes, it is possible to increase your credit scores without any payments by following some essential steps, including opening accounts with major credit bureaus, paying your bills on time, and maintaining low balances.

Your credit amount will be calculated based on information in your credit reports. 

Find help for the protection and understanding of your credit status

• protect your credit by paying back your debts on time.
• apply for new credit only when you need it.
• hire a co-signer.
• keep your starter cards open. 
• Protect your personal information.
• You should regularly check your transactions and accounts.

You can understand your credit score by the following ranges:

• 580 is insufficient
• 580 to 669 are fair
• 670 to 739 are good
• 740 to 799 are very good
• Above 800 range is Exceptional

Contact your creditors immediately for the payment extension

When your income falls, and you think that you cannot pay your liabilities, it is essential to look at your debts and discover how you can contact your creditors. For this purpose, your record of transactions with your creditors is vital.

If you were regular in paying your funds in the past transactions, your creditors would co-operate with you, and if you are somehow late for any reason, they will not mind. As the creditors are businessmen and provide you with the services, they want to keep your business sound and get payments on time.

Moreover, if your payment history is not good in the past, you should contact your creditors immediately and take essential measures. 

It would help if you informed your creditors in the following way:

• You should tell the reason you cannot pay on time.
• Give the information about your current income and the plans for your income.
• Tell me about your other liabilities and obligations.

Get informed about how you can build up your debts. And tell them how you can pay the required amount in instalments each month. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Will Biden give you a fourth stimulus check?

As the IRS distributes the pandemics’ third stimulus checks, up-to-the range of $1400 each, the government is trying to provide the fourth payment. The congressional democrats and Advocacy groups pressure Biden to support fourth stimulus checks and regular cash payments until the COVID crisis is gone. 

What is check fraud?

A check scam is a kind of illicit activity that involves the unauthorized use of checks to loan monies that do not exist in your outstanding balance or are not legally owned by the account owner. The majority of strategies rely on exploiting or floating the money.

How does check fraud work?

When someone steals someone’s paper check, they use it for the payment of goods or services, and they deposit it in their account, or they try to cash it over the counter at your bank.

What should you do if you’re the victim of check fraud?

• First of all, you should analyze your situation.
• You must gather the necessary details at the appropriate moment. To analyze, investigate, and punish, the institution, law enforcers, and credit agencies will require precise data.
• Immediately report notifying the bank or credit union.
• Contact the Attorney General’s office in your state.
• Contact the District Attorney’s office in your city.

How to cash a stolen check?

With the account information and lost check, you may redeem a stolen check online. The name of the financial account owner is not required, but it must be included. Now you may use a digital check to purchase things digitally with the check information. Digital checks are accepted by certain businesses.

What to do if someone cashed a check that is mine?

Contact your bank or credit union immediately. State law generally states that you are not responsible for checking if someone forged the person’s signature to whom the statement was issued. Tell your bank or credit union about the event and ask for the money to be restored to your account.

How can a check duplication scam like this work?

To check the check duplication, the person is contacted and asked to pay $14 and asked, “who is who.” But the core of the scam seems to be to get a check, call the bank account number and routing number, create a duplicate statement and then cash it.

This makes no sense because this was so simple to do to expose the check for potential fraud. And withdrawing thousands of dollars with duplicated statements doesn’t look like the original checks.

What is identity theft?

Identity theft refers to when someone uses another person’s identification, like name, identifying cell number, or credit card information, without their permission to commit fraud or other crimes. The term identity theft was coined in 1964. 

What can you do if you suspect someone is stealing your identity?

• Keep track of your bills whenever they’re required. If you haven’t received an account in a while, it’s possible that your shipping address has been updated.
• After that, go through your bills.
• You must review your financial statements.
• Get a copy of your credit file and study them.

Conclusion

So it is clear from the above article that if you might face such a situation that someone has stolen your check, he can make purchases from that check, but it was included in his crime list. 

You should immediately contact your bank and then file a dispute of fraud. You will probably be advised to freeze an account and open a new tab with a unique account number, and this process might be time-consuming.