Check Fraud and Other "Paper" Transactions

As soon as you realize that your checks or other paper transactions are being stolen, there is a standard procedure that is generally followed.  The steps below will walk you through what you need to do.

1. Immediately put a hold on those checks and close out the related accounts. 

2. Request that your bank notify their check verification service, which will then notify retailers not to accept any of those checks. 

3. You can also contact these services directly through:

a.    TeleCheck by contacting them at  1-800-366-2425   or
b.    or Certegy, Inc. (previously Equifax Check Systems) at 727-227-8000 

4. You can call SCAN at  to find out if the forger has making bad checks in your name.

5. If your checks aren't being accepted, ask the business to give you their check verification service's number so you can find out what means the thief is using to block your checks.  Then take action accordingly.

6. Finally, dispute any bad checks that you acquired to be able to prevent yourself from getting bad credit and being fined.  You will also need to contact Check Systems, Inc. to review your consumer report to make sure there are no other accounts being used by the identity thief.

Sometimes, the thief may have your driver's license number or other pieces of your identification that help him authenticate the checks.  If you suspect that he is using one or more of those means, take the proper action to change that specific identity information.

Unlike credit card or ATM frauds, there's no way for the federal law to limit how much your losses will be.  However, in certain states there are state laws which will hold the bank responsible for any forged checks or other paper transactions. 

This does not give you the liberty to carelessly handle your accounts.  You may still be held responsible if you fail to notify the bank of the error or fraud.  This is why it’s so important to keep track of your bank statements to verify that all the transactions were made by you or your account share holder (if applicable).

Fortunately, paper transactions are more cut and dry which help with finding the source and fixing the problem.  If you ever have questions about what you should do in the case of a fraudulent paper transaction, don't hesitate to contact your financial institution and ask them or visit the Federal Trade Commission website at www.ftc.gov for more information.