What happens if someone steals a check

He also says to invest in a shredder. Thieves do go through garbage and can find your bank and credit card numbers. Discovering you're the victim of check fraud can be an overwhelming experience. If you are one of the unlucky victims, there are steps you can take to rectify the situation. Your state's law and the bank's terms and conditions will generally determine how long you have to report a stolen check, says Matt Smith, State of Connecticut Department of Banking Director of Government Relations and Consumer Affairs with the State of Connecticut Department of Banking.

This rule applies whether the theft is by mail or if you lost your checkbook. Checks are like mini contracts between you and the person to whom you wrote the check. Thus, it's often handled by the courts.

You'll want to file a police report immediately. Diligence is important and you should check your statements immediately. State guidelines may differ slightly in the amount of time allowed and if courts can make exceptions if you waited more than a statement or two to check your account, but fast action is vital to solving these cases.

If your fraud was mail related, submit a complaint to the postal inspector. In alone the U. Postal Service received 60, complaints of mail theft and 2, claims were prosecuted. Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the ITRC explains, "They can assist you with a plan which includes important steps like reporting the crime to the police as soon as it's discovered and obtaining a copy of your police report.

From there you'll be instructed to send copies of your police report to the check verification companies, merchants and financial institutions. It's extremely important to account for every check made out to a particular business in question and continue to review all your new bank statements to spot any additional instances of check fraud.

To avoid serious repercussions, contact your creditors, landlord, or mortgage company immediately if you need an extension on payment. Since the process to recover your funds can unfortunately be a bit lengthy, if you have good credit, you may want to consider a small personal loan before you miss a payment. Community organizations may be able to help, too. Consider calling your city and county government's main number and asking for a community resources division.

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Bank accounts and services. 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.

Sign Up to receive our daily weekday newsletter with the latest financial blogs, news, and videos. Read our privacy policy for more info. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. I am Lavinia by name and a financial expert with having a degree in finance from the University of Chicago. In my blog, I help people to educate by making wise choices regarding personal investment, basic banking, credit and debit card, business education, real estate, insurance, expenditures, etc.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Table of Contents. Please leave this field empty. Lavinia R. More Details. It is often the case that a stolen check will be taken to a bank to be cashed. However, there is a set of code standards in place that all states have adopted to assign responsibilities to the bank in these situations. The responsibility for legislating banking laws pertaining to check theft is left to each state.

These rules are administered and published by the International Chamber of Commerce, and issues related to bank liability regarding stolen checks are found in ICC Publication No. Article 22 of this publication states that the presenting bank is responsible for ensuring that the check appears to be correct and complete, but is not responsible for the authenticity of the signature of the person presenting the check or her authority to do so.