Writing checks can be risky. Here's how to protect yourself.

[roi2020]

"American consumers and businesses wrote 11.2 billion checks in 2021,
far fewer than the 42 billion written at the start of the century.
Despite the rapid decline, check fraud is exploding — costing financial
institutions billions and throwing many check writers’ finances into
disarray."

"After my colleague Ron Lieber and I wrote
about rising check fraud, worried readers wrote to us with questions: Is
there a safer way to write checks when we must? What about digital
payments — aren’t they susceptible to fraud, too?"

www.fidelity.com/insights/personal-finance/check-fraud-protection

[yogibearbull]

Good tips.

I follow some of the tips mentioned already - never leave important mail in the house mailbox, but drop it off at the Post Office. The weakest link for the US Mail is the "last mile".

What bothers me MORE for checks is that all of the info for initiating electronic payments from the bank a/c is right on the check. For example, when I pay property tax or use IRS Pay, all the info needed is on the check: bank routing#, a/c#, name, address - no PIN or code is required! Why isn't there a card-like CVV code for checking?

I use bank debit card for ATMs only, not for other charges. I use credit cards only for charges and in different ways - one card mostly for online payments, one card primarily for charges by authorized users (family), and another primarily by myself, etc. All cards have all of the alerts that are possible - for non-swipes, international charges, large $amounts, etc - problem is that options vary with the cards. Sometimes, this isn't possible. For example, if my wife is travelling by herself, I use the card she uses primarily for tickets because some airlines now can demand to see the card used for buying ticket.

My bank and brokerage connections also vary - not everything is connected to the same bank a/c or with each other. This does become inconvenient at times when moving money from A to B has to be via C or D (so, may require figuring out & may take more days). My idea is that if things are compromised, only some subset would be.

[Capital]

About the only reason I write a check is to renew my auto registration. A couple of times this last 12 months I wrote checks to get cash discounts when purchasing replacement HVAC systems. These purchases are always made in person with no use of the postal service. Virtually (pun intended) everything else is paid via my bill pay system or by EFT draft I initiate on the vendor's web site. I also use Venmo and Zelle to pay individuals that I know. I use a separate bank account that I fund for those payments. I agree that writing checks and mailing them is a scary proposition. 

[habsui]

Checks ??  Beatles ??

[roi2020]

I seldom write checks anymore.
My average annual number of checks has been ~6 the past few years (property tax, vehicle registration, dentist).
An online bill payment platform is used to make the vast majority of payments.
I've already implemented most of the practices suggested in the article with the primary exception being taking pictures of checks.

[yakers]

Over the last few years I have had a couple checks 'washed', taken right from the US PO box. Now all cecks go only to the office itself. I still have at least one check each month I have to write.

[archer]

Many checks are written by the banks for people who use online bill pay. Seems like outgoing mail from banks are an easy target that customers have no control over.

[richardsok]

Jan 25, 2024 16:57:28 GMT yakers said:

Over the last few years I have had a couple checks 'washed', taken right from the US PO box. Now all cecks go only to the office itself. I still have at least one check each month I have to write.

Many "street"  mail boxes have been newly retro-fitted so the drop door opens only about two inches.   Much harder now for thieves to "fish" for mail.

[FD1000]

The only time I have used checks is for unique situations. That includes home improvement contractors, and buying vehicles. Most of these contractors use only cash, otherwise, they charge 3-5% on a credit card + Zelle max transfer is $3500 for a day/week. I pay them a $1000 with a credit card so I can dispute it if something goes wrong and the rest with a check. There are contractors that don't accept credit cards at all.  The other time was when I purchased a new vehicle. The second vehicle was purchased by wiring the money directly.

I also noticed lately that many merchants allow you to use Google pay in the US, while it's a lot more common in Europe. This is another great and safer choice than your actual card.

Basically, all my generic payments 1) utilities are being paid by a credit card or a direct withdrawals from my bank  2) For friends/contractors under $3500 I use Zelle, Paypal and Vemno. The world is digital.

[bb2]

Concerning mail box security, I have sensors all over, really. Anyone gets too close, things happen. (Once I actually deteted a perp, and shooed her off.) You can set sensitivity to exclude most animals as well as focus their "vision" with blinders. You can also get just components and wire up various results when something is detected. Not that I'm in a dangerous place - just something to do. Another hobby. I also use this to scare coyotes is certain areas.

[catdog]

My wife and I just switched banks. Were members of old bank over 30 years. New bank allows us to go inside bank and request a bank draft every day (limit of one per day). While this is inconvenient for most, if you only write a few checks a month/year it might work. We love the new bank so far.

Catdog