118
votes
What should I do when an employer issues a check and requests my personal banking access details?
Your list of required items contains a 100% sure marker for scam, namely the request for your password. Nobody legitimite will ever ask you for your password, not even the bank that issued it. Do not ...
- 1,185
73
votes
What should I do when an employer issues a check and requests my personal banking access details?
This is a scam. What you should do is cut off contact with them immediately.
No employer ever needs your bank username and password. Period.
Even the bank employees will not ask you for your password.
...
- 43k
65
votes
How to safely destroy (a large quantity of) valid checks?
The norm for disposing of old checks is destroying them, if you really wanted a non-shredder option you could cut a significant portion off and just burn those, or dispose of larger pieces at separate ...
- 69.1k
45
votes
How to safely destroy (a large quantity of) valid checks?
Use them to make papier mache. Place them in a bucket of water, let them sit for a while, stirring/mashing occasionally, until they become a pulp. Then either discard the mess, or use it creatively: ...
- 11.2k
37
votes
How to safely destroy (a large quantity of) valid checks?
Why on earth did you only consider burning them inside your apartment?
Go outside and find somewhere without many people. Could be a park, side of the road somewhere, even an alleyway if you can't ...
- 2,402
33
votes
Accepted
How to safely destroy (a large quantity of) valid checks?
Simple: Use a secure shredding vendor. Some vendors offer different tiers with different disposal practices, for checks you would obviously want to choose the more (most) secure option.
Many office ...
- 17k
21
votes
How to safely destroy (a large quantity of) valid checks?
At least in the UK (but I suspect also in the US), many offices use secure collections bins (see below) to dispose of confidential papers that are no longer needed. These are collected periodically by ...
- 9,105
20
votes
Accepted
Address on a Personal Check
A check is still valid if the address is wrong or missing. On those rare occasions where I write a check, I'm still using the checks that I had when I opened my account half a dozen addresses ago. ...
- 26.5k
19
votes
How to safely destroy (a large quantity of) valid checks?
Take them to the bank branch, ask them to destroy the cheques for you.
- 927
13
votes
What should I do when an employer issues a check and requests my personal banking access details?
Giving your password to them violates your agreement with your bank.
I agree with the others. This has 100% of the markings of an overpayment scam - that's where they send you more money than you're ...
10
votes
Accepted
Personal checks containing entire account number
That seemed like a security issue to me.
Technically, you are correct: having your bank routing number and account number on checks is a security risk.
Am I being too paranoid
Not paranoid, but (...
- 50.6k
9
votes
How to safely destroy (a large quantity of) valid checks?
Many neighborhoods/towns have a "shred day", "secure destruction day", or something similar where industrial-grade devices are made available to the public. Usually you'll go to the town hall or ...
- 1,866
8
votes
How to safely destroy (a large quantity of) valid checks?
You are overestimating the task of tearing up several thousand checks, and also overestimating the persistence of scavengers pawing through your garbage in search of treasure.
I faced the same ...
- 1,890
8
votes
Accepted
Overloading checks
A teller may have a limit on how many checks that he or she can process, but an entire bank can get thousands of checks per day from businesses that make daily deposits. There may also be a limit on ...
- 131k
6
votes
Physical Checks - Mailing
Lets say you owed me $123.00 an wanted to mail me a check. I would then take the check from my mailbox an either take it to my bank, or scan it and deposit it via their electronic interface.
Prior to ...
- 136k
6
votes
(How) can I print my own checks on my printer on regular paper?
There are certain standards that modern checks need to meet. These aren't required by law, but banks today generally insist on them. If you are able to meet these standards and print your own checks ...
- 115k
6
votes
How to safely destroy (a large quantity of) valid checks?
The bank branch I occasionally visit has a secure disposal bin with a slot big enough to take chequebooks. This is freely available to customers, next to the ATMs/paying in machines inside the branch....
- 2,505
6
votes
Accepted
"Check" created from multiple overlapping checks
This is preposterous, and is another example why not to use BoA. They should have bounced this check themselves, it is clearly not an eligible instrument.
The number you circled on the image is a ...
- 166k
5
votes
How to safely destroy (a large quantity of) valid checks?
Is there a mechanical workshop close by?
One person with an oxyacetylene torch will make a burn through within seconds. Then just dump them regularly. Bring some donuts for the mechanics, ask them ...
- 1,104
5
votes
Accepted
For how long is a draft check valid, and where do the funds sit?
To answer length validity and security implications of draft checks issued and negotiated within the United States, I am heavily addressing the common erroneous assumptions of where the funds sit ...
- 257
5
votes
Mistakenly wrote "dollars" in dollars section of check
Ignore it. Having both a numeric and a written-out representation of the amount simply serves to confirm that the amount is correct, and to prevent tampering (e.g. recipient adds an extra 0 to the ...
- 9,505
5
votes
Accepted
Would a personal check be rejected solely on the basis of an inaccurate bank address?
I was going to start with a comment, but this turned into an answer.
This is also a US based answer.
In the united states the most important information on a blank check are the routing number and ...
- 136k
5
votes
How to write a non-transferable check for sending in the mail?
You can't really, it's the bank's job to do that. That's the whole point of writing a name on the For line. Banks aren't supposed to accept checks endorsed by someone other than that person. When you ...
- 2,096
5
votes
How to write a non-transferable check for sending in the mail?
In USA, on Check you cannot write "To the payee only" as in Israel or "account Payee only" as in India.
In USA it is assumed that the Bank will verify that the name matches with the person cashing ...
- 3,472
5
votes
Accepted
Is it valid to write check without numeric amount but with words amount?
Is it valid to write check without numeric amount but with words amount?
It appears so. From from the accepted answer to the exact opposite question:
The Uniform Commercial Code section 3 covers ...
- 50.6k
5
votes
What should I do when an employer issues a check and requests my personal banking access details?
Contact the police
Other answers have already covered protecting yourself from fraud.
One thing that hasn't been covered though is that these people are criminals. In many countries, simply what they'...
- 2,402
4
votes
Accepted
Why did my bank reject this check?
This just sounds like a branch or bank policy. Different banks do different things. Without a last name, it's much harder to prove it's you compared to if they wrote "Geoff [last name]". Checks do not ...
- 13.8k
4
votes
Accepted
Are checks safe to use given mobile deposit?
What you are asking here could also be put on Stack Overflow because it is as much a computer science question as a finance one. Banks have many ways to protect from checks being used twice including ...
- 462
3
votes
Accepted
NSF Check and Cash Advance
You should talk to your bank first, they may be able to flag it for overdraft instead of NSF, (check clears, your bank charges you an overdraft fee). I would also contact the recipient of the check to ...
- 69.1k
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