The Maid Is Stealing Your Checkbook
Identity theft is rising in the recession, according to a Brooklyn public defender I talked to at a party this weekend. Most often the crime starts with the perp stealing the victim's checkbook, he said.
With that, they've usually got your name, address, and definitely your bank account and routing number, all of which they can use to open up new accounts in your name and go on a spending spree, leaving you hanging with the charges. Not to mention, of course, just using those checks in the checkbook to buy stuff.
Who's doing the lifting? Service personnel the victim let into their home, like maids and electricians. Unsettling , you ask them to clean the house and instead they clean you out.
(Photo: Betsssssy)
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That doesn't sound like "identity theft" to me. It sounds like just plain old check fraud. Are they using the checks to somehow open new credit card accounts and get car loans, or are they just forging the signature and cashing them?
A few years ago, I let my younger sister stay with me a few days. BIG MISTAKE. She took my old state ID, and checkbook. I didn't notice until a few days after I had kicked her out for unrelated issues, when I went online and saw several checks go through that I didn't write. AWESOME.
@pecan 3.14159265: You can't just stop your life. Hide those personal things as well as you can, or, better yet, have someone home when the maids, whatever, come. My friends have a maid come every two weeks (they have tons of pets, it helps), and the maids aren't allowed to enter their main bedroom, so that's where they stuff the cats and keep the checkbook.
I just don't use checks and get "Convenience checks" from my Bank when necessary (VERY rare, usually due to direct deposit setup at a job and they just have to have a cancelled check). Have yet to run into a situation beyond job where I need it. If debit card gets lost/stolen, I can see activity instantly or stop anything from happening in its tracks.
Though for the story in general, you can't trust everyone so you just have to try and not leave out checks for others to just use.
I recently had this argument with Orkin, which recently abandoned Saturday scheduled service and promotes two options: a) keybox on the door or b) giving a key to their central office.
I explained that I don't let people work in the house unsupervised unless it's absolutely necessary (contractors doing a multi-day job) and no one gets keys. Even with contractors, I meet the supervisor and get names, insurance policies, and other information that would help me track down potential thieves.
Orkin keeps pressing the issue, and I'm about to switch to another vendor.
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pecan 3.14159265: How about a safe hidden in a closet which is bolted down and uses an electronic keypad lock? It's not foolproof but it helps. Also, helps to hire from a company who uses licensed and bonded employees.
@nakedscience: family can be a huge problem when it comes to theft/id theft. it's probably a bigger deal than the "help."
i haven't used a handwritten check in years. My bank allows me to fill in the payee info online and have it sent to them.
Aren't these the kind of people who tend to get paid by check as well? So they'd have the same information either way.
@jamesdenver: I have to write checks for rent, as my apartment complex doesn't do online payments or anything. That's the ONLY reason I use checks. Well ... and when I forget my debit card in the ATM, which happens occasionally.
When I move, I'm hoping the new pad takes online payments. That would be rad.
@katieoh: I shouldn't have had her stay with me, but she's family, you know? Before she turned 18, she got nabbed a few times for check fraud ... she stole my parents' business checks. Awesome, eh?
No, she will never be staying with me again: I learned my lesson! (She also "cleaned" my apartment as a favor when I was at work, but after I kicked her out, I suddenly started realizing that quite a few things were suddenly gone. Sneaky.)
@hypnotik_jello: And don't keep the keys to the safe on the same key ring that hangs in your kitchen. That's kind of dumb, imo, and basically makes your safe useless.
@nakedscience: I have wachovia send my landlord a paper check. That way i don't have to order checks or get stuck in a conversation
Actually I didn't mean paying online - i meant my bank actually MAILS out the checks.
My HOA is the same way - only takes checks. But I have it automatically mailed out on the 1st, and it's in his mailbox by the 6th. Actually the person is right next door to me, but then I don't have to remember to write one, drop it in his box, - have it get blown away.
It's just mailed to him like any other check. I think it's pretty cool.
@hypnotik_jello: @pecan 3.14159265: One of those safes that looks like a can of Dr. Pepper or shaving cream? Of course if they get thirsty or were running late and needed to shave you'd be screwed :)
@katieoh: I should have known better. When she was a minor, she got nabbed a few times for check fraud. She stole several checks from my parents' business. AWESOME!
I also learned that, when she "cleaned" my apartment as a favor when I was at work, she used that opportunity to steal quite a few things. I was assessing damage for weeks after she left.
NEVER AGAIN!
I'm guessing that the situation they are talking about is just check fraud, rather than full fledged ID theft.
@floraposte: c'mon, with that kind of logic the tin foil hats have nothing to worry about. Don't ruin their fun.
My girlfriend (from Sweden) had never seen a personal check before she moved here. Most Scandinavian (and some European) countries stopped using checks a long time ago. Why are we hanging on to these things?
@silver-spork: I don't like giving out keys either, because even if you get it back, you never know if it was copied.
Recently an electrician had to do a job at our house and would not hear of any other method than having a key. I then went and got the old doorknob and key that used to be on the side door when we moved into our house and installed that. After he was done I switched back to our usual doorknob and keys. We then made sure to be home when he was working, even though we trusted him.
The doorknob exchange doesn't solve the theft problem while someone works in your house, but it does provide some relief afterwards, knowing that even if the key was copied, it is useless.
@nakedscience: Is there some reason your apartment complex doesn't accept machine-generated checks? I pay rent to a sole proprietor who's about 3,000 years old. Years ago, I used my bank's online billpay to schedule a payment for the 30th of each month. The bank sends a physical check to the landlord's P.O. box, and a jpeg of the cancelled check usually shows up in my transaction list by the 5th. (Bonus benefit: I keep an eye on the signature -- as long as the checks come back with his signature in pen, I know my landlord hasn't croaked. The day it changes, I start packing.)
I pay my catsitter and yard service the same way. Nobody balks.
@kexline: for some reason my bank stopped putting the cancelled check online. Now it shows up as an auto debit.
@kexline: It's *possible* they do, I just wasn't aware of it (I thought they were saying they pay online; I didn't realize the bank sends out an actual check).
My only problem is that I tend to pay rent on the very last day it's due (ie it's not late 'til after the 5th, so I hand them my check on the 5th), because I get paid weekly, which is nice, but sometimes I don't have all the funds available on the 1st.
@TheBusDriver: ...You're saying that we shouldn't take precautious when we have strangers in our homes? That we're "paranoid" and wear "tin foil hats" because we don't trust strangers around our personal identification, information, and items? No. I'm tired of people telling us we're paranoid just because we don't trust strangers around our personal items!
For the record, if someone stole your CHECKBOOK, they suddenly have TONS OF BLANK CHECKS, not just one check you wrote and signed. It's different and can cause a LOT more problems.
Like that time my sister stole my checkbook and ID, and used it.
If you can't trust family, why trust complete strangers?
I'm not paranoid and I don't wear a tinfoil hat. I'd just rather not have to go through that crap again.
I have shocking and unsettling news for you guys. All of that information that they can get out of your checkbook... is on every single check you write! If you pay those service personnel with a check, it doesn't make much difference how safely you secure your checkbook.
@nakedscience: Even thought it's your sister and you knew she was capable of stealing your checks....I think that is completely your fault. If any member of my family did that (or I had prior knowledge of them doing that) They would not be allowed anywhere near my home or possessions.
@nakedscience: If you decide to use ING...they will send a paper check for you. It's a really nice service.
@pecan 3.14159265: Still better to have a safe. Why make it easy for them? Plus you might notice something missing a little sooner and hopefully mitigate the damages.
@kduhtoe:
I wonder that myself every time I go to the supermarket, and inevitably, there is a 50 year old woman in front of me slowly writing out a check while we all wait for this antiquated process to finish. Either use cash, debit or credit card. Checks have got to go.
@hypnotik_jello: That's what home security people recommend. Part of what's called 5 minute proofing your home. As long as they don't dig in your closet, they won't know if you have a safe.
Our maids are paid via single use CC number, so they don't handle checks, and I lock up the checkbook (and computer) on the days they clean.
@nakedscience: I think floraposte and TheBusDriver were making a point in regards to the OP (which now seems to have been changed):
"With that, they've usually got your name, address, and definitely your bank account and routing number, all of which they can use to open up new accounts in your name and go on a spending spree, leaving you hanging with the charges."
I think we can all agree check fraud is a serious crime, and it's important to safeguard blank checks. No one would want to deal with that.
@Dennis: But that would suggest that anybody you ever pay with a check has the power to turn around and use the info that appears on said check to commit identity theft.
I'm pretty sure that's not the case. Which is maybe why the OP was changed.
People still use checks. That's cute. I love when old people use them to pay for things and they steal 3 minutes of my life as I wait.
I also have checks, but those are for... umm.... I guess I would use them if my wallet was stolen!
@catastrophegirl - manic first time home buyer: Oh, no, totally. Locking the door from the inside helps, as does having someone there. Sometimes, however, you just can't help having a stranger in your home when you're away.
Kwikset makes a lock where you can change the key in about 10 seconds. Insert old key, insert special tool, insert new key.
That way it's easy to reset the lock and give a repair guy or whoever the key. When you get back, set the lock back to its original setting and you're fine, even if the guy did make a copy.
@BrazDane: anyone who insisted on having a key to my house [except a pet sitter] wouldn't be getting the job.
good idea with the doorknob though. after my last bad roommate, i had to learn to re-key a deadbolt. it's not at all difficult, but the pins are expensive if you don't happen to have a set lying around or you didn't save them out of old locks.
now i can rekey some styles of schlage deadbolts to my sister's garage door if i ever need to temporarily change a lock. [actually, my new house-to-be is going to be permanently rekeyed to match her lock which is good for emergencies and if i ever need to temporarily change the locks, i can use the pins i'll be taking out to switch it back]
but a whole doorknob would be a lot easier than rekeying a deadbolt.
@LegoMan322: I may not have made the best judgement in letting her stay with me, but it still wasn't MY fault. That's ridiculous!
She is the one who stole the checks. She is the thief. For the record, when she commited check fraud the first time around, she was 15 or 16. When she stayed with me, she was 22 -- a good five years later. We thought that was all behind her, as she had been working on things, but clearly she still had issues (I suspect her boyfriend at the time talked her into it; he was actually why I kicked her out, because he was creepy).
She later appologized. It turned out that what she bought was actually food and clothing. She didn't go and buy a big scren TV. Still, I felt violated and I was pissed, and rightfully so. She knows I won't let her stay with me again like that, at least not for a long time (this was all a few years ago, and things have gotten better for her).
She is my sister, and I'll never abandon her completely, and no, it wasn't my fault.
Electricians need to steal? They make great money...I guess it's a crime of opportunity.
@LegoMan322: You can even get 'kwickset' locks today that with a tool you can rekey your locks.
Exact procedure is in the instructions, but it's something like you insert the current key, turn it 1/4 turn, insert the tool, remove tool & key and insert new key, then turn the key back - Lock is now set to new key.
Another option would be one of the code locks that you can program with multiple codes - only enable the 'bug guy' code when you're expecting him.
Or even a biometric one - require that you meet each new worker, and remove the old one when they leave.
usually Maids and cleaning services have references they have for those who are skeptical when hiring/keeping them. I think most of this is making more people paranoid, when really common sense needs to kick in. of course keep all your personal and "confidential" information safeguarded. dont just leave the checks next to the toilet seat or kitchen.
i dont blame the maids, i blame the people who are basically giving people all their info. that's the problem with the "social" websites. any teenager can give ALL their info online, or even in pictures (like a car showing plate #'s), how old they are, where they work, how much they make etc. Date of birth, phone numbers... might as well give your SSN and post it online on myspace of facebook and let the whole world see.
thats like me saying: Dave is on vacation for a week, so bulglars: have at it. you know my house, the type of car i drive and who i live with via my pictures... so knock yourself out. then i'll repost my status as "pissed" cuz i got jacked, even though it was my own fault for giving all that info out!
@Saboth: Then tell older apartment complexes to accept payments online. Mine only accepts checks & money orders.
@William Brinkman: It's "cute"? I use them to pay rent (have to, money orders are a bitch), or when I lose my debit card.
OH NO! You have to wait a WHOLE three minutes extra! Oh, the horrrrooor!
It's cute how ridiculous and impatient people are, dontcha think?
All of the solutions to this problem I had in my head ran into major roadblocks. For instance, I keep my checkbooks in a safe, but why couldn't the maid just steal the safe? But there's a key to the safe...but I have a set of keys hanging on the hook at home because only one of us drives.
My ultimate solution is this: either don't hire a maid, or find a different location for your checkbook and/or safe when you do expect someone to be entering your home unsupervised.