Consumerist
scams
Posts Tagged “
Checks
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scams
identity theft
5 Ways To Avoid Check Fraud And Thwart Identity Thieves
Check-altering criminal mastermind Frank Abagnale has five ways to lockdown your checking account and secure your identity. Check fraud isn't an anachronistic threat like Communism. Determined thieves can easily use your checks to steal your cash and your identity. Here's how to stop them... More »
bad consumer
Man Arrested For Trying To Pass A $360 Billion Check
Meet Charles Ray Fuller, 21, of Crowley, TX. He was arrested on April 22 after allegedly trying to pass a check for $360 billion at a Forth Worth Chase bank. More »
funny
Charles Schwab Sends You A Letter To Let You Know That Your $0.01 Check Expired
Commenter annelise13 writes:My husband and I recently received a letter from Charles Schwab about our account. It refers to a check they sent us last year for the grand total of $.01. Yes, that's one cent. A single penny. I never cashed the check, having found it funny that they wasted a stamp to send us such a tiny amount. I tacked it up on the fridge for a few months to amuse myself, and eventually tossed it.More »
satisfied customer
Bank Of America Refunds $325 In Overdraft Fees To Customer Who Was On Cruise
Don't say we never printed anything nice about you, BoA. One of your customers just had an experience with you that—despite still having an overdraft fee of $20 to pay—has left her feeling pretty good about you. More »
missing
"I Lost My Deposit Slip, And PNC Says There's No Record Of My Deposit"
Nicholas wrote in with a scary problem: his paycheck, which he deposited at his local branch of PNC on Saturday, never showed up in his bank account. The teller seemed to have difficulty processing the deposit, but the slip he gave to Nicholas showed the check had been processed. In the days that followed, Nicholas lost his deposit slip and the only proof he had that the check ever went into his account. Now the bank is telling him it can't help him without the slip, and Nicholas is wondering where the hell his money went.More »
polls
Would You Scan Checks At Home For Deposit?
Banks have hesitated to adopt technology that would let us scan paper checks at home for deposit. The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act allows banks to exchange electronic images instead of paper checks, but USAA, a credit union associated with the military, is currently the only bank to offer customers a check scanning option. Sure, it's easy enough to stand on line for a teller or wait for an ATM, but we fear sunshine and people and prefer to stay indoors, thank you. Assuming it was free, is this something you would use if it was offered by your bank? Vote in our poll, after the jump. More »
banking
USAA Customer? Make Sure Your Checks Haven't Been Cashed Twice
This morning, Mary logged onto her USAA bank account to check her balance and was surprised to find that her rent check had been cashed twice while she was asleep. She was eventually able to get through to a human and get the problem addressed, but it wasn't easy. And she may not have been the only one affected. More »
seniors
Creditors Can Steal Your Social Security Check Right Out Of Your Bank Account
Nathalie Martin's elderly cousin had her social security check garnished straight from her bank account by a collections agency. Apparently, most banks skip over the section of federal law that protects social security and other public benefits from creditors. Good thing Nathalie is a bankruptcy scholar and knows how to fight the sleazy debt collectors. More »
misleading
Chase: By Cashing This $9.25 Check You Agree To Give Us $59.99
Reader Aaron writes in to complain about a "scam" that he can't believe is legal. Many of you know about this little marketing tactic, and we've written about it before, but some of you probably do not. More »
annoying
Depositing Checks In A Bank Of America ATM Is A Huge Pain In The Butt
I thought I'd give your readers a heads-up on how much Bank of America sucks, and why you should make all deposits to a bank teller and never, ever at the ATM. More »
videos
Beware Bank Check Fraud
funny money
Check Fraud Up As High Quality Printer Prices Drop
With high-quality printers are widely available at the consumer level, check counterfeiting is on the rise, usually in conjunction with "advance fee scams," where someone is tricked into cashing an overpayment of some sort and then sending the remainder to another address, reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Then by some machination or another, the overpayment turns out to be fraudulent and the scammer vanishes. The image above shows various security features to look for when evaluating a check's verisimilitude.
Check fraud getting high tech [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]
it's not a lie if you believe it
Budget: Cash This Check And You'll Be Enrolled In A Service You Don't Want
Reader Larry writes in with a complaint about a commonly used "scam." We call it a "scam" because we believe it's misleading and designed to take advantage of people who do not read things carefully, but you judge for yourself. Here's how it works:
privacy
How Frank Abagnale Protects Himself From Identity Theft
How does Frank Abagnale, an infamous check forger in the 60's, protect himself from modern day identity thieves? More »
customer service 101
Wachovia Demonstrates How To Lose A Customer
We have more than a passing interest in customer service over here, so it always amuses us when a company loses a customer simply because they're too stubborn to apologize for messing up. More »
old school
Check Fraud Is Alive, Well, And Preventable
Old-fashioned check fraud is coming back into style as banks tailor their anti-fraud efforts to safeguard internet commerce. Check fraud cost banks almost $1 billion in 2005. The LA Times took the time to test the effectiveness of one resurgent scheme, check washing:In a test at The Times — following directions supplied by a local security expert — the writing in the "Pay to the Order," "Dollars" and signature areas on a check was dissolved in less than 15 minutes. Printed information — including the bank routing numbers and the name and address of the account holder — remained intact.More »
complaints
Reader DudeAsInCool got an apology from Walgreens and a $20 coupon after submitting his complaint over the hassle he was put through when trying to pay with a check. Somehow the who/what/when/why/where/how of his purchase tripped Walgreen's check verification service, Certegy, and he had to go through a ridiculous phone call in order to get his check cleared."In short, they said that while Certegy does help them with the battle against consumer fraud, sometimes their practices hurt their good Walgreen's customers," wrote DudeAsInCool. "Thanks for posting my letter so other consumers won't be insulted and inconvenienced in the future... We should be able to use whatever form of payment we want to, when we want to and however we want to." — BEN POPKENPREVIOUSLY: Statistically Speaking, His Check Was Fraudulent
(Photo: Zepfanman.com)
Walgreens Apologizes For Insinuating Reader Might Be Committing Check Fraud
Reader DudeAsInCool got an apology from Walgreens and a $20 coupon after submitting his complaint over the hassle he was put through when trying to pay with a check. Somehow the who/what/when/why/where/how of his purchase tripped Walgreen's check verification service, Certegy, and he had to go through a ridiculous phone call in order to get his check cleared."In short, they said that while Certegy does help them with the battle against consumer fraud, sometimes their practices hurt their good Walgreen's customers," wrote DudeAsInCool. "Thanks for posting my letter so other consumers won't be insulted and inconvenienced in the future... We should be able to use whatever form of payment we want to, when we want to and however we want to." — BEN POPKENPREVIOUSLY: Statistically Speaking, His Check Was Fraudulent(Photo: Zepfanman.com)
