[WARNING] Paper Checks Can Lead to Fraud

Your statement "The only remaining fix is to stop using paper checks…" almost wants me to reply back with: "Are you on the bankroll of financial institutions… or sumfin?"
This is the wettest dream a bean counter can ever have. Their next target is paper money but that has been their wildest fantasy for many decades!
And I hope I never hear you state "The only remaining fix is to throw away your wallet" because someone can pick-pocket it… or sumsuch.

May be you were too young to remember >> “In 2003, Congress passed the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (Check 21), which was designed to enhance payment system efficiency to processing … checks electronically.”
Ever try to deposit an institutional check over $5k >> then, ever compare how much LESS time (to clear the bank) it takes if you write a personal check over $5k?

Frankly speaking, I don’t really want to live in such a digital world, where I go around waving a smartphone for all my transactions. And I’d rather continue to try slowing down the banking system’s advantage with using paper checks and paper money, instead!

K.I.S.S.

I completely concur that electronic banking is at the least, as safe if not safer than using paper checks.

Check fraud, the simple act of stealing checks and forging the signature is an age old crime. Payment by check is only as good as the human being who you must trust to deposit it into the proper account.

Many years ago - before computers were in every home - I paid my credit card bill at the bank drive thru window. When I got a late bill from the bank, it was pretty clear that something went awry between my hand and the final destination. The teller was fired and my account was properly serviced, but I have never had much faith in personal banking since that occasion.

When I can get a confirmation number that my bill has been scheduled to be paid and ON TIME, then I am happy. As pointed out, any lateness problems must be reconciled by the bank, and don't cost me.

I am, however, careful not to "store" my credit card information on sites. I will gladly go through the trouble to re-enter all of the information for each transaction, for the sake of added security.

Some businesses don't accept credit cards because the credit card vendors take a percentage of their gross receipts. Many entities charge "processing" fees for the "privilege" of using credit cards. Like a previous post, every penny counts & I need all my pennies.I don't carry checks with me unless I'm going to pay in person. I've had more problems with illegal credit card use by others than I've ever had with checks. However, I use electronic payment whenever feasible. Easy & convenient.

Funny to read this. In my country - Denmark - the banks have decided to abolish the check clearing arrangement, since nobody uses checks anymore. Virtually everyone 15 years or older have a no-fee debit card and the majority have some form of electronic payment app on their smartphone. Banks are required to offer a no-frills bank acoount with a debit card to all residents and all government welfare payments and wages (for both government and private industry employees) are automatically paid to this account. For us, checks are very much so last century.

I prefer to send a cheque (that's how we spell it in UK) when ordering something by post, otherwise I have to give my email address and/or phone number, leaving me open to junk mail or unwanted phone calls.

True... a paper check passes through more hands and the check information can be more easily stolen.

Also true... thieves can obtain the information of millions of people by hacking just one electronic database.

Six of one...

I am 72 & wrote many a check, in my day. During the early 1990's, Direct Deposit became available with my Hubby's company, Lockheed. We both jumped on it. Then, a couple of years later, my hospital started doing Direct Deposit & boy, did I jump on that, too!

What a time saver, not having to go to the bank, to cash checks or deposit them. We both got a copy of our checks & the bank recorded them, so we could easily show proof of the deposit.

I started using my Debit Card, as soon as I got one. It was a lot easier than carrying around a lot of money! Then, I discovered Web Bill Pay! What a great way to pay many of your bills. Once again, saving time & energy! Not all of my bills are paid by Web Bill Pay. I want immediate electronic paying, not sending out "checks" to those who aren't setup for electronic payment.

I haven't written a check since 2001. To date, I have not had any issues with using my Debit Card, either. Yes, I have had to have my Debit Card replaced, due to some compromise by Visa, but I haven't had any issues with someone else using my card.

I prefer to use my Debit Card online. I will NOT write in my Debit Card number on any paperwork. Too easy to copy the numbers & do some bad stuff. The numbers are scrambled online when going from my computer to the online store-front.

Yes, there are sometimes extra charges, but, they have been reasonable, anywhere from a dollar to five dollars. Now, my rent company will allow online payment, but, I will NEVER use that service when the charges are almost $30!!! Now, that is highway robbery!!!

Remember, I am 72 & use all of the electronic means that I can. First of all, I can save gas & money by doing things online. I do use Walmart Money Center or Kroger for those times, that I need a money order, for instance paying my rent! The money order only cost me $.90 or $1.25, a real bargain in my book. The rest there are no charges, so it's even steven for me & I stayed at home relaxing. :O)

Okay, so what's worse than having some scammer steal your money by procuring your account information from a paper check? How's about when the government itself steals your money simply by swiping your bank card during an illegal search?
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/north_america/americas-current-economy/oklahoma-police-can-seize-your-entire-bank-account-on-a-traffic-stop-without-any-charges-at-all/
http://www.npr.org/2016/06/07/481058641/new-mexico-ended-civil-asset-forfeiture-why-then-is-it-still-happening

At least if a government entity tries stealing your bank cash by check-fraud, there may be a paper-trail you can mitigate it with. But when they use your own bank/credit cards to electronically impoverish you, it seems that you become SOL much more completely.

DanD

My problem is my wife. Though I work in computers, she is not computer literate, has problems with a basic cell phone, and at our age (80s)not interested in making progress. But she doesn't want me paying electronic bills by EFT, she wants to hold onto her ability to write the checks in response to mailed bills as long as she can. So she writes them, I double check them, correct mistakes. and send them on their way.
The only out I can see is to take the bills/checks out of the envelope, pay by transfer (I can tag the check number with a digital number) and simply throw the empty envelopes away.
Haven't started yet, but am almost there. She would never know

American Express is a particularly loose operator. I started getting charges on my Amex account for a periodical which i didn't order. They refused to reverse the charges because I had once bought a book from that publisher and given them my Amex account number for payment! Eventually i got the publisher to stop sending the journal but Amex never gave me a credit!

Apparently some women on here are quite gullible. Most credit cards protect you against fraud. Checks are gone once written unless you take your own actions which are generally fruitless. Debit cards are roughly the same since they come from a checking/saving account. Checks to family members hopefully are no risk unless they are a risk to begin with. Even worse w/checks is identify theft. Some individuals even put license # and DOB on checks from the old days to pay easier. NoNo!

Great article Bob, People need to wise-up. Any Bank worth a salt, will have a Bill-Payer program that is free for the clients. Enter the Payee account # one time, and the amount, and your bank pays your bill for you. The big loser is the Post Office, because you no longer have to buy stamps, and you do not have to use checks anymore.

In Canada there's an app for taking a photo of a cheque with your cell phone and depositing it to your account. The cheque never makes it to the bank. If the recipient has more than one bank account and forgets that they have deposited it they can deposit again to another account and out of your account goes the money for the second time. This could even be done deliberately. It hasn't happened to me yet but I write very few cheques and the couple of credit card disputes I have had were both settled in my favour quickly and amicably with the card issuer.

In Canada almost no merchants accept cheques. I'm always amazed when I come to the US as to how many supermarkets and other stores willingly accept cheques. Everyone here uses their debit card.

DanD- according to the Gospel of Bob, I rarely follow links, but I did so with yours. Scary stuff. The next time I go thru Oklahoma, I will be sure not to have cards with me. Or at least nearly empty the account before I cross state lines. I wonder what sort of book Orwell would write today. I know what lyrics Rogers and Hammerstein would write. Oklahoma, not OK.

with all this fraud I guess a chip implanted in our hand or forehead and connected to the account might be the "safer" way. There is that old buy nor sell without the mark of the beast problem that arises. I guess that's OK for the masses who have already sworn their alliances to the tech God, for the rest not so much.

To minimize the possibility of what Bob describes, I keep $1.35 in my checking account and make an ETF when I occasionally write a check. So at least I am lowering the odds that I'll get robbed.

Hi Bob.
I live in Denmark, where nobody accepts paper checks any more, except banks. If the check is issued by another bank, or an insurance company, then it will usually be credited straight away (with the proviso that if it bounces, the bank will rescind the credit of it from the date that it accepted it). I have neither used nor seen a personal check for many years now. I don't think they're printed any more.

Using money orders is not much better. I remember when a money order company went bankrupt and the money orders bounced and the purchasers were out of luck.

What I find of interest is when I have tried to set up direct deposit for some of my incoming payments (like dividends) and the company *requires* that in order to set up a direct deposit arrangement I HAVE to provide a "voided" paper check with the bank routing numbers and my account numbers on them.

As mentioned above, most banks even here in the US no longer provide paper checks when you open an account. Last time I opened a checking account (which was about two months ago) all I got was a plastic (and non-chipped) debit card. If I wanted paper checks I would have to get the routing info from my bank and order them myself from a check printing company...

As for businesses, at least Aldi recently started accepting credit cards as well as debit cards, but will not take checks. I still know of a few businesses I deal with remain cash only. Still quite a mish mosh of who accepts what.