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Consumers often use cashier’s checks for larger purchases because they offer the recipient of the funds extra security. That’s because cashier’s checks are guaranteed by a bank rather than the purchaser.
Unfortunately, printing technology has improved over recent decades, making it easier for scammers to print fraudulent cashier’s checks at home and trick unsuspecting consumers into accepting them as legitimate forms of payment. Knowing how to spot a fake cashier’s check is crucial to avoiding these scams.
Learn how cashier’s checks work, what common scams use them, and how to protect yourself.
Key Points
⢠Cashier’s checks are secure, bank-guaranteed checks used for large transactions, providing assurance to recipients.
⢠Scammers use advanced printing technology to create fake cashier’s checks, misleading consumers.
⢠Employment, overpayment, and windfall scams commonly involve counterfeit cashier’s checks.
⢠Verifying a cashier’s check involves directly contacting the issuing bank to confirm its legitimacy.
⢠Victims of counterfeit cashier’s checks should report the fraud to authorities to mitigate financial loss.
What Is a Cashier’s Check?
A cashier’s check is a check issued and guaranteed by a bank or credit union. This typically instills confidence in the recipient that the check won’t bounce when they deposit it at their own financial institution. They are common in real estate transactions and large purchases.
When you deposit a cashier’s check into your checking account, the money usually clears faster than a traditional personal check. Cashier’s checks can be more secure because they’re more challenging to forge â though they’re not impossible to counterfeit.
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How Do Cashier’s Checks Work?
A cashier’s check is like a prepaid check. If you need to pay someone with a cashier’s check, you can go to your bank to purchase one. The money will immediately leave your account, and you can give the cashier’s check to the person or business as payment. When they deposit the cashier’s check, your bank will release the funds to cover the cost.
• If you don’t have a bank account, you may still be able to get a cashier’s check from a financial institution. Rather than withdraw the funds from your account, the bank would instead require that you pay cash to have a cashier’s check issued.
• Cashier’s checks are usually not free. On top of the amount to be paid with the check, banks usually charge around $8 to $15 to issue a cashier’s check.
4 Common Cashier’s Check Scams
Just as there are many types of bank fraud in general, cashier’s check scams run the gamut, but most follow a similar structure. Typically, a fraudster will give you a fake cashier’s check that looks real, and they’ll ask you to deposit it and then send some money back to them. Afterward, the bank will discover that the original cashier’s check was fake, and you’ll owe all the money back, including the amount you sent to the scammer.
Here are the specifics on a few common scams to watch out for:
Employment Scams
Two popular employment scams include fake cashier’s checks:
• Mystery shopper scam: In this scam, the fraudster hires people to report on the quality of various money transfer businesses as mystery shoppers. As part of the assessment, the victim of the scam receives a cashier’s check to deposit at a local bank, then sends the money back to the employer through a money transfer service (a wire transfer, for example) to evaluate the service. After sending the cash back to the fake employer, the victim learns from the bank that the cashier’s check was fraudulent. Instead, the funds sent to the scammer came out of the “real” funds in their bank account.
• Work-from-home scam: Another employment scam involves hiring remote employees and sending them an overpayment. The supposed employer might send a starting bonus via cashier’s check. The fake employer just asks that new employees pay an account activation fee to cover the cost. If successful, the scammer receives the funds for this fee before the victim realizes the cashier’s check is fake.
In addition, some remote work scams may be overpayment scams, as described below.
Windfall Scams
Windfall scams are common and often involve a fraudulent cashier’s check. In a popular scheme, scammers lead victims to believe they’ve won the lottery (usually a foreign lottery). In another scenario, they tell someone that they’ve inherited money.
To claim the earnings, however, the victim must pay taxes and fees. They typically cash the fake cashier’s check they have been sent and wire money to the scammer before learning that the cashier’s check was fake. This leaves the victim responsible for repaying the full amount to the bank.
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Purchase and Overpayment Scams
The overpayment scam is a common type of cashier’s check fraud. If you sell a product to someone online through an online auction platform or marketplace (such as eBay, Craigslist, or Facebook Marketplace), a scammer may send you a cashier’s check for more than the purchase price.
When you point this out to the scammer, they’ll apologize, say they made a mistake, and ask you to send the difference back to them. After you send them the money, you’ll discover that the original cashier’s check was fake. You’ll have lost money as well as the product, and you’re liable to your bank.
In other cases, the buyer may give you a cashier’s check for the right amount. You’ll ship them the product, only to later discover the check is fake, and while you aren’t out any money, you’re still out the product.
Overpayment scams may also take the form of remote work scenarios. In this scam, the “employer” sends a check and asks you to forward a portion of it to another party as part of your “new job.” If you do so, you could discover the check was a fake, and the money you forwarded is now lost.
Property Rental Scams
If you’re a landlord renting out a property, be wary of cashier’s checks. Scammers may offer to pay the first and last months’ rent payment plus the security deposit without ever seeing the property, often claiming they’re moving for a new job and need a place quickly.
They’ll send you the money via cashier’s check and then back out of the rental, saying the job fell through. The scammer will offer to let you keep the security deposit but ask if you’d be willing to wire any of the prepaid rent back. Only after sending the money will you realize the scammer paid you with a fake cashier’s check.
Tips for Spotting Fake Cashier’s Checks
Wondering how to spot a fake cashier’s check? Here are a few tips:
• Check the bank name: Some scammers utilize real banks’ names and information, which makes it harder to differentiate between a real and fake cashier’s check. But a dead giveaway is a cashier’s check with a fake bank name. A quick online search can help you identify a bogus name.
• Check the postmark: If you received the check in the mail, the postmark city should match the city of the supposed bank.
• Verify the amount: A cashier’s check for the incorrect amount could be the sign of a scam in the works, such as an overpayment ruse.
• Look for security features: Real cashier’s checks use a combination of security features, including color-changing ink, security threads, and watermarks. While fake cashier’s checks might contain these as well, a check without these hallmarks is an obvious indication of a scam.
• Check the payee name: If the payee’s name line is blank, you’re probably in possession of a fake cashier’s check.
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Tips for Avoiding Cashier’s Check Scams
Knowing how to spot a fake cashier’s check can be helpful, but here are some tips for avoiding scenarios where you’d receive a fraudulent cashier’s check altogether:
• Only accept cashier’s checks from people you know and trust.
• Consider a traceable online payment system for doing business, instead of a cashier’s check.
• Accept cashier’s checks only for the agreed-upon amount, never more.
• Use your judgment: If someone sends you money you weren’t expecting, especially if they’re a stranger, it’s likely too good to be true.
• Don’t agree to send anyone money until you’ve verified with your bank that the cashier’s check has cleared and is free of fraud.
Verifying Cashier’s Checks
If you’re accepting this kind of check, it’s important to learn to spot real vs. fake cashier’s checks and keep your eyes peeled for signs of fraud. A good way to avoid a cashier’s check scam can be to verify the check with the issuing bank. You can call or visit the bank in person, if there’s a branch nearby.
Don’t use the phone number that might be printed on the questionable check, as it may connect you to the scammer. Instead, search for the bank online, find its legitimate website, and call the customer service number. Provide the check number, issue date, and amount, and the bank should be able to verify if the check is legitimate.
Do Victims of Cashier’s Check Fraud Have Any Recourse?
If you have already sent money to a scammer in an untraceable way, such as a wire transfer, you may not be able to get your money back. Banks can deduct the amount of the fraudulent check from your account or require you to pay back the full amount you withdrew using the fraudulent check. Actions you can take include the following:
• Report the fraud to the United States Postal Inspection Service (if the check came in the mail), your state or local consumer protection agencies, and the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
• Notify the issuing bank whose name appeared on the fake cashier’s check, the bank where you deposited the fake cashier’s check, and the platform where you first encountered the scammer, such as an online marketplace.
• Submit a formal complaint to the Federal Trade Commission.
• File a report with the local police.
These steps may help you manage the situation and prevent the scammers from continuing their fraudulent activities.
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The Takeaway
Cashier’s checks are a legitimate form of payment often used in high-dollar transactions or to add a sense of confidence between unknown buyers and sellers who don’t know each other. However, they can be easy for scammers to forge, so it’s important to stay alert when receiving a cashier’s check as payment. Knowing the difference between a real and a fake cashier’s check can be an important skill for protecting your finances.
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FAQ
How can I verify if a cashier’s check is real?
You can inspect a cashier’s check for obvious signs that it’s a fake, like a missing payee name, a fake bank name, or an incorrect amount. If you’re dealing with a more sophisticated cashier’s check scam, your best bet is to find the bank’s official website and call the online customer service number to verify the check’s authenticity.
What happens if you deposit a fake cashier’s check?
Once the bank discovers that the cashier’s check you deposited was fake, they’ll deduct that amount from your account or seek repayment in some other way. In instances where you’ve sent some money back to the scammer, you’ll be out that money. In instances where you sold goods to a scammer, you’ll unfortunately be unlikely to get the item back.
Can a bank tell if a cashier’s check is real?
Bank tellers may also have difficulty determining if a cashier’s check is fake or real. While they can spot the more obvious signs, more sophisticated scammers can slip fake cashier’s checks past bank tellers. Internally, banks eventually discover that the cashier’s check is fake (usually a couple of weeks later, when it’s returned unpaid), long after the fraudster has gotten away with their scam.
Photo credit: iStock/Richard Stephen
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