If you have a check that has been stolen, you should immediately notify the drawer so they know you weren’t the one who cashed it. This will help to ensure that the bank investigates who cashed the check and can get your money back.

How a Stolen Check is Cashed?

When writing a check, the drawer gives a specific order to the bank to pay a specific sum to a specified person called the payee.

If you receive a stolen check, it’s important to ask yourself why the bank couldn’t detect the check. The thief could be anyone, someone close to you, capable of forging your signature and identity. It could be a total stranger, an expert at identification forgery. If you can’t find out who did this to you, it’s important to contact your financial institution and ask for a refund or replacement check.

Nevertheless, it is possible to cash a stolen check. More so if the drawer signed a blank check. ..

What To Do After The Check Has Been Stolen

Inform the payor/drawer that you are writing to them. Informing them of your concerns will help ensure that your money is not wasted or misused.

The Payor

The payor is the person who has written the check. It is necessary to inform the payor first because they would be able to determine whether the check has been cashed or not from their bank.

The Drawee

If you believe that you may have been a victim of identity theft, please contact your bank immediately. The fraud detection unit will be able to start an investigation and, if the thief is found, your money will be refunded. ..

The Authorities

The payee would have to report to local authorities for more investigation because it was their identity that was forged. That means someone is walking around, capable of forging your signature anywhere, anytime.

What The Bank Does During Investigation

Banks usually detect suspicious activities on a holder’s account and notify the holder. So that the bank would make sure no fraudulent activities are happening.

In a stolen check investigation, the bank would not contact the payor, because they wrote a check which was cashed by the wrong person.

The bank has taken measures to prevent the check from being cashed and is looking for the person who came to do so. It is possible that the thief deposited the check online. The bank would like to have the check brought to any of its branches so that this can be resolved.

The bank where the check was cashed would have its records to show who cashed the check and when.

When the check is worth over $10,000, it would be recorded by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and it would be subject to tax.

What Happens When the Check Hasn’t Been Cashed

When a check is missing or stolen, the payee should inform the payor so they can request their bank to stop payment.

If you stop payment on a check, the bank may charge fees, depending on the bank and its policies.

If the thief stops payment on a check, they would be unable to cash it because the account would be disconnected from the transaction.

If you don’t pay the bank the fee, your payment could be stopped again and you may have to go through the entire process again. ..

If the check has not been found and the drawer is empty, it might be a better idea to close the account and open a new one.

Banks typically don’t ask for fees to be paid if a check is blank.

Conclusion

In some cases, it is possible for a stolen check to be cashed. However, this is not always the case. The first thing to do is notify the necessary people and wait hopefully on a result from the investigation.

Your account will not be available to withdraw the money until the check has been deposited and your bank statement reflects that.

When a bank cashes a check to the payee, they have done everything right to see the check is authentic. If the check turns out to be fraudulent, the bank can take back the money in your account.

A check has the bank and sometimes personal information. You would have to inform the drawer so they can monitor their account, or even close it to prevent fraud.

If the drawer doesn’t have a second supporting account, the check will “bounce.” The payee can be paid by the payor before the issue is resolved. ..