Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Identity Theft, Day 5, The Danger of Cheques

CROSSPOSTED FROM IMAGESPACE--ARTS AND WEB 2.0


Would be identity thieves LOVE cheques.  There are several reasons for this.



  1. You can purchase cheque blanks that look exactly--including security measures--like every cheque available from banks.  This makes it easy to forge cheques.

  2. All they need is to see the routing number on your cheque ONCE and they can duplicate it using the blanks above.

  3. Credit card companies often send "courtesy cheques"--many people in the U.S. have mail boxes at the end of the road and most people aren't home.  They simply nab all the mail in the box.  To never have a bank send you these cheques ever again, see Day 4.

  4. Lots of people with the mail boxes at the end of the driveway put payments into the boxes figuring that the Mail Carrier will pick up the payment.  All it takes is a bottle of acetone for the thieves to clean the cheque and put a new amount in.  They also have your routing number, see number 2 in this list.


One other troubling fact is that these thieves often have driver's license blanks and the exact printers used to create driver's licenses.  They can create absolutely convincing licenses.  So if you think that you are safe because merchants ask for a driver's license before accepting a cheque, think again.


The solution to the cheque conundrum is simple.  Use as few cheques as possible, none if possible.  The safest way to pay bills is by using online banking, period.


ALWAYS pick up your cheques from the bank yourself.  Never have them mailed to you.  Always shred any re-order slips you don't use--they have your routing number on it.


The cheque revelation knocked me over--they are one the weakest point in our ID theft defenses.


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