How can a scammer make a cheque look like a bank transfer? (USA only) Thread poster: Samuel Murray
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Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 04:09
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Hello everyone
Someone mentioned a twist on the scammer-sends-a-cheque approach in this thread:
The scammer often makes the victim believe they'll be paid by bank transfer, but the scammer then posts a cheque to the victim's bank to try to hide that it's a cheque. The amount is initially credited to the victim's bank account so they may believe they have been paid.
All information that I find online suggests that in the USA, cheques can't be send directly to the recipient's bank and must be sent to the recipient. Can anyone in the USA shed some light on this? Can you send a cheque directly to someone's bank, and then the cheque gets paid into their account (without any prompting from the recipient)? And, if so, do you think it could then possibly look like it was paid in via a bank transfer?
Thanks
Samuel
| | | | Kaspars Melkis
United Kingdom
Local time: 03:09
English to Latvian
+ ...
You can simply go to the bank branch and deposit a cheque in person. If you know your account number, no ID is usually asked. Some banks allow depositing cheques by sending them by mail as well.
It is becoming rarer though as most banks now switch to deposing cheques by mobile phone where you have an app that is used to take the picture of a cheque.
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 04:09
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Kaspars Melkis wrote:
You can simply go to the bank branch and deposit a cheque in person. If you know your account number, no ID is usually asked. Some banks allow depositing cheques by sending them by mail as well. Most banks now switch to deposing cheques by mobile phone where you have an app that is used to take the picture of a cheque.
I think you might have misunderstood my question. I'm not asking if it is possible to deposit a cheque into your own account, but into someone else's account. All how-tos I've checked about depositing a check via an ATM, via a web site or via a mobile phone app requires that you log in to your own banking account and then deposit the cheque into one of your own accounts (not someone else's account).
Some banks allow depositing cheques by sending them by mail as well.
I suppose this could work, if the scammer can successfully impersonate you. He might have to get a hold of your signature somehow. And I see different banks have different procedures for deposit-by-mail services (some require a deposit slip, and some require your phone number as well). I wonder if it is possible to disable or disallow deposit-by-mail on one's bank account, or to require that the bank phones you before accepting the cheque.
I have seen some indication that it may be possible to mail a cheque directly to a recipient's bank account, if the recipient had specifically set up such a service (this applies mostly to large organisations receiving regular payments from many people).
When you deposit a cheque into your USA bank account (e.g. by mailing it in), can you usually see clearly on the bank statement that it was a cheque and not a bank transfer?
[Edited at 2019-04-11 08:27 GMT]
| | | | Kaspars Melkis
United Kingdom
Local time: 03:09
English to Latvian
+ ...
| I understood you perfectly | Apr 11, 2019 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
I think you misunderstand my question. I'm not asking if it is possible to deposit a cheque into your own account, but into someone else's account. All how-tos I've checked about depositing a check via an ATM, via a web site or via a mobile phone app requires that you log in to your own banking account and then deposit the cheque into one of your own accounts (not someone else's account).
Of course, you cannot do it at the ATM where you need to identify yourself with a bank card and PIN or with a mobile app, but at the counter or sending a cheque by mail it is possible.
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Lincoln Hui
Hong Kong
Local time: 10:09
Member
Chinese to English
+ ...
| You can do it at the ATM | Apr 11, 2019 |
I don't know if you can do it in the US, but in Hong Kong you can enter the beneficiary account number in lieu of using your bank card. One of my local clients pays me with check deposits.
| | | | jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 22:09
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
| In the USA, anybody can deposit a check to your account | Apr 11, 2019 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
I'm not asking if it is possible to deposit a cheque into your own account, but into someone else's account.
As long as you give them your account name and number, they can do it at the counter of a branch of my bank in their place. I don't know if they can do it at an ATM or not, because they don't have my physical card at hand.
[Edited at 2019-04-11 08:50 GMT]
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