How to Verify a Check Before You Deposit It

It’s increasingly important to verify checks before depositing them, particularly with the rising prevalence of financial fraud. While electronic transactions have become commonplace, checks continue to be used for significant payments, making them a target for fraudulent activities. Understanding how to confirm a check’s legitimacy is a prudent step to safeguard your finances. This guide will help you navigate the process of identifying suspicious checks, contacting issuing banks, and understanding how funds clear within the banking system.

Identifying Potentially Fraudulent Checks

Before contacting a bank, it is beneficial to conduct an initial assessment for potential red flags. Certain characteristics can indicate a fraudulent check, often pointing to common fraud schemes.

An unusual or excessive amount is a common indicator of a suspicious check. Poor print quality, misspellings, incorrect logos, or missing information like an incomplete address or absent bank details are also red flags. Be wary of checks from unexpected sources or for reasons that don’t align with your expectations.

Pressure to quickly cash the check or an urgent request to send money back to the sender are significant red flags. Examine the check’s date; post-dated or stale-dated checks (over six months old) warrant scrutiny. Differences in fonts, ink, or smudges can suggest altered information or a color printer was used.

Scrutinize the Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) line at the bottom of the check, which contains the routing, account, and check numbers. If these numbers are missing, unusual, or don’t match the check number printed elsewhere, it could indicate tampering. Routing numbers that don’t align with the bank’s known numbers are a red flag. A low check number, particularly for a new account, can also be suspicious, as many fraudulent checks originate from newer accounts.

Directly Contacting the Issuing Bank

The most reliable method to verify a check’s legitimacy is to contact the issuing bank directly. This is crucial if you’ve identified red flags or simply want to confirm authenticity. The process involves specific steps to ensure you communicate with the actual financial institution, not a fraudster.

Locate the official contact information for the issuing bank from a reliable source, such as their official website or a reputable online directory. Do not use phone numbers printed on the check, as fraudsters often print fake contact information to deceive recipients and compromise personal information.

Once you have the correct contact number, prepare the necessary check details for the bank representative. This includes the check number, exact amount, account number, payer’s name, and issue date. Having this information ready will streamline the verification process.

When speaking with the bank, state you wish to verify a check. Ask, “Can you verify if a check with this number and amount was issued from this account?” Due to privacy, banks may not disclose specific account details or confirm sufficient funds. However, they can often confirm if the routing and account combination exists, or if the check number is within a valid range. Do not deposit or cash the check until the issuing bank confirms its legitimacy.

Understanding the Clearance Process

After depositing a check, understand the banking system’s clearance process. This differs significantly from funds merely being made available in your account. This distinction is relevant if you have lingering suspicions, as the banking system’s procedures impact when your deposited money is truly secure.

Banks often make a portion or full amount of a deposited check “available” quickly, sometimes the next business day. This availability does not mean the check has fully “cleared” or that funds have transferred from the payer’s bank. Instead, it represents a provisional credit, meaning the bank advanced funds while the transfer is underway.

A check truly “clears” when funds definitively move from the payer’s bank account to yours. This process can take several business days, typically one to two for most checks, but longer for larger amounts (e.g., over $5,525), new accounts, or past overdrafts. Government and cashier’s checks generally clear faster, often within one business day. Wait until the check has fully cleared before spending the funds, especially if you had initial suspicions.

If a check bounces after funds were made available and you spent the money, your bank will reclaim the provisional funds. This can overdraw your account, leading to non-sufficient funds (NSF) or overdraft fees, typically $20 to $40 per incident. Your bank may also place extended holds on future deposits or close your account if bounced checks recur. The responsibility for verifying a check’s legitimacy rests with the recipient.