Do You Really Have to Write Out “2020” on Checks to Avoid Being Scammed?

  • 📰 Slate
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 69 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 31%
  • Publisher: 51%

United States Headlines News

United States Latest News,United States Headlines

Here's why everyone suddenly seems to be worried about check fraud in 2020.

have been putting out notices about the hypothetical scenario. Social media has been abuzz with advisory memes spelling out how the scheme works. Several Slate staffers reported that their friends and family members have gravely warned them about the threat.

Ira Rheingold, executive director of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, has been quoted as an expert source in a number ofabout the date abbreviation scare, but told me that he’s puzzled by the amount of anxiety and fuss it’s caused. “There’s a lot of consumer fraud that goes on every day that I worry about a lot more than this,” he said, pointing to robocalls, account hacking, and mail scams.

It’s unclear why exactly this theoretical date abbreviation scam has stoked so much concern, but Rheingold ventures that it has something to do with how easy it is to understand. Other forms of fraud, like payday lending and reverse mortgage scams, are more complex and don’t fit so neatly into a Facebook post. The fraud prevention measure for the date tampering scam is also a lot simpler—telling your friends to just write out “2020” is a quick and easy tip.

In the end, though, some overexaggerated hype about check tampering probably won’t do much harm, and you should probably put in a little extra effort to write out 2020 in full, just to be safe. As Rheingold said, “It’s just an opportunity to warn people that they need to be careful, that they should keep copies of their contracts, that they make sure that anything they sign is filled out carefully, that they double-check their bank accounts. Those are all good things.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

It's 2020, why are you still writing cheques?

There are people who still use checks in 2020?

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 716. in US

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

2 reasons the dollar could 'really surge' in 2020, HSBC strategist saysThe U.S. dollar could surge in 2020, according to a strategist from HSBC, and there are two 'obvious channels' that could help it to rally. lets print more dollars, woooooww HSBC? You mean the bank that made all its money laundering for the drug cartels? Literally a criminal banking cartel? Thanks, no thanks for the advice.
Source: CNBC - 🏆 12. / 72 Read more »

Don't make these 3 mistakes with your end-of-year bonusA holiday bonus can go a long way — if you're smart about handling it, that is. Avoid these mistakes when your check lands. MakeIt Least of my financial worries! MakeIt Government gets a big part of it MakeIt Put it all on red.
Source: CNBC - 🏆 12. / 72 Read more »

Paul Krugman just fell for a phishing scam. Here's how to avoid them. - Business InsiderNobel laureate Paul Krugman said he likely fell for a phishing scam. Here's how phishing scams work and how to avoid them. It wouldn’t be the first scam he fell for
Source: BusinessInsider - 🏆 729. / 51 Read more »

Lori Loughlin, Mossimo Giannulli Wrote Check to USC, So Sports Dept. Could 'Feed the Beast'Here's Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli's secret weapon in their college admissions criminal case ... Is this lady in jail yet? I know the other Actress got out real quick. Just curious Why isn't he going to jail?
Source: TMZ - 🏆 379. / 59 Read more »

27 Products You Deserve After Getting Through The Holiday SeasonI'm still recovering, and I will spend the rest of the year recovering.
Source: BuzzFeed - 🏆 730. / 51 Read more »