I had an intereting conversation with Fidelity today about checkwriting on the CMA account. People may have noticed that there are three different versions of the account number, for a CMA account: the actual official account number with a letter in it, a very long version of the account number with no letters which can be found in the website, and a different number that appears on the checks. The account services person, with whom I spoke, claimed that the number on the checks can not be used for any purpose other than cashing checks--in other words it cannot be used to set up electronic fund transfers between two financial institutions. This would seem to make Fidelity checks more secure than typical checks that have the single unique account number on them used for all purposes.I think it's because washing a check is a lot harder to do than stealing a credit card number. It's easier for a criminal to get a card skimmer that steals hundreds of cards before it is discovered and they can use the cards remotely. Plus, fewer and fewer people are using checks vs. plastic these days, making cards a much easier target.
With credit and debit cards, one call to the bank to report the theft and fraud and you're done. On the other hand, dealing with check/account theft is a much, much bigger hassle for the victim. You often have to open an entirely new account and put stop payments on everything.
I was a victim of check theft years ago and it was a major hassle. They had the person on camera cashing the washed check and, as far as I know, didn't pursue the thief. I had to fill out lots of forms at the bank. I try to avoid using checks whenever possible.
In addition, I was told, a specific check number check can only be used once. There is communication between the bank cashing the check and Fidelity, where they verify with that the specific check number has not been used for that account before. Someone above expressed concern about what people do with checks after using mobile deposit and that they probably throw them out and do not shred them. In this case, it would Fidelity protects you, because Fidelity knows that check number has been used and the account number on the check is not useful for anything else.
I suppose if someone stole a check that had not been cashed yet and then washed it, it could be used. So this system is not fool proof. But check washing is a lot more of a hassle as a mode of fraud, so at leat that makes it less likely than debit card fraud.
It would be nice if there was a service where you could log into your account and specify: I wrote this check number, in this amount, to this person. And then the check could not be cashed unless those conditions were met. For the few checks I write, I wouldn't mind doing that.
Statistics: Posted by cb474 — Thu Jun 13, 2024 2:01 am — Replies 6694 — Views 1291032
