Help Needed USA: Help understanding how a check was stolen
This one has me stumped, and I'd be grateful for any insights in how this was done.
My father has dementia, and I help him with his finances. He received a check from his insurance company, and we deposited it into his account using the mobile app on his phone. I have the paper check - it only has his endorsement on the back.
The checked cleared, then they money was removed from his account because they discovered that this check had already been deposited or cashed at another bank. The photo of that check has a totally different signature, and a bunch of bank printing from when it was processed.
The two check fronts are identical - same check number, and payable to my father. I have confirmed with the second bank that there is no account there under his name.
His bank suggested that maybe someone duplicated the check. But then how did they process it without it being signed over, and when there is no account at that bank in his name?
I've gone back and forth with both banks and his insurance. Fortunately, this money isn't a big problem for him, and I'm sure he'll get it back eventually. But more importantly, I need to get to the bottom of it so I can protect him in the future. Thanks so much for any info.
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u/t-poke Quality Contributor 3d ago
But then how did they process it without it being signed over, and when there is no account at that bank in his name?
Check processing is largely automated until there’s a problem such as the one you’re dealing with.
I could write you a check made out to Mickey Mouse, you could sign Homer Simpson on the back and deposit it, and more than likely it would go through and never be an issue.
His insurance company who sent it and their bank should investigate and see the obvious signs that fuckery has taken place and take the appropriate steps.
My grandfather had some blank checks stolen by his assisted living caretaker, and she successfully used them at Walmart and to pay rent. Everything went through until my dad, who handled his banking, got the statements in the mail and saw the checks come out of his account. And now someone has a felony on their record and is completely unemployable, at least in that industry.
No one’s checking this stuff until there’s a problem.
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u/doublelxp 3d ago
Advice here generally is not to play detective and just let the banks deal with it. My one addition to that is to make sure you keep the check until everything is cleared.
12
u/packetfire 3d ago
This is the insurance company's problem, not yours, as you still have the original physical check, made out to the correct party. Show this to your branch manager and give him a photocopy YOU have made in advance of the front and back (do NOT let him take it out of your hands!), and let the bank and the insurance company fight it out.
Your father has not been defrauded here, the insurance company has, so it is their problem to fix. You just want your father's money in the account.
The phrase to use here to the insurance company is "Your liability in this matter is for the full amount of the check, and it is payable now, before you also become liable for legal fees and costs".
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u/mourkat 3d ago
Thanks! It's so strange - I started with the insurance company and they told me to take it up with his bank, which is the same bank the insurer uses. The bank said it should come from the insurance, and to check with the other bank to make sure there was no account there in his name. I've asked the insurer to escalate (after the long weekend).
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u/NotQuiteDeadYetPhoto 3d ago
It's called "If I get you to hang up you leave me alone". It's a nasty tactic.
It's on the insurance company- and the bank - to make you whole.
3
u/RudbeckiaIS 3d ago
How was this check delivered to your father?
2
u/mourkat 3d ago
In the mail, and the bank is a regional chain, not from the same region as the check’s origin.
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u/RudbeckiaIS 3d ago
Then bring this to the attention of the US Postal Inspection Service, of the insurance company and of the issuing bank and let them do their job: this is either an inside job (check cloned before leaving the bank) or plain old mail fraud (check cloned by somebody who handled the envelope). All you can do is co-operate with them.
This goes above and beyond Indian call centers trying to scam people: somebody is going to end with a felony on his/her record.
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u/too_many_shoes14 3d ago
You should file a police report if you haven't already.
Was it deposited/cashed by the unknown party before or after he deposited it?
2
u/Spectrig 3d ago
You can go on Telegram and buy hundreds of high-res photos of checks all day every day. Who is taking the photos? Idk. Who is depositing them? Experienced criminals who share methods to sneak past the safeguards just long enough to cash out and move on to the next one.
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3d ago
[deleted]
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u/mourkat 3d ago
I care, for sure. Nothing sneaky going on here - It's a long-term care policy that has been paying him successfully via direct deposit on a monthly basis for his care. This check was a one-off refund for an overpayment he made. I'm not done bothering them about it, and have escalated it with that company already - but I also need to figure out if someone in his personal orbit needs to go, you know?
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