Your Checking Account Is Not Safe!   6/17/2005 - 1,670 views, 3 Comments

Your monies in your checking account are at risk from a scam far less complicated than even that!

That’s right, and your old Aunty discovered it, quite by accident.

Today Aunty called up her cell phone carrier, to advise them that she was putting a check in the mail.

“Oh,” said the nice customer service representative, I can just take that check information over the phone and it will clear instantly.”

“Hmmm,” asked your old Aunty, “how’s that work then?”

“Easy,” came the reply, “just give me the routing number and the account number and it’s done!”

So, Aunty gave the nice customer service representative the routing number and account number off the bottom of the check, and 10 seconds later the nice customer service representative gave Aunty a confirmation number. The account had been paid.

Now, it happened that check was not in my name, because we’d written it on Uncle Spam’s account.

Not once did the nice customer service representative require anything to prove that Aunty had any authorization whatsoever to that checking account.

The check happened to be Uncle Spam’s, but it could have been anyone’s. Anyone at all.

It could have been your checking account number.

All Aunty would have needed was one of your checks.

To whom did you give a check lately?

Be sure review your checking account statement thoroughly, dear readers.