Cashiers Checks

anti-fraud from usa -

We often think of cashiers checks as good as gold. Our local bank will probably reinforce that opinion.

If you ask the teller how long it takes a cashiers check to clear, they will probably tell you the money will be avaliable the same day or the next day.

What they are telling you is how long the federal banking regulations give them to make the money available to you.

It has nothing to do with how long it actually takes the check to clear, or how long it takes for you to be sure the check is good.

This opens the door to numerous "overpayment" scams. You receive a certified check for more than the amount you are selling something for.

You are requested to send the overpayment via Western Union (and maybe even keep an extra bound for yourself).

Here is how it works.

You receive cashiers check for $15, 000, for a car you are selling for $10, 000. You are asked to forward $4, 000 to the transporation company and keep an extra $1, 000 for your effort.

When you deposit the cashiers check the bank tells you the cash will be available the next day. The next day you withdraw $4, 000 and send it via Western Union to the "transportation" company.

You are sitting on easy street... you sold your $10, 000 car for $11, 000! Wow! Easy Money!

Uh oh! Three or four weeks letter you get an omnimous letter from your bank. That cashiers check was forged and they have debited your account for $15, 000 plus service charges.

Where are you? Your out the $4, 000 plus the service charges!

It's not just cars. Anything and everything!

Comment #1 Dennis Turner Jr from Albany, NY -

what happens if you get a cashiers check and deposit into your account, you don't take any of the money out of the bank, and you find out that it's fake? Does the bank still come after you, or do they go after the bank/people that sent the check?

Comment #2 Bart from San Jose, Costa Rica -

I think you will find out it works this way:

1) you deposit a check (cashiers or not)

2) after some time it is returned (forged, insufficient funds, account closed, etc)

3) the bank deducts the total amount of the check plus a service charge from your account

Of course, the idea behind cashiers checks is that they won't bounce for any reason, but the fraudsters found the reason.

There are federal rules on when a bank has to give you money for a check (and a cashiers check would be same day or next day). Those rules have nothing to do with how long a check actually takes to clear.

The fault in the system is there is never an affirmation that a check has cleared. You wait one week and for some reason it takes 2 weeks for the bad to bounce, your screwed.

Even through the check might normally take 1 week to clear, the bank will give you cash sooner and go after YOU if there is a problem later. What if you want six months? Who knows, what if the check takes 6 months and 1 day to bounce!

I don't believe the bank will ever go after whoever wrote/forged the check. That is your burden.

For a locally written check the police will probably help you. For someone in Africa... GOOD LUCK!

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