Cheque fraud?

[Julee]

Hello everybody. This is something which is bothering me a little - I hope you may be able to help. I bought an item on an on-line auction & duely sent off a cheque, signed and with my address on the back. I received an email from the person in question saying the cheque had got ripped & he was sending it back & could I send another. I received the returned cheque this morning - but it hasn't been torn, rather it has been cut. This bothers me, but should I be worried? This person has an example of my signature, my bank a/c number & sort code as is printed on the cheque, my postal address and my email address. Does anybody else think this his actions are suspicious? Could he use these details for malicious purposes? What should I do to cover myself? It may be genuine too, of course. Ideas welcome please. Thank you.

[Didwot]

It is always agood idea to be on guard against fraud, but this person had all the information you have listed already, so they did not have to go through the ripped cut cheque routine at all if t hey had a cunning plan to plunder your bank account. Similarly you have a lot of information on them, so I doubt there is anything to worry about.

[sammy snake]

Could it have been cut by one of those envelope opening machines that a lot of businesses use?  If so, I don't think there would be any problem.

At the end of the day, if someone did try and rob your bank account by forging your signature, it wouldn't take long once you had complained for handwriting analysis to declare the signature to be forged and you would not end up out of pocket.

[senga-marie]

They could have photocopied your cheque and then banked it. You'd be none the wiser would you ? Fact is if crooks somehow manage to plunder your account and it's not your fault, ie  you conduct your account in the proper way, you can demand to have that money replaced. You trust  the bank with your money, it's up to them to look after it safely.

[BenDToy]

It is wise to be on your guard, but if it was an issue, I guess he/she could have ripped it rather than cut. My view is that there is nothing to worry about. They are no better off than they would have been if they had just banked the cheque.