2020 warning

[Isuzusweet]

For this year, don't abbreviate the year 2020 by just writing 20. If you sign something, say a cheque, and just date it, Jan 19 /20 and someone finds it months later and adds a 21 onto the date, that cheque is now good again, and could come back to bite you in the wallet.
If you also sign a contract for services and just date it with 20 instead of 2020, what's to stop someone from adding a 19 and demanding payments going back to 2019.

Cheers
Sidekick Tony

[Lily&Me]

It is a sad state of affairs that this kind of warning is appropriate.

Of course, a check that has been thru your bank once would be marked as such.


Maggie

[Vantair]

Isususweet,
Guess these days and Endless world of tricksters our there, being aware of such further avoids issues other than checks as well. All good to learn !
Thanks for the 2020 tip in 2020 !

[moosetags]

Since the year 200, I have been in the habit of always using all four numbers for the year when I date something. Thanks for the tip, though.

Brian

[Rich W]

What's a check?
Sorry, sorry, couldn't resist. I overhead someone complain about paying for a spot in a city park because the park took only cash or check. "A check??? Who uses checks anymore???" Time marches on.

Needless to say, anyone altering a check other than the check writer has committed a crime. If you're going to do that you might as well remove all the ink (other than the signature) and write whatever amount you want. Watch the movie Catch Me If You Can about Frank Abignale.

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by moosetags

Since the year 200, I have been .

Brian

200? Gee, what's your secret diet?

[A W Warn]

Originally Posted by moosetags

Since the year 200, <<snip>>

Brian

You are older than I thought!

[Lily&Me]

I write checks frequently when I am traveling, to pay for private and public campgrounds.

Maggie

[moosetags]

Sorry about that!. I wonder if they even doubt there were checks in 200. You guys are sharp. I even proof read that post and missed the typo.

Brian

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

Of course, a check that has been thru your bank once would be marked as such.

Not necessarily true, thanks to e-checks and online banking, where one can snap a photo of a check to deposit it in their account. The bank may not ever see the paper check.

[Isuzusweet]

Exactly! The person that you gave the cheque too, doesn't destroy it. The cheque with no banking cancellation marks just hangs around until someone adds a 21 to the 20, and you're left scratching your head, and out of money.

Cheers
Sidekick Tony

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Not necessarily true, thanks to e-checks and online banking, where one can snap a photo of a check to deposit it in their account. The bank may not ever see the paper check.

[rmkrum]

Originally Posted by Isuzusweet

Exactly! The person that you gave the cheque too, doesn't destroy it. The cheque with no banking cancellation marks just hangs around until someone adds a 21 to the 20, and you're left scratching your head, and out of money.

Cheers
Sidekick Tony

Which is why you note on the front of the check the date you remote deposited the money, wait until it clears, then run it through your paper shredder.

It’s getting to the point that a paper shredder, and regular use of it, is important to your personal security. Didn’t used to be that way, but it’s real life nowadays, sadly.

Another easy way to get ripped off is those unsolicited credit card offers. Shred them as well. Trash can diving is a great source of materials to commit frauds of various sorts. When in doubt, shred.

[Vantair]

Great topic !
Anything getting in the way of relaxing Airstream adventure or conversation is worth it.

[Daquenzer]

Me thinks this is much ado about nothing. Every check has a code on it with the # of that check imprinted on that code. If you try and deposit the check again it won’t work because the check # will be shown in the line and the system will kick it out.

If the date of the check was all that important you don’t think white out wouldn’t work on previous checks to change the year? A smart forger could easily do it.

Me thinks this is another Y2K.

[Lily&Me]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Not necessarily true, thanks to e-checks and online banking, where one can snap a photo of a check to deposit it in their account. The bank may not ever see the paper check.

I guess that’s true.

I went into my checking account to look at a few checks, and they have a line of numbers across the back...

I’ll be sure to write out 2020.

Maggie

[rmkrum]

Originally Posted by Daquenzer

Me thinks this is much ado about nothing. Every check has a code on it with the # of that check imprinted on that code. If you try and deposit the check again it won’t work because the check # will be shown in the line and the system will kick it out.

If the date of the check was all that important you don’t think white out wouldn’t work on previous checks to change the year? A smart forger could easily do it.

Me thinks this is another Y2K.

Unfortunately not all banks are that careful. It takes careful programming to do all the verifications necessary. I’ve been in the software, software test, and computer security world my entire career. I can spend weeks and months telling you about all the stupidity built into critical software systems that should be much more robust and secure.

The other real issue is the vast legions if very smart crooks trying to rip banks and their customers off. The pressure is on, but financial institutions are not spending the time and money to really harden their systems properly.

I’m just saying be careful with data and scrap paper in your hands that can be used to rip you off if not properly disposed of. A shredder is cheap security.

Y2K was not a disaster because all of the work that was done to make it a non-issue.

I personally spent 2 1/2 years of my life on mitigation efforts to prevent that disaster. The fact that nothing of note happened was not luck, but a hell of a lot of work.

We redid Over 5 million lines of code just in our corner of the world. We worked on the Air Force supply system fixes. Without that effort, the whole thing would have crashed and totally deprived our military of the ability to order and receive supplies and parts on January 1, 2001. It was that screwed up.

[Daquenzer]

And by the way, most people today seldom use checks. I know a few “old timers” do. I’m 64 and either use e-checks or credit/debit card. It’s more important to secure your credit/debit card. I have a system from the bank that tells me every time my card is used. It automatically notifies me on my Apple IWATCH and IPhone. That is more critical to stopping fraud than the date on your check. And credit/debit cards are more widely stolen and used. It’s happened to me at least a dozen times and is why I now have automatic notification system.

[Daquenzer]

Originally Posted by rmkrum

Unfortunately not all banks are that careful. It takes careful programming to do all the verifications necessary. I’ve been in the software, software test, and computer security world my entire career. I can spend weeks and months telling you about all the stupidity built into critical software systems that should be much more robust and secure.

The other real issue is the vast legions if very smart crooks trying to rip banks and their customers off. The pressure is on, but financial institutions are not spending the time and money to really harden their systems properly.

I’m just saying be careful with data and scrap paper in your hands that can be used to rip you off if not properly disposed of. A shredder is cheap security.

Yes well if the date of the check is going to make that big of a difference we should all put our money under our bed.

And I fully understand the necessity of paper shredders which I regularly use. I also recommend that people have something like LifeLock that notifies you every time credit is applied for and protects your identity. As well as what I posted above about securing credit/debit cards.

I’ve had my credit/debit card numbers stolen enough that being careful is clearly wise.

It’s one of the reasons I always use PayPal when shopping on the internet. Just another form of extra security. Don’t like giving my credit card numbers out.

[Isuzusweet]

People, I only used the cheque and contract as illustrations of possible avenues of date fraud. I wasn't expecting a dissertation on how plausible, or implausible it could be.
Just providing a valid warning I thought. There could, and I'm sure are, many other avenues of date fraud.

The world isn't ending.

Cheers
Sidekick Tony

[FishByFly]

Tony,
I appreciate your warning. My attorney just yesterday gave me the same advice to write out the full year; 2020. Personally, I date documents daily and wouldn’t want to leave an opportunity for alteration.