How do I deal with check fraud?

December 22, 2006 10:30 AM

A warrant is going to be issued for my arrest in an hour-and-a-half for passing off bad checks I didn't write. That is, someone has my old checks from a bank account I closed over almost a year ago, and they're now using them. What the hell do I do?

More specific: Yesterday, I received in the mail a final notice (I had never received any other notices) from a law office. It said it was regarding a balance of $205 with an independent grocery store I had never visited before. I was obviously confused, so I called the law office. The representative said someone had written a check for $85 using checks from my closed bank account, it had of course bounced, and the grocery was now pursuing legal action (as they had no way of knowing it wasn't me who wrote the check).

Anyway, I asked the law office what I could do, and they said they can send me a copy of the check and the bill, but because the check was my check in my name I would still need to pay the balance, and if I did not at the end of today a warrant would be issued.

What do I do? "Call a lawyer" is easy--but I'm a college student, no money, and who is going to be able to take legal action for me in the next hour-and-a-half on the Friday before Christmas? And what lawyer do I call, anyway? There are about a billion of them!

I called the bank that has my closed account. They can't do anything--the account is closed and the checks are out there. I'm starting to go out of my mind.

posted by schroedinger to law & government (47 comments total)

Is there is a legal aid office in your town? (They provide legal advice on a sliding scale, often pro bono.)
posted by LeisureGuy at 10:32 AM on December 22, 2006

Call a free lawyer!

List of free lawyers in Maryland
posted by By The Grace of God at 10:33 AM on December 22, 2006

(note: this seems to be largely for immigration law, was too quick on the draw there..)
posted by By The Grace of God at 10:34 AM on December 22, 2006

A law office can't issue a warrant. What court is going to issue the warrant? IANAL.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 10:36 AM on December 22, 2006

I don't really see how you can be held responsible for this, given that the account is closed, but I'm not a lawyer. Can the bank at least send you (fax you?) proof that the account was closed, so that you have it if the police do come?
posted by occhiblu at 10:37 AM on December 22, 2006

Also--I have called the check fraud department in Baltimore, and nobody answered. I've left a message.
posted by schroedinger at 10:38 AM on December 22, 2006

What court is going to issue the warrant?

On the friday afternoon before Christmas? None that I know of.
posted by peeedro at 10:41 AM on December 22, 2006

Yes, find out who's will be issuing the warrant in whose jurisdiction. Call the bank and get them working on a letter regarding the pertinent dates and statuses of the account in question. Call the court and the police/sherrif, tell them that Law Office says X, you say Y, bank is working on proving Z.

That is assuming that it isn't a bullshit threat in the first place. If there really is going to be a warrant, that's very likely only an immediate problem if you are on probation or parole, or will become an eventual problem you don't do anything about it.

Generally Joe Law doesn't come and drag you out of your house seconds after the warrant is issued for a bad check unless they are really bored or somebody there really dislikes you. That said, there was once a check that was mine but I knew nothing about until 5-0 came and got me at work. Not cool. But you don't need to panic right now, just get your ducks in a row.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:46 AM on December 22, 2006

Sounds like a collection agency scam. They will say all sorts of things to try to frighten you into paying up because they get to keep half of whatever they can get out of you. You may indeed have a problem with identity theft that you need to deal with but the idea that some law office can issue an arrest warrant is just a scare tactic. They just want your money.
posted by JackFlash at 10:49 AM on December 22, 2006

Are you sure this is a legit law office and not some collection agency trying to scare you into paying money that you aren't responsible for?
posted by tastybrains at 10:51 AM on December 22, 2006

If you are a college student, your college may provide legal advice for free to students. I got free legal advice about a problem with my landlord when I was an undergrad.
posted by gokart4xmas at 10:52 AM on December 22, 2006

The lawyers who contacted you are essentially a collection agency. No "warrant for your arrest" is going to issue over one $85 check. It's bullshit. They are trying to scare you into paying. What they are doing also happens to be illegal. The FDCA applies to "law firms" that are essentially acting as debt collection agencies as this one seems to be doing.

Yes, get a lawyer, but don't let it ruin your Christmas. You almost certainly aren't going to jail in the next 90 minutes.
posted by The Bellman at 10:52 AM on December 22, 2006

Sounds like a collection agency scam.

EXACTLY. What kind of "law office" collects money themselves and makes threats over the phone?

You still need to deal with this, but don't panic. Most schools have a student legal aid office.
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:54 AM on December 22, 2006

I have called Baltimore Legal Aid. The attorney said the collection agency is trying to scare me. They recommended calling the state's attorney office and/or waiting for the agency to pursue formal legal action.

In the meantime, is there a way to keep from my credit score being destroyed? The attorney didn't seem sure as to what the collection agency could do with it.
posted by schroedinger at 11:11 AM on December 22, 2006

What 'independent grocery' possibly takes checks from closed accounts? I haven't been able to use a check without providing proof of identity and the like in years. This definitely sounds like some sort of fraud (although how they figured out you had closed an account recently, i dont know). Don't panic and once everything is back to normal operating hours next week, try to track down whats going on. Maybe avoid getting traffic tickets for the week, just to be on the safe side.

FWIW, I work for a company where we are given bad checks on a daily basis. We've never once considered trying to have these people arrested. We'd rather just track them down and get our money.
posted by ZackTM at 11:17 AM on December 22, 2006

gwa? Does this smell fishy to anyone else? Cheques require your signature, which, for an $85 grocery purchase, I doubt has been skillfully reproduced. I'm also fairly certain that in every grocery store I have been in (maybe different where you live?), that in order to make the purchase you have to supply some secondary photo ID to match with the name on the cheque and the signature on the back. Even if this cheque fraud thing is true, it should be pretty easy to verify it wasn't you writing the cheques. Furthermore, did you have any cheques from your old account kicking around? How would someone have gotten them in the first place and use them a year later? This situation doesn't sit right with me.

Things I would do:
1) Call your bank. Even if you account is closed, they should have a record of bouncing the cheque. Be persistant and find out who you need to speak to to get this information. Supplying dates and cheque numbers as well as the account numbers would help them track down the information if it exists.

2) Call the grocery store in question. Can a manager confirm that this event even happend? At the very least, ask how they handle cheques. Do they require secondary ID? Could someone who was not you have sucesfully made a purchase there?

3) Call the 'law office'. Request not just a copy of the cheque, but if possible, to see the origonal. Insist that you go to their office in person. (Note, a real law office would still insist upon mailing you the bill, so as to have a paper trail record with the post office proving that they did indeed send it to you). If they refuse to give you the address be suspicious.
posted by billy_the_punk at 11:18 AM on December 22, 2006

The credit issue is kind of a double-edged sword. By paying it, you basically admit guilt and then it shows paid. If you don't pay it, they'll drag your credit through the mud until you prove your innocence and it gets completely removed -- not showing paid OR delinquent.

My next move would be to call a NON-PROFIT credit counseling organization. Don't go to some scammy "credit repair service." Look for reputable organizations that don't charge fees for advice. See what they say.
posted by PandemicSoul at 11:25 AM on December 22, 2006

You go to Hopkins, no? Perhaps you could try e-mailing one of the Business Law profs.
posted by roomwithaview at 11:25 AM on December 22, 2006

To reiterate: there are law offices that do nothing but collections. That part is not necessarily a scam. But don't let "law offices" on the letterhead intimidate you, which is sure as hell what they're trying to achieve. They have to obey the same rules as every other collection agency. Fax a letter over right now, demanding two things: (1) copies of all previous correspondence and (2) "validation of the debt". It can be like 2,3 sentences long. Oh, and you might want to add in a few sentences "confirming" the bs they told you on the phone. Tactics like that are very shady, the kind of stuff that may just make them liable for paying you $1000 plus damages if they're not careful. So there's a good chance they'll back off those claims as soon as you put it in writing.

Do NOT include your SSN, birthdate, bank account numbers, etc. If they're a legit collections firm, they already have all the info they need. Otherwise, this sounds like a great identity fraud scheme -- scare the bejeezus out of someone right when everything's closing so they feel trapped into giving away all sorts of info they'd never reveal under normal circumstances. Brilliant.

Really, just fax that letter then stop worrying about it until after the holidays.

Also, you can usually get a free 1/2 hour consult with a lawyer specializing in debt issues. So if you're really worried, open the yellow pages and make some calls right now. You might be able to get a short phone consult even today.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 11:36 AM on December 22, 2006

schrodenger....

That is one large bag of bullshit you have been handled. It's the vendor's responsibility to verify indentity.

That said, this kind of crap can persist literally for years, and is a pain in the ass to resolve if there is intermixing of the reputations of the real, good you and the fictitious, evil impostor. Get it under control fast by finding out if there are more checks, etc out there implicating your good name.

Get a credit report. Follow up anything suspicious. Echoing everyone else, find some local legal help even if you have to borrow money or get a part time job to afford it.

I have been the victim of credit card fraud and had one friend with serious identity theft-related credit issues. Brace yourself for a long slog, but by all means, take positive action and document EVERYTHING you do or communicate about this issue.

Good luck.
posted by FauxScot at 11:39 AM on December 22, 2006

You should call the police and report the theft, send a copy of the police report to the law firm and store, ignore their further attempts.
posted by thilmony at 11:45 AM on December 22, 2006

And what lawyer do I call, anyway?

Sorry, should have been more specific. Yellow Pages > Attornies. It should be broken down into subcategories from there. Look for the "Debt", "Collections" or "Bankruptcy" (don't worry, that's not where you're headed -- it just means they know how to handle overly aggressive collection attempts) subcategories.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 11:48 AM on December 22, 2006

Ditto everything here, but I have to reiterate, Don't tell the collections agency anything. Get as much info out of them as you can, then start documenting things.

Write down, clearly, when you closed the account, when you got the call, as close to verbatim as you can remember what was said on the phone. Use dates, specifics, names, phone numbers, anything you can remember.

Do this now while the memory is fresh, It's so much more impressive when you're talking to someone (lawyer, bank, collections agency) to be able to say "June 10, 1997" instead of "a few years ago."

Definitely get on the bank for as many records as they can provide you about this. They may have a fraud flag they can place on that account number and either way their fraud department will be interested to hear about this.
posted by Skorgu at 11:51 AM on December 22, 2006

Also, I don't know how US credit reporting agencies work, but you should be able to arrange a lock on your credit report, so that no one can make changes to your credit record without you knowing. Just keep an eye on it.
posted by loiseau at 11:54 AM on December 22, 2006

Working in the fraud area of a large bank, I can tell you that I come across this all the time. Usually, a pretty basic letter from us indicating that these are fraudulent checks written of a closed account is enough to resolve the situation. Sometime we ask for the victim to file a police report first, so I'd definitely recommend you go that route for now if you can't reach your bank's fraud department.

I've never yet seen an issue like this where a lawyer was required (although they can sometimes be helpful), so you should be able to handle this without their help. (If your bank of choice happens to feature a lot of 1850s stagecoach imagery, feel free to drop me a line!)
posted by logic vs love at 11:57 AM on December 22, 2006

This happened to my sister. Seconding thilmony: police report.
posted by unknowncommand at 11:57 AM on December 22, 2006

Lots of good advice. My fiance went through something similar last year. Someone stole his checkbook out of the car and wrote a bunch of checks. It wasn't until they bounced one that they wrote for a really big amount (like $5000) that he got a bounce notice and realized what was going on. In his case the fraud dept. for our bank dealt with the whole situation.

gwa? Does this smell fishy to anyone else?

Not at all. In our case it was a woman who was writing the bad checks. Obviously no one checked her ID at any point or even noticed the male name on the check.
posted by cabingirl at 12:06 PM on December 22, 2006

My next move would be to call a NON-PROFIT credit counseling organization.

Some of these non-profit credit counselling organizations aren't necessarily on your side. Many are funded by commissions from creditors; their ultimate goal being to get you to pay up.
posted by randomstriker at 12:06 PM on December 22, 2006

While others have done a better job explaining it, this stunk of scam to me as well.

Your university may have some kind of legal-aid office for students. Check around for that.
posted by adamrice at 12:14 PM on December 22, 2006

What logic vs love said. File a police report asap, and when you talk to the bank, ask them to let you sign an "affidavit of forgery" that you can provide this collection agency.
posted by Hlewagast at 12:16 PM on December 22, 2006

Something similar happened to me a couple of years ago (except the checks, on an account that had been closed for 3 years, were clearly being written by quite a few different people).

The bank had me fill out affidavits of forgery for each check that was written on the closed account, and get a police report for the stolen checks. I still get occasional letters, but a copy of the affidavit and the police report clears anything up pretty quickly most of the time.

gwa? Does this smell fishy to anyone else?

No, not at all. My checks were being written all over town -- a couple of hundred dollars at Walmart, $75 at Taco Mayo, gas stations, you name it. You'd think writing a $75 check at a fast-food restaurant would make someone want to look at an ID, or at least make sure the name on the check matches the gender of the person writing the check (not a lot of guys named Katherine out there...) but apparently not.
posted by ThatSomething at 12:24 PM on December 22, 2006

Having a warrant for your arrest does not mean there is a posse out hunting for you. It means likely on a $85 bad check that if you get pulled over for speeding the officer will then notify you of the warrant and may bring you in.

Oh, what everyone else said above, but if the "lawyer" calls you again, ask him if you can record the call then ask him to repeat the bs he told you.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 12:36 PM on December 22, 2006

As a merchant, this smells like a scam to me. Some sheriff and DA offices have hot check programs, which goes outside the traditional consumer/credit mechanisms and makes it easy for fraudsters and shady legal offices to exploit the confusion and swindle people for a quick buck. I think that's what's happening here.

However it's impossible to know for sure, so take a few steps to cover yourself. RUN (do not walk, do not telephone) to your bank and sign fraud / forgery affidavits for the missing checks. If they're asses about it, then buy half an hour of a lawyer's time (and believe me, I'm not one to post blanket statements about getting a lawyer for all minor disputes on ask.mefi).

Even if this is real, which again, I doubt, I wouldn't worry about getting arrested over Christmas... there's not going to be a posse to come after you at 5 pm. Do the above steps ASAP and you'll be fine.
posted by rolypolyman at 1:09 PM on December 22, 2006

Note that I doubt it's real, but I'm not saying it isn't, either.
posted by rolypolyman at 1:10 PM on December 22, 2006

I was once mugged, and the mugger then used my ATM card with Visa logo and wrote checks. Of course, that night I filed a police report, and the next morning I went to the bank. Both the police and the bank told me that it is the vendor's (that is, the store's) responsibility to verify that the person writing the check is the person who's name is on the check. That's why they ask for ID. In my case, my mugger was a different race and gender, but the vendors took the card and checks anyway. The vendors ultimately lost that money.

I took my police report to the bank (one that sports "1850s stagecoach imagery"). They put me through to the Fraud department. I signed a piece of paper, switched bank account numbers, and that was really all there was to it. I was never responsible for the funds, and did not have it negatively reported to the credit bureaus.

However, I also wrote a statement for the 3 main credit bureaus, explaining what had happened, just in case. The letter I wrote is now part of my credit report. I did this just for my piece of mind, though.

I think the lawyer was being a bit creative. It would be nice if you could record telephone calls on your telephone...
posted by Houstonian at 1:17 PM on December 22, 2006

(Assuming you're where your profile suggests...) The Maryland State Bar Association ought to be interested in knowing that an attorney in the state was knowingly breaking the law and lying from behind the desk of a law firm. Switchboard: 800-492-1964.
posted by genghis at 1:48 PM on December 22, 2006

IANAL, and I am in NYS, but if the county clerk records in your county/city are online, check and see if a judgment has been filed against you. If there isn't, then the law firm is lying - they can't issue any sort of warrant if no judgment has been filed.
posted by Lucinda at 2:17 PM on December 22, 2006

they can't issue any sort of warrant if no judgment has been filed

Writing a bad check is a criminal ofense in some jurisdictions. (Me: collection background, not lawyer.)
posted by gimonca at 4:06 PM on December 22, 2006

I personally have hinted at sending out the local sheriff when collecting on bad checks, and had it work beautifully. Some people who write bad checks habitually also have other outstanding warrants against them, and have an intense interest in avoiding law enforcement attention.

But if the only matter at hand is one $205 bounced check, it's rarely going to be a priority for law enforcement, at least in my area.

If the collector threatened that a warrant would definitely be issued at a specific time, well, that's not good for them. Besides possible legal (were they simply lying?) or licensing problems, they've probably just made a threat that they can't guarantee they'll be able to follow through on. If the arresting officer doesn't show up as promised, they look like total idiots. It's all in the phrasing: "Gee, I'd hate to have to call the sheriff on this".
posted by gimonca at 4:24 PM on December 22, 2006

Thank you so much, everyone, this is all great advice. Offices are all closed and I'll be away from home for the weekend, but I will start doing everything as soon as the weekend's over.
posted by schroedinger at 5:50 PM on December 22, 2006

Houstonian writes "It would be nice if you could record telephone calls on your telephone..."

Lots of devices out there to do this, someplaces only one party (IE:you) needs to agree to the recording.
posted by Mitheral at 8:45 PM on December 22, 2006

Following up on what nakedcodemonkey said, Debtorboards has lots of good information re: how-to.
posted by MLIS at 9:06 PM on December 22, 2006

"What kind of "law office" collects money themselves and makes threats over the phone?"

Sadly, many of them do. They're collection agencies owned by lawyers. I have had a most horrible time with one of the rotten motherfuckers. They know damn well that FCRA complaints are often very difficult to prove. Now that I have finally shed my life of that piece of shit, my only recourse is to file a complaint with the State Bar Association about his practices. I was getting calls from his collection agency (fuck you, Statewide Credit & Collection Bureau) assholes telling me "This is going to cost you $10,000 when we're done with you." among other clearly illegal FCRA violations.
Creditors are slimy bastards, and I think that the entire industry needs to be bitchslapped HARD and torn apart.

"Also, I don't know how US credit reporting agencies work, but you should be able to arrange a lock on your credit report, so that no one can make changes to your credit record without you knowing. Just keep an eye on it."

Doesn't work that way. Even with a credit freeze, creditors can still add negative items.

To the OP: Make sure that you file a police report, and get copies of everything that you can from your bank. Keep an eye on your credit reports, and keep the most accurate paper trail that you can. It will benefit you in the long run.
posted by drstein at 9:53 PM on December 22, 2006

If you live in a state which prosecutes people who pass worthless checks, a warrant could definitely be issued for your arrest. The store would have to go through the court system, but in the end, you could be held responsible for the amount of the check and any fees, and also any court costs. An $85 check could end up costing in excess of $300, and you could be facing probation (this is probably a worst case scenario, but it happens all the time here in Florida).

I nth getting a police report. It doesn't matter that the account was closed. Unless you can prove somehow that you didn't pass the checks, this could cause you so many problems depending on the laws in your state.

Good luck, this is rotten.
posted by mewithoutyou at 11:28 PM on December 22, 2006

absolutely positively file id fraud alerts with all three credit bureaus right now. it will stay on your account for 90 days and during this time, nobody can pull or edit your file without your prior notification. go to truecredit.com and sign up for their $15/month credit monitoring. you can get all three reports as often as you like (make them show you how to get a new report in less than 30 days.)
posted by krautland at 12:07 AM on December 23, 2006

Call the bank and see if they can help you out. The law basically puts the onus on them in these situations and they have lawyers. I agree with others that this sounds like a bad collection agency scam, but do try to get legal assistance through your school if possible. A call to the state attorney general's office can also help. They won't get involved in you specific case, likely, but can direct you to legal services you can afford or which are free. If it is really a scam they might get involved.
posted by caddis at 1:40 AM on December 23, 2006

"nobody can pull or edit your file without your prior notification"

Ugh. In my own experience, this is NOT TRUE when it comes to asshole creditors slamming your credit report. A credit freeze isn't a loophole that will allow you to avoid having creditors place delinquent accounts on your credit report.

The credit freezes are meant to prevent *new lines of credit* from being opened, not to skirt around debt collectors.

I had a credit freeze before, that sure as hell didn't stop some junk debt buyers from placing completely bullshit accounts for phones I've never owned in states I've never lived in on my stupid credit report. Now I get to deal with the mess.
posted by drstein at 9:56 AM on December 23, 2006