Dear Liz: I am a victim of check fraud where someone intercepted two checks made out to the U.S. Treasury and changed the payee name. These two checks were for $21,000 and $6,000, so it’s substantial. I made a police report and spoke with my bank at the end of August. Any advice on how to push the bank to reimburse me? I hate being in limbo!
Answer: A bank generally has 10 business days to investigate unauthorized transactions. If the bank can’t complete the investigation in that timeframe, it’s typically supposed to issue you a temporary credit. If your bank isn’t following the law, you can file a complaint with its regulator. National banks, for example, are regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) Customer Assistance Group.
As mentioned before, check fraud due to mail theft is a huge issue. Sending checks through the mail isn’t safe, so please switch to electronic payments whenever possible.