Paying by Check isn’t any Safer Than an Electronic Transaction

(LA Times) — Pull out one of your checks and take a close look at it. Along the bottom is a series of numbers that include the bank’s routing number and your account number. That information, along with your name and address printed on the check, is everything an “unscrupulous company or person” needs to raid your checking account.  Once the bad guys have your check, they can alter the amount, counterfeit a new batch of checks or take over the account by adding themselves as joint account holders and changing the address, among many other possibilities.

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