Is this check safe to deposit?

Question

About 5 years ago, I participated in an educational training program. Recently, they sent me an envelope with a check for $300 in the mail. There was no explanation attached. The check looks okay, has their proper business address and is from a respectable local bank.

I tried calling the company but got lost in their customer service department.

I would theorize that it had something to do with the CARES act based on timing, but I attended this program years ago. And didn't pay them much to begin with. More surprisingly, they had my current address correct, and I moved three times since attending the program. And never gave them my updated address.

Is this check safe to deposit?

Answer 1

I would deposit the check but not spend the money for at LEAST two weeks to give it plenty of time to make its way back to the issuing bank. You didn't indicate the nationality of the check but I'll assume it's the U.S.

Just because your bank accepts the deposit and credits your account doesn't mean the check is actually any good. It can take up to seven (7) business days for the check to clear through the bank accepting it for deposit and the issuing bank.

If it turns out the check DOESN'T clear, your bank will confiscate the deposit amount and may even charge you fees for depositing a dishonored check. I would find out from your bank what its policies are before proceeding.

Here's a good article from Forbes.com on the issue that can clarify the rules about accepting and depositing checks:

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/banking/funds-availability-and-your-bank-account/

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Answer 2

You have to do your due diligence before depositing the check.

• Determine why the money is being sent to you. The reason has to make sense. The fact it was near the time of the CARES act doesn't mean they are related.

• One way the check can be fake is if the company name is almost correct. You might miss the significance of the difference.

• Read everything that came in the envelope. Read everything written on the check. Sometimes cashing the check obligates you to something else.

• Mistakes can be made. They may have sent it to the wrong person. Make sure all parts of the name on the check are correct. I once had a check sent to somebody who had a different middle name, they were still able to cashed it. It took weeks to get resolved.

• It could still be good. They may have been looking for you for years, and somehow they linked you with the new address.

Answer 3

If it is from a local bank, go to that bank and cash it. That way, there can't be any shenanigans.

Source: I had an employer whose paycheck would bounce when I deposited them. I don't like to pay the bounced check fee. I waited for the owner to go to the bank, and would go to the bank an hour later to get my paychecks cashed.

Answer 4

There is little risk in depositing the check, just don't spend the extra money for a while. Simply let it sit there, or put it in your savings (where you can get it back out if needed).

Scams typically ask you send part or all of the money back through another way - so they would ask you to buy a giftcard and give them the number, or ask you to wire an overpayment back - never do anything like that!
Without any such request, there is nothing to gain for scammers and fraudsters, so the check is probably fine.

Answer 5

There should have been a cover letter. If they were ordered to refund you or this was an honest refund, you should have received a cover letter at the same time for accounting purposes. In particular, if there was anything shady about the training or if work you produced during that training was on-sold.

Of course the letter may have been sent separately.

Do follow up, as it may have been meant for someone else, and you may need documentation for tax.