#14 – PLACE STOP PAYMENTS ON MISSING CHECKS

Contact your bank to put stop payments on missing checks, and ask your bank to notify the check verification service that

it does business with. Also contact all major check verification companies (see resources), asking them to notify the merchants that use their service not to accept your checks. You can contact the Shared Check Authorization Network (SCAN) at 1-800-262-7771 to find out if someone is passing bad checks in your name.

You will also need to close the checking account after all legitimate checks clear. If you order new checks, have them sent to the local branch of your bank — not your unsecured curbside mailbox. And never have your driver’s license or Social Security number printed on your checks.

In the case of stolen checks, you should also file a police report and keep a copy of it for your records (see Step 6).