What is a check printing scam?

A check printing scam tricks you into using a fake or stolen check, or into printing checks for a stranger. Common versions include overpayment scams, fake job offers that send you a check first, and requests to print checks for an unknown person. The check later fails and your bank takes back the funds.

Should I ever print checks for someone I do not know?

No. Print checks only for your own account, or for people and businesses you know and trust and have documented authority from. A stranger asking you to print, mail or forward checks, often for a fee, is a common scam, and you can be left responsible when the checks fail.

Why does a fake check show up in my account before it clears?

Banks often make deposited funds available before the check is fully verified, so a balance can look real for days. If the check later turns out to be fake, the bank takes the money back. Never send money from a check until your bank confirms it has fully cleared.

How do I know if a job offer with a check is a scam?

Be wary if you are paid before you have worked, asked to deposit a check and buy equipment or gift cards, or told to forward money. Real employers do not ask this. Confirm the company through a phone number you found yourself, and ask your bank before you deposit anything.

How can I protect my own checks from fraud?

Lock up blank check stock, shred spoiled checks, mail checks through secure channels and use strong, unique passwords. Review your bank statements every month, keep a printed record of every check, and ask your bank about account alerts and fraud-protection services for your account.

How to Avoid Check Printing Scams

The best way to avoid check printing scams is simple: never print checks for someone you do not know and trust, never deposit a check from a stranger and send money back, and never share your account details with someone you have not verified. If a deal depends on a check you must deposit, cash or print, stop and call your bank first.

Scams that involve checks come in a few familiar shapes. Knowing the pattern makes them easy to spot, and a short checklist protects your own checks and account at the same time.

What are the most common check scams?

Most check scams ask you to move money before the check has truly cleared. Banks often make funds available quickly, which can make a deposit look real. Days or weeks later, the bank can find that the check was fake and take the money back out of your account. By then, the money you sent is gone.

Scam	How it works	Warning sign
Overpayment	A buyer sends a check for more than the price and asks you to refund the difference	Any request to return part of a payment
Fake job offer	A new employer sends a check for equipment or supplies and asks you to buy from a vendor they name	You are paid before you have worked
Print checks for us	A stranger sends account details and asks you to print and send checks for them	You are asked to use your own stock or printer for someone else
Mystery shopper	You get a check, deposit it, spend part and report back	Deposit first, spend second
Fake invoice	A bill arrives for something you never ordered, hoping you pay without checking	An unfamiliar vendor or new bank details

What is an overpayment scam?

Someone buys an item or service from you and sends a check for more than the agreed price. They explain the mistake and ask you to send back the difference by wire, gift card or a check of your own. The first check later fails, and you have lost the refund you sent plus anything else you paid.

The safe rule is to accept exactly the price you agreed. If a payment arrives for more, send the whole thing back and ask the buyer to pay again correctly. Wait until your bank confirms the check has fully cleared, which can take longer than the day the funds appear in your balance.

How do fake job offers use checks?

A fake employer sends a check before you have done any work and asks you to deposit it, then use part of it to buy equipment or gift cards. Some also ask you to print checks, process payments or forward money for the company. Real employers do not ask you to spend their money from your own account on a vendor of their choosing.

Be wary of any job that pays you before you start and asks you to move money.
Never print checks, or use your own account, to pay people on behalf of someone you have not met.
Search the company name with the word scam, and confirm the contact details on its real website, not in the email.
Ask a friend or your bank before you act on instructions you do not fully understand.

Why you should never print checks for a stranger

Printing a check for another person lends them your equipment and your credibility. If the account details are fake or stolen, or the check bounces, you can be left dealing with banks, losses and questions. This includes offers to pay you a fee for printing, mailing or forwarding checks.

Print checks only for your own account, or for accounts of a business or person you work with in a documented, face-to-face way, such as a bookkeeper working for a known client. Even then, confirm the authority in writing and keep a copy.

How can you spot a fake check?

The check arrives unexpectedly, or from a person or company you have never dealt with.
The amount is higher than agreed, or you are told to send some of it onward.
You are pushed to act fast, or to keep the matter secret from your bank.
The paper feels thin, the bank name is misspelled, or the numbers look blurred.
The check is drawn on a bank that does not match the sender's location or business.
The sender prefers email or text only and will not talk by phone.

Ask your bank to review any check you are unsure about before you deposit it, and ask when funds are final. Your bank can usually tell you what to look for and what to do next.

What is a practical scam-avoidance checklist?

Know who you are dealing with. Confirm the person or company through a phone number you found yourself.
Never send money back from a check you received until your bank says it has fully cleared.
Accept exactly the agreed amount, and return overpayments in full.
Never deposit a check and then wire, gift-card or send money from it.
Never share your account number, routing number or online banking login with a stranger.
Never print checks for someone you do not know and trust.
Ask your bank before you act. It is a free and quick safeguard.
Report suspected scams to your bank and to the appropriate consumer protection agency for your country or state.

How do you protect your own checks and account?

Good habits protect your account whether you print checks yourself or order them. The same discipline covers paper, passwords and records.

Lock up blank stock. Anyone with blank check stock and a printer can create a check. Use a locked drawer, count sheets and shred spoiled ones. See check printing supplies checklist.
Mail with care. Drop outgoing checks at the post office or a secure mailbox, and use envelopes that hide the contents.
Use strong, unique passwords for your check printing account and your online banking, and do not share them.
Review your bank statements every month, and match them against your printed record. How to keep a digital record of printed checks shows how.
Void and shred checks that jam or misprint. See how to void a printed check.
Ask your bank about account alerts and about any fraud-protection services it offers for business accounts.

What should you do if you think you have been scammed?

Call your bank right away and tell them exactly what happened.
Stop all contact with the sender and do not send any further money.
Ask your bank whether to change your account number and online banking passwords.
Keep copies of messages, checks and receipts.
Report the scam to the appropriate consumer protection authority.

Acting quickly gives you the best chance of limiting the damage, and your bank is the right first call.

Check Writer 123 is made by the publisher of this site. It keeps your account behind a login over HTTPS, stores passwords as salted hashes, sends card payments to Square so card numbers never reach its servers, and does not sell your data. A register with search and CSV download and an activity history on each check make month-end reviews easier. Read more on the security page.

Next steps

Tell anyone who prints checks for your business about the rules above. Review who can reach your blank stock, and match this month's bank statement to your printed checks. For a business-wide setup that builds in controls, read how to print checks for your business, and for in-house routines, how small businesses can print their own checks.