Someone made a check out to me for almost a thousand dollars. It was a check from someone else's bank account, but they cashed it at my bank. After a stop payment had been put on it, my bank called me and said that I owed them the money that they cashed. Should I be liable for this since I had no knowledge of this check in my name? Should I have to pay the bank back for their mistake, for not checking ID? This is a small town bank in Kentucky.
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There's one basic rule in the law that governs checks: you can't be liable on a check unless you signed it or otherwise agree to be liable. If your name was fraudulently used on the check in question and you did not endorse the check, your bank has no right to look to you for payment.
Go to the bank and explain that you did not cash the check. Show them your signature and ask them to compare it with the signature on the reverse of the check. Sign an affidavit that the endorsement is forged, if they require you to do so. Remind them that their teller has facilitated an ID theft incident, and ask the bank if it included this kind of incident in its "Red Flags" ID Theft Prevention Program. That's a topic that has gotten a lot of "buzz" with bankers in the last few months. Then ask for your money back.
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There's one basic rule in the law that governs checks: you can't be liable on a check unless you signed it or otherwise agree to be liable. If your name was fraudulently used on the check in question and you did not 