I received a money order via UPS for services. I went to my bank and cashed it. I did not deposit it, because I did not know if I could trust the person who sent it to me. After checking it and punching in the numbers at the bottom several times, it cleared. They gave me the full amount in cash, which exceeded my bank account by $1000. Everything was fine until ten days later, when I checked my account balance online, and it said I not only had no money in my account, but that I am in the red $1000. Am I responsible for this money even though I never deposited it? I asked the teller specifically to make sure the money orders where valid.
Yes, you are responsible, because you endorsed it and transferred it to the bank. The bank may have been able to check a negative file to see if the money order had been reported as invalid, but it doesn't have access to the issuer's records to be able to know that it is actually legitimate. You will have to take the problem up with whomever sent it to you.
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Yes, you are responsible, because you 