How to Tell If a Cashier's Check Is Real or Fake

Getting a cashier's check in the mail for a lot of money might seem like a godsend, but it could also be a scam. A sophisticated scammer can produce a counterfeit cashier's check, mail it to you, and then try to persuade you to deposit the money and transfer some of it back to them. In reality, though, the check is bad, and you're on the hook for those funds! To help you avoid getting scammed in the first place, this article will explain the physical signs of a fake cashier's check, plus other red flags. We'll also walk you through how to verify if a cashier's check is real or fake, what to do if it's fraudulent, and much more.

Common Signs a Cashier's Check Is Fake

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An illustration comparing a real cashier's check to a fake one, with common red flags to look for.

Fake bank name: The issuing bank's name doesn't appear in the FDIC Bank Find tool or on Google.
Missing or incorrect routing number: The 9-digit routing number at the bottom of the check is not there or has incorrect digits in it.
Misspelled words: Look for spelling errors in the issuing bank's name and address, as well as your name and address.
Mismatched postmark: The postmark on the envelope doesn't match the issuing bank's location.

Section 1 of 6:

Signs a Cashier's Check Is Counterfeit

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Fake bank name Do a Google search with the name of the bank that allegedly issued your cashier's check. If it doesn't appear in the search results, it's possible that it's a fake name. Double-check your suspicions by typing the bank's name into the FDIC Bank Find tool. Select the state where the bank is located (the bank's address should be printed on the check, too), then click "Search." If the bank doesn't come up, it's probably not real, which means your cashier's check isn't either.
- Note: If your financial institution is a credit union, use the NCUA Credit Union Locator instead.
- FDIC vs NCUA: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) are both federal government-appointed agencies. The FDIC insures and regulates banks, while the NCUA insures and regulates credit unions.
A surefire sign that a cashier's check is fake is if important details—like the 9-digit routing number—are incorrect or completely missing. A quick Google or FDIC Bank Find search for the bank's name will pull up its website, where you'll typically find its routing number. If this number is wrong on your check, don't try to deposit it, because it's probably fake!^{[1]
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Misspelled words What if the bank information on the cashier's check is correct, but the bank name is misspelled? Or what if other basic words, like the bank's street address, are spelled incorrectly? Most financial institutions are scrupulous about spelling, so any misspelled word should give you pause. It's not a definite sign that the check is fake, but it should prompt you to call the issuing bank to verify its authenticity.
- If you received a note or text with the check, look for spelling errors there, too.^{[2]
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- Note: Not all misspellings are red flags. For example, if your name or address is slightly misspelled, that could simply mean that the person sending you the check didn't know how to spell it. Or, the bank employee who issued the check may have made an error.
  - When in doubt, always call the financial institution that issued the check and verify its authenticity.
Look at the envelope that the cashier's check came in, and see if the postmark in the upper right corner matches the address of the bank that supposedly issued that check. If they're different, that could be a sign that a scammer printed the check themselves and is using a legitimate bank as cover.^{[3]
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Missing security features Many cashier's checks have watermarks, security threads, or color-changing ink. These are called security features, and they help bank workers spot real checks. Fake cashier's checks are often missing these details because they're not made with the same specialized paper that the bank uses.^{[4]
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- Caution: Not all cashier's checks have security features, so this isn't a reliable sign of a fake check.

Section 2 of 6:

Other Red Flags Indicating a Fake Check

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If you don't recognize the name of the person or the institution sending you the cashier's check, that's a possible red flag. For example, if you receive a cashier's check from an insurance company that you've never heard of, and you don't have a policy with that company and haven't been involved in anyone else's claim, it could definitely be fake.^{[5]
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The amount of the check is more than you agreed to be paid. If you sell someone an item or a service and they pay with a cashier's check, it's always a red flag if the check amount is for a lot more than you agreed to be paid. For example, if you sold an old TV to someone for $200, and they send you a check for $1200, your gut feeling should tell you that there's a scam afoot.^{[6]
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- Remember the old saying: if it's too good to be true, it probably is.
If the cashier's check sender requests you to transfer the money to a third party, they're scamming you. In most cases, when someone sends you a legitimate check, they won't ask you to transfer some of that money to another person.^{[7]
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Section 3 of 6:

How to Verify That a Cashier's Check Is Real

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Contact the issuing bank to verify your check's authenticity. Never use the phone number on the check! If the check turns out to be fake, the number could also be fraudulent. Instead, look up the phone number of the bank yourself with a quick search using FDIC Bank Find. Then call the bank and tell them that you received a cashier's check issued by their institution, and you'd like to verify that it's real. Have the following information ready for the teller or customer service representative:^{[8]
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- The check number
- The date the check was issued
- The amount
- Your name and address

Section 4 of 6:

What to Do with a Fake Cashier's Check

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Cancel pending electronic transfers and put a stop on written checks. If you deposited the fake check already, you must act quickly! You have an extremely short window of time to get back any money you might have sent to the scammer. Here's how to cancel other common transactions if you catch the scam quickly enough:
- ACH transfer: Ask your bank to initiate a stop payment and cancel the transfer. If the payment has already been processed or cleared, request an ACH reversal, in which your bank requests the receiving bank to send the funds back.^{[9]
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- Check or money order: Ask your bank to put a stop payment on any checks or money orders you sent to the scammer. This method only works if the scammer hasn't deposited or cashed the check yet.^{[10]
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  - Be aware that most financial institutions charge a $30 fee for each stop payment.
- Money app transfer: Open your money transfer app (e.g., Cash App or Zelle), check your Activity page, and find the transfer you initiated to the scammer. If it's still pending, you may be able to cancel it. If it's already been sent, you can't cancel or reverse those funds.^{[11]
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  - If the transfer is already complete, talk to your bank about filing a dispute. You still may not get your money back, but it's the only way forward.
- Wire: Contact the financial institution you used to initiate the wire (e.g., MoneyGram or Western Union) and ask for a reversal.^{[12]
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  Federal Trade Commission
  Website with up-to-date information for consumers from the Federal Trade Commisson
  
  Go to source} Domestic wires can't be canceled once sent, but international wires can sometimes be canceled if you let the bank know within 30 minutes after they initiate them.^{[13]
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- Cryptocurrency: Reach out to the company you used to transfer the crypto funds to the scammer. Explain what happened, and ask them to reverse the funds.^{[14]
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  Federal Trade Commission
  Website with up-to-date information for consumers from the Federal Trade Commisson
  
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- Know that it may be too late to get your money back. The sad reality for most people who get scammed is that by the time they realize they were swindled, their money is already long gone. It's a hard, bitter lesson to always be vigilant, especially when it comes to your financial security.
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Alert the bank that issued the fake cashier's check. The bank listed on your fake cashier's check might have no idea that a scammer is issuing checks in its name. Call their real number that you found on Google, ask to speak to their fraud department, and let them know what happened. Tell them the circumstances under which you received the check, and give them the name of the person or organization that sent it to you. That way, they can be on the alert for more incidents and warn their customers about the scam.^{[15]
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- If the bank is fake, skip this step.
If you received the fake cashier's check through an online scam, reach out to the marketplace, auction site, or app where the scammer contacted you. Give them the scammer's profile name and explain what happened to you. This won't get your money back, but it may prompt the website or app administrators to ban the scammer.^{[16]
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File a consumer complaint with your state's attorney general's office. Use Find My AG to look up your state's attorney general and find a link to their website. Then, follow the instructions on their website to file a consumer complaint report about your fake cashier's check.^{[17]
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Federal Trade Commission
Website with up-to-date information for consumers from the Federal Trade Commisson

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- This step helps your state government crack down on fraud schemes and prevent other innocent people from getting scammed, too.
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Report the fake cashier's check to the federal government agency. As well as reporting your counterfeit cashier's check to your state government, you should also report it to the federal government. See the guidelines below to determine which government agency you should file a complaint with:^{[18]
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- If you receive a fake cashier's check in the mail, report it to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS).
- If you receive a fake cashier's check because of an online purchase or lottery, report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
- Report all fake cashier's checks to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Section 5 of 6:

Common Cashier's Check Scams

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Overpayment scam A common scam is to send a cashier's check to buy something for a lot more than the agreed-upon price, then ask the recipient to transfer the extra funds to someone else. If you receive a cashier's check with an overpayment, followed by a letter or a text instructing you to transfer the money to someone via wire, Cash App, or Zelle, don't do it! The cashier's check is probably fake, and you'd actually be sending the scammer your own money.^{[19]
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- A variation of this scam targets businesses by "overpaying" them for a service, then telling them that the excess money is meant for another business. They then ask the recipient to forward that money on to the other "business," which doesn't actually exist.^{[20]
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Lottery scam You probably received an email at some point that told you that you won a lottery for a huge amount of money. If you fell prey to this scam, the scammer would send you a cashier's check with the "prize." Next, they would instruct you to deposit it and wire a portion of it to another account to cover "taxes and fees." The truth is there is no lottery, no prize money, and no taxes or fees. You've just been scammed.^{[21]
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- Tip: If you didn't enter a lottery yourself, you didn't win any money. Additionally, any cashier's check with legal lottery winnings will be issued by your state's lottery commission or licensing and regulating department, not a random bank.^{[22]
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In this popular swindle, the scammer offers to buy an item or service listed on an online marketplace, like Craigslist or Facebook. The scammer "pays" using a cashier's check, but the check is for a lot more money than the seller originally asked for. The scammer pretends that the high amount is simply a mistake and asks the seller to "return" the extra funds. In reality, the check is fake, and the seller is sending the scammer their own money.^{[23]
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If you're targeted for this scam, you'll receive a letter, email, or text offering to pay you to go into various stores and purchase their services to evaluate and compare them. If you accept, the scammer sends you a check and tells you to deposit the funds. Next, they instruct you to go into different stores and use the money to send wires via MoneyGram or Western Union. They also tell you that you can keep whatever money is left after the wires are complete. This is always a scam that will leave you on the hook for hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.^{[24]
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This vicious scam takes advantage of people looking for honest work. It starts by offering the victim a job. Everything seems legitimate: there's an application, an interview, and even real tasks to complete. But when your first paycheck arrives, it's a cashier's check for more money than you actually made. Your "employer" tells you that the overpayment was a mistake and to send the money back via a wire or another type of transfer. But of course, the job and the employer are fake, and it's your own money you're sending them.^{[25]
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Section 6 of 6:

What is a cashier's check?

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A cashier's check is a check whose funds are guaranteed by a financial institution. When you write a normal check, called a bank check, the funds are drawn from your own account. But when you request a cashier's check, the money for it is transferred out of your account and into an account directly controlled by your bank or credit union. Thus, there's no way that the check will bounce because your financial institution has already set aside the money for it and is keeping it secure until the check clears.^{[26]
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- When are cashier's checks used? They're typically used to cover large transactions, like a down payment on a house or a payment for a boat or a car.
- Read our article on how to detect a fake bank check.

Common Questions: Real vs Fake Cashier's Checks

What happens if I accidentally deposit a fake cashier's check?

If you think you've deposited a fake cashier's check, tell your financial institution right away! If you've already used part of the funds to send a wire, an ACH transfer, or a check to the scammer, your bank can try to cancel the transaction or stop the check. In the event the transaction can't be canceled and the funds aren't recovered, your bank may hold you responsible for paying back the full amount you used from the check, even though you didn't know it was fake.^{[27]
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Federal Trade Commission
Website with up-to-date information for consumers from the Federal Trade Commisson

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Can my bank tell me if a cashier's check is real or fake?

Your bank can't always tell right away if a cashier's check is fake, especially if they didn't issue it. According to the FDIC, it's often difficult to detect a counterfeit check simply by looking at it.^{[28]
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Research source} But it still doesn't hurt to show them, as they may be aware of common scams and can advise you on your next steps.

How long does it take for a bank to realize a cashier's check is counterfeit?

It can take up to several weeks for a bank to figure out that the cashier's check they deposited or cashed isn't backed by real money. That's why it's important to verify that the check is real before you deposit it. If you still suspect it might be fake, wait until your bank confirms that the check has fully cleared before spending any of the money.^{[29]
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