If anyone says, "I'll mail you a check," it may be a good idea to encourage them to pay you a different way.
I remember mailing a check to a friend in Westfield for his birthday. Likewise, my mother would mail a check to my home in Pittsfield for my birthday now and then, and we all thought nothing of it. I remember even sending a check to someone in Boston back in the day. Sure, there was a time you could mail checks, but times have changed, and it's a bit riskier these days.
Why Should Massachusetts Residents Stop Mailing Checks? Is This Method Now Illegal?
It's still legal to mail checks, but USPS advises against the practice due to theft and fraud issues. The same goes for cash. Fraud cases are on the rise and many checks aren't making it to the correct recipients. AARP stated the following regarding fraud and theft of paper checks in the mail.
Last year (2022), banks identified 680,000 reports of check fraud, up from 350,000 in 2021. Meanwhile, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service reported that about 300,000 mail theft complaints were made in 2021, more than double the complaints in 2020. That’s happening even as the number of paper checks in circulation has declined dramatically, to roughly 3.4 billion checks in 2022.
What are Some Safe Alternatives to Sending Checks in the Mail?
If you insist on sending a paper check in the mail, there are a couple of alternatives you can choose from to avoid check fraud and theft, such as handing your mail directly to your mail carrier or using a secure mail drop inside your local post office or at your place of business.
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