Fake Check and Check-Washing Scams: Why "Funds Available" Doesn't Mean the Check Is Good
The check clears, or seems to, and you send back the difference. Then it bounces and the bank takes it all back. Here is how fake check scams and check washing work and how to protect yourself.
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📐 Figures verified Sep 28, 2026 against the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center's 2025 Internet Crime Report and the FTC's fake check guidance and the CFPB's explanation of deposit holds. Reported losses undercount the real total; most scams are never reported.
A fake check scam sends you a check, has you deposit it and send some money back, then the check bounces and the bank takes the full amount back from you. Money showing as available doesn't mean a check is good. Check washing is the mirror image: a check you mailed is stolen, erased and rewritten.
Numbers That Matter
| Figure | Amount | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit card and check fraud complaints to the FBI, 2025 | 18,774, up from 12,876 in 2024; $282.7 million lost | FBI IC3 2025 report | Sep 28, 2026 |
| Overpayment scams, 2025 | 2,194 complaints, $22.9 million lost | FBI IC3 2025 report | Sep 28, 2026 |
| The fake check pattern | Deposit, send part back, the check bounces, and you owe it all | FTC | Sep 28, 2026 |
| Why "available" isn't "cleared" | Banks must make deposits available quickly, often before a bad check is discovered | CFPB | Sep 28, 2026 |
| Where to report | The FTC, at ReportFraud.ftc.gov | Federal Trade Commission | Sep 28, 2026 |
How Fake Check Scams Work
The check comes with a story: you won a sweepstakes and need to pay the taxes, a buyer for something you are selling "accidentally" overpaid, a mystery-shopper job wants you to test a money-transfer service, or a new employer is sending money for equipment. The check looks real, often from a real bank. You deposit it, and within a day or two the money shows as available, so you send the extra back by wire, gift card, payment app or crypto.
Days or weeks later the check is returned as counterfeit, and your bank takes the full amount out of your account. The money you sent is gone, and you may also owe fees. Banks are required to make deposited funds available quickly, usually within a couple of business days, but discovering that a check is fake can take much longer.
Check Washing: When Your Own Check Is Stolen
In check washing, thieves steal checks from mailboxes, erase the ink with chemicals and rewrite the payee and amount, or copy your account details onto counterfeit checks. To protect yourself, pay bills electronically when you can, mail checks inside a post office rather than leaving them in a home mailbox, write in ink that is hard to erase, and review your account often so you can report a bad check quickly.
The Tells
- A check for more than you are owed, with a request to send back the difference.
- A prize, job or sale that requires you to pay someone else from the check.
- Pressure to send the money quickly, before the check could bounce.
- Instructions to send the money by wire, gift card, payment app or crypto.
If You Already Deposited It or Sent Money
Stop sending money and call your bank: tell them you believe the check is fake and ask whether any transfer can still be stopped. Contact the wire service, gift card company or app you used. Report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and the FBI at ic3.gov. If a check you wrote was washed, report it to your bank at once and ask about a stop payment and new checks.
Worked Example
- The sale: you list a bike for $300. The "buyer" mails a $2,450 check and asks you to send the extra $2,150 to their mover by payment app.
- Day 2: the full $2,450 shows as available, so you send the $2,150.
- Day 10: the check comes back counterfeit and the bank takes the $2,450 back out of your account.
- The damage: you are out the $2,150 you sent, the bike if you shipped it, and any returned-check fee.
An illustration of the overpayment pattern the FTC describes.
Decision Rules
If this, then that
- If someone sends a check and asks for money back → it's a scam, however real the check looks
- If a deposit shows as available → don't treat it as cleared; wait, or ask the bank to confirm with the paying bank
- If you mail checks → drop them inside the post office, or pay electronically
- If a check you wrote was altered → call your bank right away
Mistakes to avoid
- Sending back "extra" money from any check.
- Assuming available funds mean the check is good.
- Leaving outgoing checks in a home mailbox.
- Waiting weeks to review your account.
Related: First 24 Hours After a Scam gives the recovery steps in order; the Fraud Map shows reported losses per resident in every state; and the Scams & Fraud Protection hub collects every guide.