I live in the United States. How can someone tell if a money order or check is real, or counterfeit?

Question

How do you know if it's a brilliant copy, or been copied like a copy machine or scaner, computer copied, etc ?
If it's a check,or money order someone sent, or asking to be sent. How can I find out if it's real, or, fake ?
Real experts on this please.
In this day and age, you can't be too careful..
I want to stay a head of the thugs, rip off geeks, scammers, if I can.
If you suspect a bad check ,or money order, if something seems weird about it, will the banks, companies, whom ever would be able to check it out tell me even if the check is not mine, if I am sending it out for someone ?
No amitures on this, experts, authorities only..
Thanks..

Answer 1

Any check can be faked.
It dosnt matter if it is a fake cashiers check ,fake money order or fake company check...at the end of the day it is a copy of the real thing.
The best way I can think of is to call the issuing bank and quiry the check (account number,name etc)
Scammers will make checks with their own phone number as the issuing bank so it is better to search for the telephone number on the internet.
There is one sure way of telling if a check is real.
Its called the stranger test.

Walk out in your street and ask the first stranger you meet if they would cash your check for $50 dollars.
If a stranger wouldnt do it for you...then why should you do it for anyone else?

Answer 2

Hmmm! Sounds like you got one of those cashiers checks, (like I did two weeks ago!), and you're hoping, (wondering if), it's real - right?
Well it's probably not! Mine was for $2,800.00 with instructions in the accompanying letter to cash it and mail the cash back to some lottery outfit for the cost of insuring my winnings, (which was said to be $750,000!)
(Yeah, right!).
It had a Bank of America logo on it, making appear as real. So I went down to my nearest BOA and they were "REALLY" interested in it... so much so that they kept it to send to their Fraud Unit headquarters, while giving me a copy for my own records.
If this sounds like your situation... don't fall for it!
(On the other hand, if it's real... I'll split it with you!?)

Answer 3

Always request a postal money order or a certified check. Tell them that you will pass on merchandise once the check clears.

Answer 4

take it to the bank
if its real then they can cash it for you
if they can't then its fake
also it has an account number

Answer 5

take it to the bank