It may be a new year, but criminals are up to their old tricks in new ways — and one of them is as simple as changing the year you put on important paperwork.
When we jot down the date on our checks or on other documents we may be tempted to write in the XX-XX-20 format — but that would be a mistake!
This warning is not just coming from Clark.com, either. One of the posts making the rounds on social media is from the police department in East Millinocket, Maine.
Why You Shouldn’t Abbreviate 2020
The reason is because crooks may be able to come behind you and manipulate the date simply by adding two digits.
Criminals could change that "/20 into a "/2019" or "/2018" or whatever they like.
It may seem like a small thing, but if a criminal gets their hands on one of your checks and backdates it far enough, that check won’t cash — or worse, they could make many of your legal documents invalid.
Here’s what it says:
“Of course we understand that all dates can be altered, however I believe that most here would agree that if a document of any kind, either legal or professional, is brought to our attention as being forged or fraudulent, it would likely raise far more red flags, depending on the circumstances, if it had a date of 1999 as opposed to 2019 or 2021.”
[ This article was originally published on Clark.com ]
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