why are/were checks used so frequently when all of our bank information is on the checks and can be easily stolen?
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Faking a check deposit is the easiest way to get your full name and bank transaction history sent directly to a prosecutor’s inbox
using the information from a check to make an unauthorized transaction is fraud, and a type of fraud that is really easy to identify who is responsible for
it’s not really that much of an issue as such
What does having your bank details matter? In Europe we do this all the time. People can’t take money FROM your account with your bank details, only pay money IN to it (and why would you want to stop them from doing that?!). I don’t know which country the OP is in, maybe it’s different there…
Another reason many are missing: float
Float is the amount of time between a bill being considered “paid” and the money actually leaving your account. Initially, writing a check gave you a good 5-7 days before the money was taken. Even more if you were mailing it.
Rent due on the 1st, but you don’t get paid until the 3rd? Write a check. Rent’s paid.
One aspect others haven’t mentioned is a lack of any other good choices. For a very long time you had two choices, pay in cash or pay by check. Even if there is a risk of fraud from check, it is still safer than having large sums of cash on you or in your house on a regular basis. Plus people just didn’t want to carry around tons of cash or have it sitting in their house. It wasn’t as convenient as checks.
While checks are still used, they are no where near as common as they used to be for personal transactions. People have largely moved to debit and credit cards, although ironically in the USA, they may actually be less secure than checks as fraud is easier to hide who you are.
Checks are only really used in North America these days – they’re obsolete everywhere else. My country’s banks won’t even accept them any more.
As to *why* they’re used so frequently. It’s because:
1. US and Canada *hate* change.
2. There are no viable alternatives in North America. The banks there are stuck in the 80s.
For one, it’s pretty easy to detect unauthorized use. After that, it’s convenient for giving someone payment without incurring fees. Finally, laws make it so that consumers are not responsible for any check fraud as the bank covers it.
It did happen to me but it was about 30 years ago. A check was mailed/stolen/cashed somewhere with a fake signature. Not exactly identity theft, but pretty straight forward robbery. It was traced to somewhere in South America
It wasn’t as big a deal before online ACH payments became a thing. So even if I knew someone’s account number I had no way to withdraw or use it.
I live in Canada and it is extremely rare to see checks. Direct deposit for pay or auto withdrawal for rent/utilities and e-transfer (venmo but mostly free through all banks) for everything else, cash is also rarely used.
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