It’s an unfortunate fact — some checks just aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. And how’s this for a sobering statistic — millions of Americans fall victim to fake checks every year and lose between $3,000 and $4,000 each.

In tough economic times such as these, small business owners don’t want to get stuck for $4.00 — let alone adding a few zeros to that amount. Fortunately, there are some precautions that you can take in order to insure you aren’t left holding the bag.

While this first one should be obvious, it certainly bears repeating — be cautious about accepting checks (even cashier’s checks) from people you don’t know.

When selling goods or services on the Internet, consider online payment systems or escrow services rather than accepting checks. In the past, you could configure your account settings with Paypal in order to prevent buyers from using online checks; however, I have received several this year despite those settings. I phoned Paypal’s customer service department to gain some clarification on this, and was told the following:

Users CAN specify they wish to block e-checks for payments accepted through their own websites, as well as through eBay. However, if the buyer is sending you money from an electronic invoice, or via the “SEND MONEY” tab of their account, they may send you an e-check despite your payment preferences. The only way around this if you were to have a purchase link or “remit a payment” link on your site that would bypass this glitch.

Call or visit the bank on which the check is written to determine its authenticity before accepting or depositing the check.

Avoid using funds before a check clears. Banks may be required to make funds available before a check has cleared, but it can take up to several weeks before a check actually clears.

Never accept a cashier’s check for more than your selling price to pay the excess to a third party identified by your customer. Despite the fact that this is an often-used tactic that has been given lots of coverage in the media, consumers still fall prey to this scam even today. Don’t let it happen to you!

The Consumer Federation of America’s Fake Check Task Force provides additional online resources at www.fakechecks.org and at www.consumerfed.org/fakecheckscams.

Fighting Fake Checks
If you think you’ve received a counterfeit cashier’s check, official check or money order, contact the issuing bank to report receipt of the check and to verify authenticity. Look up the bank contact information because the information on the check is probably fake.

To look up a bank’s official Web site or address, visit www2.fdic.gov/idasp/main_bank find.asp. In addition to contacting the appropriate bank, contact the following authorities:

General scams-Call the Federal Trade Commission at (877) FTC-HELP or file a complaint at www.ftc.gov.

Internet-based scams-Submit a complaint with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

Mail-based scams-Call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at (888) 877-7644 or file a complaint at postalinspectors.uspis.gov.

If your complaint involves a national bank and you cannot resolve the problem with the bank, visit HelpWithMyBank.gov to submit a complaint.