City of Philadelphia: Frequently Asked Questions

Check Replacement

How do I get a check replaced because it is damaged, lost, stolen, or stale dated?

How do I get a copy of a canceled City check?

What type of City checks can the Treasurer's Office be of assistance with?

Fraud Prevention

What are some procactive measures to prevent fraud?

Check Paper Protection:

Safety Paper is used to prevent unauthorized reproductions or alternations.
MICR document design specifications are encoded for protection.

Positive Pay:

Checks presented for payment at depository bank are compared against the electronic check issuance file to identify unauthorized payments.
Daily bank reviews to accept or reject items that are unmatched or considered suspect items.

Positive Pay options that are applied to meeting the City's specific needs are:

Basic Positive Pay - compares checks presented for payment against issuance file with no hard copy account reconcilement reports.
Teller Positive Pay - matches checks presented over-the-counter at any teller against issue file prior to cashing the check.
Payee Match Positive Pay - detects any differences in payee name, in addition to check number and dollar amount.

ACH Fraud Control

Prevent unauthorized ACH transactions from unexpectedly settling against an account.

ACH Fraud Control options:

ACH Block - returns all ACH debits or credits attempting to post to an ACH blocked account.
ACH Control - accepts authorized ACH transactions based on a list of designated originators.
ACH Control with Positive Pay - option to review and decide on any items appearing as an unauthorized ACH transaction.

Account Dollar Limits:
Establish a maximum dollar or ranges of amounts for checks clearing in an account.

Account Reconciliation:
Timely information on checks presented for payment reviews.
Monthly statement reconciliations for monitoring and control reports.

Stop Checks:
Loss or stolen checks are placed on stop to prevent possible occurrences of theft or inappropriate receipt of funds.

Direct Deposit and ACH:
Maximizing Electronic Payment Transfers of Direct Deposit for employee pay checks and ACH for Vendor payments thereby, reducing the risk of loss or stolen paper checks

What does the City do as an example of Proactive Fraud Prevention?

Identity Theft - Advisory

How can someone steal your identity?

Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information such as your name, Social Security number, bank account number, credit card number or other identifying information, without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes. Identity theft is a serious crime. People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years cleaning up the mess thieves have made of their good name and credit record.

What are some other tips to guard against identity theft?

Promptly remove mail from your mailbox.
Never leave receipts at bank machines, bank counters, public trash cans or unattended gasoline pumps.
Shred pre-approved credit card offers before discarding them.
When making an ATM transaction, block the screen and keyboard with your body.
Memorize your Social Security number and all of your passwords. Do not record them on any cards or on items in your purse or wallet.
When writing a check for a credit card payment, do not write the entire account number on the check. Instead, just use the last four numbers
Never have your Social Security number printed on your checks.
For more information about identity theft, visit the Federal Trade Commission Web site.

What do I do if I think my identity has been stolen?

Steps to follow:

CREDIT BUREAUS: Contact the fraud departments of any one of the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit file. The fraud alert requests creditors to contact you before opening any new accounts or making any changes to your existing accounts. As soon as the credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the other two credit bureaus will be automatically notified to place fraud alerts, and all three of the credit reports will be sent to you (usually) free of charge.

ID THEFT AFFIDAVIT: Close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. Use the "ID Theft Affidavit" disputing new unauthorized accounts. Reference the FTC for the affidavit.

POLICE REPORT: File a police report. Get a copy of the report to submit to your creditors and others that may require proof of the crime.

FTC COMPLAINT: File your complaint with the FTC. The FTC maintains a database of identity theft cases used by law enforcement agencies for investigations. Filing a complaint also helps to learn more about identity theft and the problems victims are having so that the FTC can better assist others in proof of a crime.

Unclaimed Monies

Are other City checks unclaimed?

What information does the City Treasurer have?

The City Treasurer's Officer reviews annually checks issued and complies a list of checks that remain un-cashed. After, a period of one year all monies for checks outstanding are deposited to a City account for unclaimed monies. If the owner does not come forward within five years, the Office of the Director of Finance ? Accounting Bureau will forward the amount of the unclaimed checks with all of the "property" as defined for unclaimed monies to the State of Pennsylvania.

Frequently Asked Questions