Identity thieves have more tricks than ever. So should you.
From Sid Kirchheimer in AARP The Magazine:
Frustrate Forgers
All it takes to empty your bank account, says fraud fighter Frank W. Abagnale (the former con artist in Catch Me If You Can) is a 
signed check and a pan of acetone, the active ingredient in nail polish remover. A crook tapes over your signature front and back, soaks the check in acetone to wash away everything but the printer's ink and your John Hancock. Dried and carefully peeled, it's a blank check signed by you. And with bounce protection from banks, the scamster can even overdraw your account. Abagnale's cure: Uni-bal gel pens resist washing.
Use A Blanker Check
Even tamper-proof checks offer thieves valuable tidbits, various account numbers, if you add them at the payee's request. The solution: skip the numbers or just write the last few. Crooks can use the information to acquire cell phones and open utility accounts at other addresses, helping them establish an entire separate identity in your name. When you order checks, have just your initials and last name printed, and avoid noting your phone number.
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