How can fraudsters intercept a real estate deposit cheque and what protects against it?

Cheque-based fraud in real estate can happen in a few ways, including a fraudster intercepting mail or physical delivery of a cheque, altering the payee or amount on an otherwise real cheque, or presenting a convincing counterfeit cheque as though it were legitimate deposit funds. Because a cheque can look entirely normal while still being fraudulent or altered, this remains a real risk even for buyers and sellers who never touch email at all.

The main protections are using certified funds, such as a bank draft, delivered directly rather than through mail or a third party, and confirming trust account and payee details independently with the receiving law firm before handing anything over. Lawyers also apply standard trust accounting scrutiny to funds received, which can catch some irregularities before money is treated as available. Because a fraudulent or altered cheque may not be discovered until it fails to clear, sometimes after real estate deadlines have already passed, using verified, traceable delivery methods for deposit funds, and confirming details directly with your lawyer's office, meaningfully reduces this risk.