What is a Raised Check?

A raised check is a check that has had its payment amount fraudulently increased. For example, someone could manually alter a check payable for $100 by adding a zero, thereby making the payable amount $1,000. To guard against this, checks require that the maker also state the payable amount in writing. Thus, the person attempting to alter the payable amount in the preceding example from $100 to $1,000 would also have to somehow alter the written payable amount of “one hundred” dollars to instead read “one thousand” dollars, which is much more difficult than altering the numeric value. When a check is submitted where the numeric and written values differ, the paying bank will pay the written amount, since it more clearly states the intention of the maker.