I think what I should have said is "Many Certified Checks are Fraudulent, but the bank can Verify the funds right away" in most cases the teller just runs the check through and puts it in a stack, but if you ask them to verify the check they will actually call the bank it was issued at and verify the check number and amount. I would not have thought to do this, but have heard the same stories you have and the ordeal I went through earlier made me much more paranoid.

Terry