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On a whim, I emailed the intended recipient of a check I wrote a picture of that filled-in check to indicate I was about to mail it out. The full front of the check, with amount, my signature, account number, and everything else is plainly visible. I sent it via Yahoo-based webmail to a privately-owned domain, versus to another large webmail provider (due to this, I'd assume any assumptions about security that could have been made are no longer valid). The image was of my hand holding the check at an askew angle, not a perfect Office Lens-type image with the edges neatly squared (that would provide some protection against bots scanning for check images sent out by idiots like me).

Having done this, am I screwed in some way? If so, how screwed am I? What should I do to prevent or mitigate any expected issues arising from this?

Bigbio2002
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    Worst case consider this equivalent to losing a filled out check, some commentary on what could happen can be found [here](https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090331092436AAJzcNF). – puzzlepalace Feb 02 '16 at 00:10
  • Why would you use a cheque instead of using electronic transfer? Why would you need to provide proof of having written the cheque? – user1751825 Feb 02 '16 at 04:26
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    @puzzlepalace Ugh, Yahoo Answers? – Bigbio2002 Feb 02 '16 at 17:34
  • Seriously, it's 2016. Why do you still use checks in the US? This is actually an honest question. – sk0yern Feb 03 '16 at 14:29
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    In theory, yes. In reality, there must be millions of emails flying around with pictures attached (cute cats, holiday photos and so on). So the odds of anyone actually looking at your email are pretty slim. The odds of that person being malicious enough to misuse your bank details are even slimmer. Bear in mind that the information available in that image is the same as everybody who has ever received a check from you already has. – Simon B Feb 03 '16 at 22:57

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I disagree with @quietsigns answer. There are other people that could potentially see your email.

For one - email can be sniffed while in transit. Probably not super likely but still possible.

Second - if the destination email is ever compromised (or is currently compromised) then it's likely that this email will just be sitting there. If you are really worried about it you could always ask the receiver to delete the email since it contains sensitive information.

While these scenarios might be unlikely, @quietsigns assertion that "The only people who might see the photo of your check are the system admins of the lines and servers your email went through..." is not accurate in my opinion.

Abe Miessler
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  • I wonder, is it a known technique for malicious adversaries to scan unencrypted email flow on the public internet specifically for images of checks or other financial documents? – Bigbio2002 Feb 02 '16 at 17:36