Getty Images, Law enforcement said play it safe and write out “2020” as opposed to just using “20.”
By Leada Gore | [email protected]
A viral social media post warning against abbreviating the year as “20” as opposed to writing it out – as in “2020” – has been making the rounds since the New Year started.
It turns out there is a reason behind the warning.
As WNEP explained, fraudsters could easily take “20” written on something like a check or another legal document and change it to another year, like 2021 or 2022. If that occurred on a check, which technically has a six-month use deadline for use, it would allow a scammer to cash it after its expiration.
On a contract, someone could change the date and extend payment terms that were supposed to expire in 2020 to something much longer, such as 2025.
The bottom line: Just play it safe and write out the full year.
