Know Your U.S. Treasury Check

Our "Know Your U.S. Treasury Check" campaign contains information that consumers and financial institutions can use to identify counterfeit U.S Treasury checks by knowing what to look for and where to look.

Quick Tips / Genuine Security Features:

The Secret Service partnered with the United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to urge all Americans to be on the lookout for criminal fraud related to economic impact payments. Read more here: Economic Payments

To report a COVID-19 related scam, please contact your local Secret Service Field Office.

• Treasury Seal – A new seal to the right of the Statue of Liberty. It should say “Bureau of the Fiscal Service,” and has replaced the old seal that said “Financial Management Service.”
• Bleeding Ink – the seal to the right of the Statue of Liberty, when moisture is applied to the black ink, will “run” and turn red.
• Watermark – All U.S. Treasury checks are printed on watermark paper. The watermark reads “U.S. TREASURY,” and is seen from both front and back when held up to a light source.
• Ultraviolet Overprinting – A protective ultraviolet (UV) pattern is invisible to the naked eye, consisting of lines of “FMS” bracketed by the FMS seal on the left and the U.S. Seal (eagle) on the right. As of 2013, a new ultraviolet patter was introduced into the check that says “FISCALSERVICE”. Either one of these UV patterns maybe be seen.
• Microprinting – is located on the back of the check with the words “USAUSAUSA.”