If you have doubts about the security of your incoming mail, consider renting a P.O. box or making some other arrangement. By law, you owe nothing if a thief uses a loan check made out to you. The costs fall directly on the creditors and on the companies that cash forged checks. However, some of the costs indirectly are passed on to consumers in the form of higher interest rates on loans and higher costs for merchandise. Also, you'll probably spend time and effort proving your innocence - a hassle that consumer groups say innocent victims shouldn't have to go through over a financial product they didn't ask for in the first place.
Lenders say their anti-fraud procedures are good, and getting better.
Even so, the House Banking Committee recently held a hearing on congressional proposals to ban the mailing of unsolicited loan checks just as it now is illegal to mail unsolicited credit cards to consumers. Review all the terms of the loan. Contact a lending officer if you have concerns. Shop around and compare interest rates. Analyze your ability to repay the loan.