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Instead, call the IRS (they've got an 800# but I can't remember what it is) and tell them they've sent you two checks.
They *WILL* find out that they've sent you an extra check, and you *WILL* be held accountable for cashing the check, and you *MAY* get into trouble considering that you cashed the check (or deposited it or whatever) knowing that the check was sent in error.
They *WILL* penalize you for interest on the money. You *WILL* be at a higher risk for being audited in the future.
Seriously. Send the check back. The IRS will find out about the error. If they don't come after you directly (i.e. a letter stating that you need to either send the check back, or make a check out to them for the amount), they will directly withdraw the funds from your checking/savings account if it was deposited.
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Similar, but slightly different story:
A guy I was dating once got an extra paycheck from his employer. He was salaried, and after he quit, they sent him one pay-check too many. He knew it was in error, but he cashed it anyways.
A few months later, when the company he worked for was doing internal accounting/auditing, they found out about the check sent in error. They contacted him about repayment of money from the check (They had gotten a copy of it so they knew he had presented it to a bank and either got money directly from cashing, or it was deposited). He refused. Said something to the effect of if they're stupid enough to send the check blah blah blah.
Well, cashing a check in that manner is called 'fraud'. You are receiving monies that you are not entitled too. Especially if you KNOW you're not entitled to the money.
Company ended up taking him to court over it.
Instead of coughing up the $600 or whatever the amount was and getting it over with, he had to pay nearly $1200 for court-costs and other things. The judge told him he was lucky that the police weren't involved (which they rightfully could have been) because he'd be facing the possibility of jail for third-degree fraud or some-such.
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Just a warning. It's tempting to keep the money, but why risk it? You're going to have to pay it back at one time or another. Pay it back now. You know it's not yours. You know they overpaid you---SHit---You realize that DU'ers (and other Americans) are actually the people who put into that extra check you got, right?
Why risk getting an IRS agent on a bad day? They could literally pull out of the books age-old laws...whether for scare-tactics or for real. You're dealing with a FEDERAL AGENCY. A FEDERAL AGENCY who has their own set of rules and regulations to play by.
Fuck that. Instead of being at the bank 'so fast it would have made your head spin', I'd have been at the post office writing 'return to sender' so fast your head would have spun like a top.
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