Each agency has its own money order verification system but, under normal circumstances, obtaining a money order verification is as simple as calling the agency from which the money order was purchased and providing any identifying information the system requests, such as the money order’s number and the amount of money for which the order was purchased. The agency’s telephone number is usually listed on the money order’s receipt or proof-of-purchase stub, which is the part of the document you tear off for your own records. You also can usually find the number on the agency’s website.
Once you call the number and provide the required information, you’ll receive the money order status. Under normal circumstances, this means you’ll find out whether the person or business to which you sent the money order has cashed or deposited it. Obtaining a money order verification is useful when the person or business claims the money order was never received.
If you track a money order and find out it hasn’t been cashed or deposited — and you sent the document at least two weeks prior to calling — the agency will most likely advise you to request a photocopy or apply for a claim card or some other method of refund. From that point, you can restart the process of sending payment to the person or business. If you trace a money order and find out it has been cashed or deposited but the person or business still claims it was never received, the agency will either advise you to request a photocopy or begin some other established process for determining when, where, and by whom the money order was cashed.
Of course, you might have a completely different reason for needing a money order verification. Money order fraud is becoming more common every day; if you suspect you’re the victim of any type of money order scam that has placed a fraudulent document in your hands, it’s important that you immediately contact the agency from which the money order was supposedly purchased. The agency will walk you through the same kind of money order verification as described above, as well as help you look for factors such as watermarks, threads, and thermochromic features that identify money orders as real or fake. If you and the agency verify a money order as fake, the agency will advise you about what to do with the document and any other steps you might need to take to report the money order scam.