Should Checks Be Outlawed? (Opinion)

These guys took a gamble, and it didn't pay off.

Iowa's News Now says 2 men who bought $824 in Iowa Lottery tickets and ended up winning $134 are now in hot water for attempting to defraud the Iowa Lottery.

It happened in Cerro Gordo County (Mason City). Richard Lee Pierce of Ventura and Joey Henry Allen of Clear Lake are the culprits, as Pierce visited a local convenience store twice over two days on July 18-19, paying for the over $800 in tickets with a check that bounced. Before the check bounced, Pierce had actually taken the tickets back to the store after "winning" $958.

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Allen was arrested on August 3 and remained in Cerro County jail on a $30,000 bond while Pierce was being held on $5,000.

This is why, I think, for everything but mail-in transactions, checks should be outlawed. The world is going cashless at a rapid pace but that is mostly to account for more people using the convenience of credit and debit cards. In a larger store, the less tech-savvy among us who don't trust plastic or the machines you swipe it through will further hold up a line that's already backed up due to staff shortages by not having the basic information already filled out. (Some places have registers that will do that for you now). I also just think checks are kind of clunky and, as we saw in the above scenario, way too easy to forge. The unfortunate soul(s) behind the counter were just doing their job, so I don't blame them.

The law will sort out what punishment these guys receive, so I am not worried about that, and yes, they won more money than I ever have on the lottery but they have to give it back, and then some, so was it worth it?