Have you ever gotten one of those fake checks in the mail as part of an advertisement? You know, the kind that say 'non-negotiable' on the front? So did Patrick Combs. And he decided to deposit it to see what would happen. The bank actually deposited the money to his account. It turns out that the advertising company had created a fake check that actually met all nine criteria for being a real check! And when you do that, writing the words 'non-negotiable' on the check don't mean squat. Here's the thing--Patrick never wanted to keep the money once it was credited to his account, he just wanted the bank to admit they had made a mistake. The bank wouldn't. They used long, loud sentences that prominently featured words like 'fraud' and 'criminal' and 'police.' Patrick stood his ground. Ultimately, the bank gave him the letter he wanted. And he gave them the money back, plus $65 to repay the interest he earned while it was in his account. (for myself, this happened in '96--he returned the check the day the OJ verdict came out)