I got a check in the mail yesterday at my home address from Pennsylvania’s Department of Revenue, Bureau of Individual Taxes for the amount of $367.16.
I have no idea why they sent me the money, and the only thing in the envelope is the check. I haven’t filed my taxes yet (my accountant will probably be asking me to stop and sign things any day now).
So, what do I do? I’ll probably just cash the check and hold my breath. I guess I’ll mention it to my accountant when I stop in to sign things. 
Ask them, if only to verify that it is legit. You don’t want to be caught cashing fraudulent checks.
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Somewhere on the check or attached should be a reference number. Look that up online and it will at least tell you the general background for the check - refund, mis-charged funds, etc.
The check is definitely real. State Treasury watermark, etc.
Will do that. There is also a QR thingie I’m going to check.
Oh, hey, uh… that was mine. Feel free to send it along to me at your earliest convenience!
For real, though, how did you manage to get manage one back from the PA gvt? I once got a refund of 400 cents (you read that right) and I had to jump through hoops, set myself on fire and climb a greased pole naked to get THAT.
Each state has a website where you can search for lost money. See if you have anything listed there. That’s where they keep records of things like forgotten bank accounts, unreturned security deposits, etc. Maybe you had something from long ago and they just now figured out how to send it to you.
I’ve gotten money out of the blue from the IRS a couple times before. Usually they are checking my tax return and discover that I qualified for some tax credit I didn’t think I qualified for when I originally filed. But there’s usually a sheet of paper explaining the accompanying check. Maybe the state just doesn’t care as much about explanations?
Well, I’ve searched each of the numbers on the check and gotten nowhere. There are a bunch of different numbers on the check, none of them lead anywhere. The QR code just gives a long number and a search for it leads nowhere.
Guess I’ll cash it and see. I took a picture of the check to show my accountant.
One of my first searches led to this page. I have a few items listed, each for a small amount of money (an opera giftcard(?) and a few dollars ion dividends).
On a good note, I searched my gf’s name and she has a three items listed, each for over $100 (an old health insurance and an old bank account).
It’s a longshot, but there is an ongoing scam where people get enough information to file a fake return on your behalf, and allow the check to be issued to your home address. Then they contact you, pretending to be the tax authorities, and demand that you “reimburse” the tax authorities (in this case actually the fake group) for the improperly mailed check. What makes this plausible is because they filed the fake return, they know the exact total of the check.
Huh. Interesting. Unfortunately for them, they won’t be able to contact me (no landline, never answer phone calls except from contacts). Hmmmm, maybe I should call the state treasury department.
Is it possible that if you try to cash the check someone could end up with your bank routing number or some other info that could be used against you?
No idea how that would possibly work. At the bank, I’ll hand it to the teller and she’ll***** give me cash.
*****Andrea. I always go to the same teller, as she is married to my friend’s nephew.
A few years back, my state had a budget surplus. So, they decided to kick it back to the people.
So what did they do? Linked it to vehicle registration. I don’t recall the exact details, but if you paid vehicle registration that year, you got a check. I think there was a minimum amount, and then it increased depending on what you actually paid.
At the time, I had a butt-load of motorcycles and real old stuff registered. The minimum refund exceeded the actual fees I paid for all of them!
Woo Hoo! All my shit actually made me money that year! 
Your bank routing number is on every check you write, clearly visible to every cashier. So is your account number, your signature specimen, and probably your DL or SS number., address and phone number.
If at all possible before April 28th when Knoebels opens, right? The teaberry milkshakes will be your treat.
The Old Wench thinks its something along the lines of Post #11 but she works for (business) lawyers and thinks everything is either a scam or a chance for a scam.
I was moving around a lot in my younger days and there was a year in the 1970s that I worked half a day in Pennsylvania; factory job that I hated and didn’t go back after lunch. A few years later I got a letter saying that I had failed to file a PA tax return for that year.
I got the necessary paper work and filed the return. With it, I enclosed a check for the amount due. On the line on the check where you spell out the amount I wrote “Two lousy fucking pennies.”
MA told him to.