Bought a couple of things off Ebay recently where the seller wanted a
cheque and didn't have his address with Ebay. Fine - apart from being a
bore doing the paperwork and slow.
But what got me was both of them sent their addresses by e-mail in this
format:-

joe bloggs 15 smith street bloggsvillage east bloggsville ab1 cd2

which means I can't just cut and paste onto the envelope.

And would that be bloggsvillage east, or east bloggsville?

And why would someone want a cheque but not give details for an electronic
transfer?

--
*Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 18:54:04 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

Bought a couple of things off Ebay recently where the seller wanted a
cheque and didn't have his address with Ebay. Fine - apart from being a
bore doing the paperwork and slow.
But what got me was both of them sent their addresses by e-mail in this
format:-

joe bloggs 15 smith street bloggsvillage east bloggsville ab1 cd2

which means I can't just cut and paste onto the envelope.

And would that be bloggsvillage east, or east bloggsville?

And why would someone want a cheque but not give details for an electronic
transfer?

==================================
If your cheques are the same as mine then both now have a cheque bearing
your Account number, Sort code and your signature. That's quite enough to
enable identity theft. Keep an eye on your account.

Cic.

--
===================================
Using Ubuntu Linux
Windows shown the door
===================================

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)"
writes
Bought a couple of things off Ebay recently where the seller wanted a
cheque and didn't have his address with Ebay. Fine - apart from being a
bore doing the paperwork and slow.
But what got me was both of them sent their addresses by e-mail in this
format:-

joe bloggs 15 smith street bloggsvillage east bloggsville ab1 cd2

which means I can't just cut and paste onto the envelope.

And would that be bloggsvillage east, or east bloggsville?

And why would someone want a cheque but not give details for an electronic
transfer?

I would never ever post a cheque to (or deliver an item to) an address
other than that registered with Ebay - the registered address is the
only bit of security you've got

--
dave @ stejonda

In article ,
Cicero wrote:
If your cheques are the same as mine then both now have a cheque bearing
your Account number, Sort code and your signature. That's quite enough to
enable identity theft. Keep an eye on your account.

Unless I'm missing something they always have had this information. And as
regards being used for identity theft - last time I phoned my bank they
wanted all sorts of personal information before dealing with just a simple
query.

--
*Sticks and stones may break my bones but whips and chains excite me*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 12 Aug, 18:54, "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:
Bought a couple of things off Ebay recently where the seller wanted a
cheque and didn't have his address with Ebay. Fine - apart from being a
bore doing the paperwork and slow.
But what got me was both of them sent their addresses by e-mail in this
format:-

joe bloggs 15 smith street bloggsvillage east bloggsville ab1 cd2

which means I can't just cut and paste onto the envelope.

And would that be bloggsvillage east, or east bloggsville?

And why would someone want a cheque but not give details for an electronic
transfer?

--
*Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

they have probably been suspended from ebay and are using different
details to get around the security system, quite common, and beleive
me LOTS get suspended for not much at all, its easy to get someone
suspended from ebay if theyre selling the same stuff as you, just
knock out the competition. Do a google search on ebay suspension and
you'll be amazed at some of the forums and why people have been
suspended !!

On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 19:46:43 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
Cicero wrote:
If your cheques are the same as mine then both now have a cheque bearing
your Account number, Sort code and your signature. That's quite enough
to enable identity theft. Keep an eye on your account.

Unless I'm missing something they always have had this information. And as
regards being used for identity theft - last time I phoned my bank they
wanted all sorts of personal information before dealing with just a simple
query.

==================================
How would those two sellers have your banking details before you sent them
your cheques?

Cic.

--
===================================
Using Ubuntu Linux
Windows shown the door
===================================

On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 18:23:39 GMT, Cicero
wrote:

On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 18:54:04 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

Bought a couple of things off Ebay recently where the seller wanted a
cheque and didn't have his address with Ebay. Fine - apart from being a
bore doing the paperwork and slow.
But what got me was both of them sent their addresses by e-mail in this
format:-

joe bloggs 15 smith street bloggsvillage east bloggsville ab1 cd2

which means I can't just cut and paste onto the envelope.

And would that be bloggsvillage east, or east bloggsville?

And why would someone want a cheque but not give details for an electronic
transfer?

==================================
If your cheques are the same as mine then both now have a cheque bearing
your Account number, Sort code and your signature. That's quite enough to
enable identity theft. Keep an eye on your account.

Cic.

Cheques have always had that info on them .

On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 19:03:39 GMT, Cicero
wrote:

On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 19:46:43 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
Cicero wrote:
If your cheques are the same as mine then both now have a cheque bearing
your Account number, Sort code and your signature. That's quite enough
to enable identity theft. Keep an eye on your account.

Unless I'm missing something they always have had this information. And as
regards being used for identity theft - last time I phoned my bank they
wanted all sorts of personal information before dealing with just a simple
query.

==================================
How would those two sellers have your banking details before you sent them
your cheques?

Cic.

Eh !!! ?

On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 18:54:04 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
mused:

Bought a couple of things off Ebay recently where the seller wanted a
cheque and didn't have his address with Ebay. Fine - apart from being a
bore doing the paperwork and slow.
But what got me was both of them sent their addresses by e-mail in this
format:-

joe bloggs 15 smith street bloggsvillage east bloggsville ab1 cd2

which means I can't just cut and paste onto the envelope.

And would that be bloggsvillage east, or east bloggsville?

That annoys me as well, mainly when I'm selling something. I've had a
couple of items returned by RM due to there being no such address. I
charge for postage again before sending it back out to the correct
address, it's not that hard to actually write down your own address
using the correct punctuation and grammar.

And why would someone want a cheque but not give details for an electronic
transfer?

Some people will have been shafted by PayPal with their random refund
policies so avoid any electronic transfers involving eBay\PayPal as
you can't actually get them to see sense most of the time.
--
Regards,
Stuart.

On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 20:09:40 +0100, Stuart B wrote:

On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 18:23:39 GMT, Cicero wrote:

On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 18:54:04 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

Bought a couple of things off Ebay recently where the seller wanted a
cheque and didn't have his address with Ebay. Fine - apart from being a
bore doing the paperwork and slow.
But what got me was both of them sent their addresses by e-mail in
this
format:-

joe bloggs 15 smith street bloggsvillage east bloggsville ab1 cd2

which means I can't just cut and paste onto the envelope.

And would that be bloggsvillage east, or east bloggsville?

And why would someone want a cheque but not give details for an
electronic transfer?

==================================
If your cheques are the same as mine then both now have a cheque bearing
your Account number, Sort code and your signature. That's quite enough to
enable identity theft. Keep an eye on your account.

Cic.

Cheques have always had that info on them .

===================================
I'm well aware of that fact, but identity theft is a recent phenomenon and
and the fastest growing crime in Britain. Sending a cheque bearing those
details to a complete stranger on Ebay isn't the safest way to complete a
transaction.

Determined criminals can make use of the flimsiest bits of information.

Cic.
--
===================================
Using Ubuntu Linux
Windows shown the door
===================================

On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 19:19:44 GMT, Cicero
mused:

If your cheques are the same as mine then both now have a cheque bearing
your Account number, Sort code and your signature. That's quite enough to
enable identity theft. Keep an eye on your account.

Cheques have always had that info on them .

I'm well aware of that fact, but identity theft is a recent phenomenon and
and the fastest growing crime in Britain. Sending a cheque bearing those
details to a complete stranger on Ebay isn't the safest way to complete a
transaction.

Lots of things we do every day aren't the safest way of completing
transactions.

Determined criminals can make use of the flimsiest bits of information.

Determined criminals won't ask you to post your information to them.
--
Regards,
Stuart.

On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 20:30:40 +0100, Lurch wrote:

On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 19:19:44 GMT, Cicero mused:

If your cheques are the same as mine then both now have a cheque
bearing your Account number, Sort code and your signature. That's quite
enough to enable identity theft. Keep an eye on your account.

Cheques have always had that info on them .

I'm well aware of that fact, but identity theft is a recent phenomenon
and and the fastest growing crime in Britain. Sending a cheque bearing
those details to a complete stranger on Ebay isn't the safest way to
complete a transaction.

Lots of things we do every day aren't the safest way of completing
transactions.

Determined criminals can make use of the flimsiest bits of information.

Determined criminals won't ask you to post your information to them.

==================================
I seem to get rather a lot of requests to update my banking / building
society details and I doubt if I'm alone in that respect. I even get very
authentic looking requests to update my PayPal details. Criminals are
quite capable of using temporary postal addresses for their nefarious
purposes.

I'm not suggesting that every Ebay seller is a rogue but after one bad
experience I certainly wouldn't use a cheque for payment on Ebay.

Cic.

--
===================================
Using Ubuntu Linux
Windows shown the door
===================================

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Bought a couple of things off Ebay recently where the seller wanted a
cheque and didn't have his address with Ebay. Fine - apart from being
a bore doing the paperwork and slow.
But what got me was both of them sent their addresses by e-mail in
this format:-

joe bloggs 15 smith street bloggsvillage east bloggsville ab1 cd2

which means I can't just cut and paste onto the envelope.

And would that be bloggsvillage east, or east bloggsville?

And why would someone want a cheque but not give details for an
electronic transfer?

I'd be very careful here. A friend of mine buys lots of stuff from e bay and
in her words "the only times I've been shafted is when I've sent cheques".


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

In article ,
The Medway Handyman wrote:
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Bought a couple of things off Ebay recently where the seller wanted a
cheque and didn't have his address with Ebay. Fine - apart from being
a bore doing the paperwork and slow.
But what got me was both of them sent their addresses by e-mail in
this format:-

joe bloggs 15 smith street bloggsvillage east bloggsville ab1 cd2

which means I can't just cut and paste onto the envelope.

And would that be bloggsvillage east, or east bloggsville?

And why would someone want a cheque but not give details for an
electronic transfer?

I'd be very careful here. A friend of mine buys lots of stuff from e bay
and in her words "the only times I've been shafted is when I've sent
cheques".

I've not been shafted in some 500 transactions many of which involved
cheques. Both the ones in question have reasonable feedback and length of
membership and the amounts involved are small. Nor are the items the sort
likely to be used for fraud.

--
*Frankly, scallop, I don't give a clam

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Cicero wrote:
================================== If your cheques are the same as
mine then both now have a cheque bearing your Account number, Sort
code and your signature. That's quite enough to enable identity theft.
Keep an eye on your account.

Cic.

Cheques have always had that info on them .

=================================== I'm well aware of that fact,

Err, you obviously weren't before it was pointed out. I've had a current
account for over 40 years and personalised cheques with those details
printed on them for about 30 of those years.

but identity theft is a recent phenomenon and and the fastest growing
crime in Britain. Sending a cheque bearing those details to a complete
stranger on Ebay isn't the safest way to complete a transaction.

When you send a cheque to near anyone it is handled by a stranger. Unless
you happen to know everyone at the DVLC, say - the last place I used to
use cheques to pay.

Determined criminals can make use of the flimsiest bits of information.

Anyone stupid enough to give them credit etc on the basis of those details
deserves to be shafted.

--
*How's my driving? Call 999*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

in 658877 20070812 232609 "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:
In article ,
Cicero wrote:
================================== If your cheques are the same as
mine then both now have a cheque bearing your Account number, Sort
code and your signature. That's quite enough to enable identity theft.
Keep an eye on your account.

Cic.

Cheques have always had that info on them .

=================================== I'm well aware of that fact,

Err, you obviously weren't before it was pointed out. I've had a current
account for over 40 years and personalised cheques with those details
printed on them for about 30 of those years.

How could a cheque work without account details?

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

But what got me was both of them sent their addresses by e-mail in this
format:-

joe bloggs 15 smith street bloggsvillage east bloggsville ab1 cd2

which means I can't just cut and paste onto the envelope.

And would that be bloggsvillage east, or east bloggsville?

If they provide the post code you can feed it into
http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/addressfinder and get a short list of
addresses. Hopefully one of them will match the badly formatted one, click
on it and you'll get it nicely formatted for copy and paste.

--
Mike Clarke

On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 18:54:04 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

Bought a couple of things off Ebay recently where the seller wanted a
cheque and didn't have his address with Ebay. Fine - apart from being a
bore doing the paperwork and slow.
But what got me was both of them sent their addresses by e-mail in this
format:-

joe bloggs 15 smith street bloggsvillage east bloggsville ab1 cd2

which means I can't just cut and paste onto the envelope.

And would that be bloggsvillage east, or east bloggsville?

And why would someone want a cheque but not give details for an
electronic transfer?

==================================
You post your trivial grievances about Ebay to an un-related NG and in the
process you reveal your careless attitude towards personal identity theft.

I offered a little bit of friendly and well-intentioned advice to which
you took exception for no apparent reason. You also wilfully made an issue
of a perfectly commonplace English expression in my post.

You showed the same kind of prickly attitude towards a similar bit of
advice from another poster.

Today's news is carrying an item about identity theft using information
and signatures provided by the Land Registry. Identity theft is big
business and it's people with your complacent attitude who feel the sting.

Cic.


--
===================================
Using Ubuntu Linux
Windows shown the door
===================================

On Mon, 13 Aug 2007 15:13:21 GMT Cicero wrote :
Today's news is carrying an item about identity theft using
information and signatures provided by the Land Registry. Identity
theft is big business and it's people with your complacent attitude
who feel the sting.

Yes, but not for long. John Redwood wants to scrap all data protection
laws so once it's not illegal it won't be theft.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/a...ght/article.do

--
Tony Bryer SDA UK 'Software to build on' http://www.sda.co.uk

In article ,
Cicero wrote:
You post your trivial grievances about Ebay

Not a grievance about Ebay but about probably youngsters standards of
writing.

to an un-related NG and in
the process you reveal your careless attitude towards personal identity
theft.

On the contrary. You have shown you don't know much about identity theft,
or are more likely scaremongering.

I offered a little bit of friendly and well-intentioned advice to which
you took exception for no apparent reason. You also wilfully made an
issue of a perfectly commonplace English expression in my post.

Eh? You suggested it was a new thing I should be aware of - having bank
sort code and account number on a cheque. I simply pointed out it wasn't.


You showed the same kind of prickly attitude towards a similar bit of
advice from another poster.

Prickly? You mean disagreeing with a view?

Today's news is carrying an item about identity theft using information
and signatures provided by the Land Registry. Identity theft is big
business and it's people with your complacent attitude who feel the
sting.

If you can't send a personal cheque to *anyone* with safety the business
world would collapse. I'm all for being careful but there are limits.

BTW it could well be the people I'm complaining about have not given their
addresses to Ebay for your sort of fears.

--
*Preserve wildlife - Go pickle a squirrel*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)"
writes
probably youngsters standards of writing.

oh yes!

--
dave @ stejonda

On Mon, 13 Aug 2007 19:10:31 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
Cicero wrote:
You post your trivial grievances about Ebay

Not a grievance about Ebay but about probably youngsters standards of
writing.

to an un-related NG and in
the process you reveal your careless attitude towards personal identity
theft.

On the contrary. You have shown you don't know much about identity
theft, or are more likely scaremongering.

I offered a little bit of friendly and well-intentioned advice to which
you took exception for no apparent reason. You also wilfully made an
issue of a perfectly commonplace English expression in my post.

Eh? You suggested it was a new thing I should be aware of - having bank
sort code and account number on a cheque. I simply pointed out it
wasn't.


You showed the same kind of prickly attitude towards a similar bit of
advice from another poster.

Prickly? You mean disagreeing with a view?

Today's news is carrying an item about identity theft using information
and signatures provided by the Land Registry. Identity theft is big
business and it's people with your complacent attitude who feel the
sting.

If you can't send a personal cheque to *anyone* with safety the business
world would collapse. I'm all for being careful but there are limits.

BTW it could well be the people I'm complaining about have not given
their addresses to Ebay for your sort of fears.

==================================
There is nothing in my post remotely suggesting that cheques bearing
banking details is something new. I merely pointed out that when you sent
your cheques you had provided all your details, including a sample
signature, to people who declined to provide their details to you for
electronic transfer. It's quite likely that they declined because they're
safety conscious, but they might equally have criminal motives.

Comparing Ebay transactions with payments to more traditional businesses
is not very convincing. One has a far more realistic chance of checking
the status of a traditional business than those trading on Ebay. Ebay is
littered with people no longer trading. Neither the police nor Trading
standards are very much interested in Ebay activity and that's why
individuals need to protect themselves.

I advised caution and the need for that advice is confirmed by the sheer
volume and scale of identity theft and general fraud. It's difficult
enough to convince 'authority' of one's true identity even when there is
only simple error concerned, let alone trying to reclaim a stolen
identity.

Cic.

--
===================================
Using Ubuntu Linux
Windows shown the door
===================================

In article ,
Cicero wrote:
There is nothing in my post remotely suggesting that cheques bearing
banking details is something new.

****************

From: Cicero
Subject: Moan about some Ebay sellers...
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2007 19:20
Newsgroups: uk.d-i-y

If your cheques are the same as mine then both now have a cheque bearing
^^^
your Account number, Sort code and your signature.

*****************************

Please explain the use of 'now' in this context? If it were omitted your
statement stands. But including it means it is something relatively new.
And I can't actually remember when cheques didn't contain all this
information - if ever.

--
*Dance like nobody's watching.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Mon, 13 Aug 2007 23:31:08 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
Cicero wrote:
There is nothing in my post remotely suggesting that cheques bearing
banking details is something new.

****************

From: Cicero
Subject: Moan about some Ebay sellers...
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2007 19:20
Newsgroups: uk.d-i-y

If your cheques are the same as mine then both now have a cheque bearing
^^^
your Account number, Sort code and your signature.

*****************************

Please explain the use of 'now' in this context? If it were omitted your
statement stands. But including it means it is something relatively new.
And I can't actually remember when cheques didn't contain all this
information - if ever.

I think he meant " both the sellers now had etc etc " in other words
they had in their possession cheques bearing all that info but then
everyone who receives a cheque gets that info .different info
obviously but you see what I mean .

On Mon, 13 Aug 2007 23:31:08 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
Cicero wrote:
There is nothing in my post remotely suggesting that cheques bearing
banking details is something new.

****************

From: Cicero Subject: Moan about some
Ebay sellers... Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2007 19:20 Newsgroups: uk.d-i-y

If your cheques are the same as mine then both now have a cheque bearing
^^^
your Account number, Sort code and your signature.

*****************************

Please explain the use of 'now' in this context? If it were omitted your
statement stands. But including it means it is something relatively new.
And I can't actually remember when cheques didn't contain all this
information - if ever.


===================================
Your post:

But what got me was *BOTH* of them sent their addresses by e-mail in this
format:-

-----------------------------------
My reply:

If your cheques are the same as mine then *BOTH NOW HAVE A CHEQUE* bearing
your Account number, Sort code and your signature. That's quite enough to
enable identity theft. Keep an eye on your account.

----------------------------------
There is no suggestion of anything new - simply pointing out that BOTH
sellers have a cheque with your details.

Cic.

--
===================================
Using Ubuntu Linux
Windows shown the door
===================================

In article ,
Cicero wrote:
On Mon, 13 Aug 2007 23:31:08 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
Cicero wrote:
There is nothing in my post remotely suggesting that cheques bearing
banking details is something new.

****************

From: Cicero Subject: Moan about some
Ebay sellers... Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2007 19:20 Newsgroups: uk.d-i-y

If your cheques are the same as mine then both now have a cheque bearing
^^^
your Account number, Sort code and your signature.

*****************************

Please explain the use of 'now' in this context? If it were omitted your
statement stands. But including it means it is something relatively new.
And I can't actually remember when cheques didn't contain all this
information - if ever.


===================================
Your post:

But what got me was *BOTH* of them sent their addresses by e-mail in this
format:-

-----------------------------------
My reply:

If your cheques are the same as mine then *BOTH NOW HAVE A CHEQUE*
bearing your Account number, Sort code and your signature. That's quite
enough to enable identity theft. Keep an eye on your account.

----------------------------------
There is no suggestion of anything new - simply pointing out that BOTH
sellers have a cheque with your details.

Ok - I can see now what you meant. Although saying 'if they are like mine'
confuses the issue somewhat as all cheques have those details. But it
still makes no sense as everyone you send a cheque to gets those details.
And plenty on Ebay still like a cheque - rather than pay the commission
with Paypal. As I said before if just having in your possession a cheque
from someone allowed you to steal their identity no business would be done
anywhere. I think you've also missed the point that before someone can
receive a cheque by post they have to give you a valid address to post it
to. And anyway the ones to watch out for on Ebay are those who want paying
by Western Union, etc.

--
*Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Tue, 14 Aug 2007 23:25:56 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

Late to this thread but enjoing the fun twixt prickly Dave et al.

Just by the way, some time ago I read an article by someone on ebay
about using bank transfers to pay for things. As he pointed out, to
crack the account with the info of just bank a/c and sort code would
be no mean task. (I'm aware this thread is about *id* theft). He
actually put his own details in the article and invited readers to
attempt to take money from his account! Of course it could've been
his wife's account I thought to myself - or maybeTony Bliar's
(remember him?). Well anyway I thought, that's pretty brave - so I
just looked up the article for us to savour - and guess what, it's
gone! Guess he went bust :-)

In case anyone's interested it was at


http://forums.ebay.co.uk/thread.jspa...13 3967993058

In article ,
dave wrote:
Late to this thread but enjoing the fun twixt prickly Dave et al.

Sorry if I come across as 'prickly'. I'm not in the least. Just direct in
replies. Saves space. ;-)

--
*What boots up must come down *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Tue, 14 Aug 2007 23:25:56 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
Cicero wrote:
On Mon, 13 Aug 2007 23:31:08 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
Cicero wrote:
There is nothing in my post remotely suggesting that cheques bearing
banking details is something new.

****************

From: Cicero Subject: Moan about some
Ebay sellers... Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2007 19:20 Newsgroups: uk.d-i-y

If your cheques are the same as mine then both now have a cheque
bearing
^^^
your Account number, Sort code and your signature.

*****************************

Please explain the use of 'now' in this context? If it were omitted
your statement stands. But including it means it is something
relatively new. And I can't actually remember when cheques didn't
contain all this information - if ever.


===================================
Your post:

But what got me was *BOTH* of them sent their addresses by e-mail in
this format:-

-----------------------------------
My reply:

If your cheques are the same as mine then *BOTH NOW HAVE A CHEQUE*
bearing your Account number, Sort code and your signature. That's quite
enough to enable identity theft. Keep an eye on your account.

----------------------------------
There is no suggestion of anything new - simply pointing out that BOTH
sellers have a cheque with your details.

Ok - I can see now what you meant. Although saying 'if they are like mine'
confuses the issue somewhat as all cheques have those details.

snipped

==================================
The expression is a common form of words, possibly a bit elliptical.
Compare it with these commonplaces:

"If I were you...............!

"If you're anything like me................"

"If I were in his shoes.............."

The English language is generously supplied with such expressions which
have little or no literal meaning but are fully understood especially when
spoken.

Cic.


--
===================================
Using Ubuntu Linux
Windows shown the door
===================================