By Shelby Stewart
Staff Writer
Experts are advising that anyone writing out a date not abbreviate the year as 20, but to write out the full year, 2020. The reason being that if someone were to write a date, such as 1/25/20, anyone could add two numbers to the end of 20 to change the year, like 1/25/2017.
“They could add on and change the dates,” said Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Brandon substation commander Lt. Greg Glover. “You should write out the full year so that someone cannot do that.”
Issues that could arise include someone changing the date to an earlier year and claiming money owed for more time than is factual, or possibly dating a check for a later year and making that check ‘good’ again.
Abbreviating the year could lead to potential fraud and modification of a dated document.
“We haven’t seen it yet,” said Glover. “But citizens should be conscious of writing out the date.”
Anyone who thinks they have been a victim of fraud should contact the police department.