Concerning the individual charged with passing all of the bogus checks in payment for motor vehicles: A really good thing to know is to never accept a personal check from someone you don’t know unless you are willing to risk losing both the thing you sold and the money you were expecting. Require the buyer to pay in cash, a cashier’s check or certified check.

I also have a suggestion for our local school curriculum: Before graduating, each student must attend and pass a class on how to live in the real world. Some suggested chapters in that class: The risk of accepting personal checks, the true cost of credit card and installment debt (don’t just look at the monthly payment), the time value of money (the rule of 72: divide the number 72 by the annual interest rate to determine how long it will take to double your investment), how to balance a checking account, never ever click on a hotlink in an email or text, internet etiquette, importance of having a living will (yes, really young people end up on ventilators, in comas, being really sick), what a contract is and the risk of nonperformance of obligations under a contract, basic landlord-tenant law, etc.

Perhaps other readers have additional suggestions. Just think of the angst that would be prevented with a little basic knowledge on how to live in the real world.