Protect yourself from ‘check washing’
This month’s Wallet Warning again came to our attention due to one of our county taxpayers experiencing it. The taxpayer put their property tax check in the U.S. Mail to our office. But when the check cleared the taxpayer’s bank, the name of the payee had been changed.
The mail and the check were actually stolen out of the mail box. The payee’s name was changed using a chemical to erase the original name and insert the fraudulent name. Then the check was either cashed or deposited by the fraudulent payee for the original amount. This process is called “check washing.”
The rise of check washing scams appears to go hand in hand with the rash of stolen mail from the outdoor blue mail boxes maintained by the U.S. Postal Service. You may have noticed that many of those boxes have been removed or blocked from use. This is a main reason why.
The U.S. Postal Service has actually asked that customers try not to use the blue boxes due to theft.
When researching this Wallet Warning, we came across several businesses who had their outgoing mail stolen along with numerous individuals. One business that accepts payments via a drop box outside their interior office door had the entire contents stolen. As a result, building access has now been restricted.
According to our partners at the Better Business Bureau there have been 86 reports of Check Washing in Shelby County since January 2022 resulting in a total approximate loss of $31,900!
The good news is, there is generally recourse for this type of loss.
Once you notice that your check was “washed” and did not go to the original payee, you should get your bank, credit union, or other financial institution involved to investigate and hopefully return your money to you.
Tips to prevent check washing
While we can’t necessarily prevent check washing, we can minimize the scammers’ opportunities by doing the following:
h Pay as many bills as you can online either via your online banking or the payee’s website.
h Use a gel pen instead of a ball point one. They are harder to wash.
h Write in black ink. It is the hardest to erase.
h Don’t mail checks from your mailbox.
h Any bills that you must mail, take them to the post office and drop them off inside.
h If you must use the blue mail drop boxes check the pickup times to ensure your bills won’t remain there overnight.
h Be wary about using drop boxes that are in unsecured locations.
Our goal with Wallet Warnings remains the same - to help you safeguard your money. If you have any questions or need any additional information about anything discussed here, please call (901) 222-0206.
We are happy to help you avoid scams, fraud and predatory lenders. You work hard for your money, and we want to make sure scammers don’t get it.
Regina Morrison Newman is the Shelby County Trustee.