Theft ring targeting mailed checks in Cheltenham, Jenkintown.

CHELTENHAM » Residents of both Cheltenham and Jenkintown reported last week having checks stolen from the mail and cashed for larger amounts.

A Cheltenham resident reported July 9 that a check taken from the mail was “washed” and made out for a fraudulent amount that was drawn on the victim’s account, police said.

On July 11, another resident reported a check was stolen from the mailbox outside the Wyncote Post Office June 27, washed, the amount changed on the check and cashed, police said.

A third resident reported July 13 that she mailed at least three checks in June that did not make it to their intended destination, police said. One was altered from $50 to $850 and cashed by a suspect July 9 at Wells Fargo in Philadelphia, police said. The other two checks were canceled by the victim, police said.

A Jenkintown resident reported July 11 that a $450 check that was mailed was subsequently cashed by an unauthorized person, police said.

On July 12, a second resident reported that a check mailed at the Jenkintown Post Office for $410 was later cashed by an unauthorized person for $820, police said.

Cheltenham has had about a half-dozen instances of checks being stolen and washed since late June involving mailboxes outside of the Cheltenham and Wyncote postal offices and a box in Elkins Park Square, police said.

Postal inspectors have said mobile rings operating in multiple counties will come through and rig the mailboxes with some type of “basket” or other means to trap the mail, police said. They usually remain nearby to grab it after the victim drops it, police said.

The checks are then “washed,” written for larger amounts and cashed with fraudulent ID elsewhere, police said.

The thefts are occurring from the standalone traditional blue mailboxes, police said, and residents may want to consider mailing checks in slots inside the postal offices or paying the bills online.