Check Fraud - How Do Criminals Get Checks?

Avoid Check Washing Schemes

 

Check fraud is very popular. Criminals can clear a bank account in one fell swoop by writing fraudulent checks.


What you may not know is just how easy and common it is. Fraudulent checks cost retailers and consumers millions of dollars every year. Most people are being very vigilant with their checkbooks for this very reason. So how do criminals get fraudulent checks?


One common way criminals get their hands on fraudulent checks is by stealing them. If you are ever the victim of a burglary, whether it be your house, your car, or anywhere else you may keep your checks, you should always look to see if you still have all of your checks. Some of the more clever thieves have started taking checks from the back of checkbooks, so it appears that none have been taken.


It's a pretty clever way to have checks that will be accepted at stores, because most victims don't realize any checks have been a victim of check fraud until their banks have processed stolen checks. It might be a royal pain, but if you experience a theft, it might be worth your while to verify that you still have all of your checks.


Another way criminals can get fraudulent checks is from your mailbox.


Obviously, you are at risk when you order new checks. You should be extra vigilant when you are expecting an order of checks. If you have a trusted neighbor, have him or her collect your mail if you aren't available to do so as soon as the mail carrier delivers it. Another way thieves can obtain fraudulent checks is by stealing your outgoing mail. They can apply chemicals that erase what you wrote and then write whatever they wish on the check.


You may write a check to your mortgage company, a criminal may steal it from your mailbox and wash it. Then he can write a fraudulent check to himself or a store. If he's particularly careful, he may not change the amount and you wouldn't even know it was used fraudulently until your mortgage company sent you late notices. One easy way to prevent this type of check fraud is to drop your mail in a secure mailbox or bring it to the post office.


Another way criminals can obtain fraudulent checks is by making them. There are many popular computer programs that are very useful to small businesses that allow users to print checks using an inkjet printer. One can purchase printable checks and even the same magnetic ink that is used to print the account and routing numbers on traditional pre-printed checks. Think about it. It's like the ultimate blank check. Criminals can put any company and bank name on a check, write it for any amount, and then cash it for hundreds or thousands of dollars.


Criminals have become very creative in the ways that they obtain fraudulent checks. Obviously, they can steal them during burglaries or directly from the mailbox. They can use chemicals to alter the writing on checks that have already been written. And they can even make their own checks using a computer printer, check paper, and magnetic ink.


Hopefully, with this information, you can protect yourself from becoming a victim of check fraud.



Check Fraud - Avoid Check Washing Schemes


Handing someone a blank check doesn't sound like the smartest thing to do. However, that may be just what you're doing when you pay your bills every month. You're probably saying, “I would never send anyone a blank check. That's absurd!” It's easier than you think to turn your mortgage payment into a blank check. It's just one way to commit check fraud. Criminals are “washing” checks in order to fund their dishonest shopping sprees.


Check washing involves taking a check that has already been written, “washing” it with a chemical solvent, and rewriting the check so that a criminal can reuse it. Most of the time, they will only change the recipient name. Then when you check your bank statement, you see that your check went through, and the amount matches. Think about that for a minute; $300 for your car payment, $1000 for your mortgage, $200 for insurance. It adds up quickly! It's only when you start getting notices from debtors that you may discover that the checks you've written were stolen. By then, weeks or months may have passed. You may have lost thousands of dollars. Just imagine if a criminal rewrites the check for even more than you wrote it for!


The most common place for a criminal to get a check to wash is from your mailbox. And you are probably letting him know it's there! That little red flag you put up when you want the mail carrier to pick up your mail also alerts criminals that there may be something worthwhile in your mailbox.


If you put your bill payments in your mailbox and leave for work, it may be hours before the mail carrier comes to pick them up. That's an abundant opportunity for someone with the worst intentions to steal your outgoing mail.


In the amount of time it takes you to check your mail, a thief could easily steal it and you would be out thousands of dollars!



So how do you protect yourself?


The easiest way is to simply drop your mail off at the post office or a postal service mail box. Some apartment complexes have locked mail drops where you can leave your outgoing mail.


Basically, you want to make sure your mail is secure, leaving as little opportunity for someone to steal it as possible. Another way to avoid check washing is to change the pen you use.


Your standard ballpoint pen is probably the easiest to wash. Felt tip and roller-ball pens are also fairly easy to wash off. Many tests have shown that gel pens are the hardest to wash off.


Now you can even find permanent markers with tips fine enough to write a check with. Finally, many checks are now printed on chemically sensitive paper that will discolor when chemicals are used on them, so make sure your checks are printed on this paper.


So, help stop “washing” to keep your bank account safe. Use ink that cannot be “washed”. Use checks that will react with the chemicals used to wash checks, and don't leave your checks in your mailbox at home. Take them to the post office. These simple tips will help to protect you from check washing and the headaches it can bring.

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