OHIO — Police in Boardman are investigating multiple reports of mail theft and altered checks, a crime commonly known as “check washing.”
According to the Boardman Police Department, a woman reported on Dec. 31 that a check she placed in the mail for $40 was stolen, altered, and fraudulently cashed. Police said the check’s payee name was changed and the amount was increased to $4,350 before it was deposited using a mobile banking app. The victim reported the incident to her bank, which opened a fraud investigation.
Police said the case follows a similar report earlier this month in which another Boardman resident told officers that a $2,000 check mailed as payment was stolen, altered, and cashed through a mobile deposit. Investigators said both incidents are examples of check washing, a method in which criminals steal checks from the mail and chemically remove or alter the original writing.
The U.S. Postal Service encourages residents to take precautions to reduce the risk of mail theft. Those tips include placing outgoing mail in blue collection boxes before the last pickup of the day or dropping mail directly at a post office, retrieving incoming mail promptly, and not leaving mail in mailboxes overnight. Residents going on vacation are advised to have their mail held at the post office or collected by a trusted neighbor.
Additional information and safety tips related to check washing are available through the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Police encourage anyone who believes they may be a victim of mail theft or check fraud to contact their bank and local law enforcement promptly.
