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Check washing is a scam that involves stealing mail that contains personal or business checks then altering the payee and the dollar amount by using chemicals to remove the original ink.
Tips for minimizing the risk of check washing include:
- Never put outgoing bills in your house mail box. Avoid placing your mail in street mail boxes. It’s strongly recommended that you take your outgoing mail to your local post office.
- Minimize the number of checks you write. Your best option is to pay bills on line using a secure computer.
- When writing out checks, use a gel ink pen (preferably black) so the ink will permeate the fibers of the check.
- Never leave blank spaces on the payee or amount lines. Write large and use XXs to fill in space.
- Shred cleared checks returned along with your bank statements.
- Review your bank statements immediately. You have a limited time frame in which to report fraudulent transactions. When fraud is detected, it is necessary to report it within 30 days.
- If possible, have your new checks delivered to your bank.
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