Criminals are turning stolen checks into bitcoin – how to avoid scam

Experts are warning Americans to be careful when sending checks through the mail amid a surge in fraud linked to postal theft.

Despite check use declining, crooks are increasingly targeting the US Postal Service and household mailboxes to pilfer filled-out checks.

Criminals then alter the payee and the dollar amount in order to rob victims’ bank accounts of thousands of dollars – or sell them online as part of sophisticated criminal networks.

Last year, reports of check fraud filed by banks nearly doubled to 680,000 – up from 350,000 in 2021 – according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).   

While banks typically reimburse victims of check fraud – experts warn that criminals can use stolen checks to commit identity fraud. If you’re ready to read more in regards to buy fake id annd drivers license online take a look at our internet site.  

 Fraudsters typically use common chemicals such as nail polish remover to rub off the written recipient and payment figure in a practice known as ‘check washing.’ 

Thieves may then deposit the check themselves, or even cash it in at a location like Walmart using a fake ID.

‘It’s a big deal right now,’ David Maimon, a criminal justice professor at Georgia State University in Atlanta, told .

He said that while check-washing used to mostly involve small-time criminals stealing letters from residential mailboxes, it has now evolved into more organized efforts involving theft of mail in bulk from blue USPS collection boxes. 

Maimon, who is director of a cybersecurity research group at the University, said how thieves are able to access USPS mailboxes with stolen or copied keys, which are available on the black market for as much as $1,000 each, according to Maimon. 

Personal checks typically cost around $175, he added, while business checks sell online for as much as $250, which criminals buy using untraceable cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. 

Encrypted messaging apps such as Telegram also make it easier for fraudsters to communicate. 

Despite many people increasingly turning to digital payment methods, millions still use checks to pay rent, bills or insurance policies. 

In 2022, 55 percent of Americans wrote a check, according to a survey by GOBankingRates. 

Criminals who intercepted stimulus checks and other pandemic aid may have turned to new sources of revenue when those payments dried up, Paul Benda from the American Bankers Association told .

Cybersecurity expert Joseph Steinberg told how the pandemic meant that more people were making digital check deposits via mobile apps, which makes it easier for counterfeit checks to slip through the system. 

‘A human being is not likely to look at the check, so there are far fewer anti-fraud checks,’ he said.’A computer just scans it.’

‘People write far fewer checks, so they are less aware of the risks and what they can do to mitigate them,’ he added. 

If you have to mail a check, there are some precautions that you can take. 

When writing the check, Steinberg advised, use gel ink as this is more difficult for crooks to wash off. 

Go to the post office and hand the letter to a postal worker or put it in the mail slot in the lobby, rather than using a public USPS box.

Don’t put checks in your home mailbox and raise the flag, as this alerts thieves that there is something inside, Maimon said.

Monitor your bank account regularly to make sure the check has been cashed, and flag anything suspicious immediately to your bank.