Clean Checks Scam
If you pay your bills using paper checks, never stick them in your personal mailbox to be picked up by postal worker. Instead, mail your bills at the post office or pay bills online or by bank draft. Otherwise they may just fall into the wrong hands.
Check washers often work in gangs. They target the homes of people who leave mail in their boxes, stealing envelopes containing checks. They removed the ink from the “payee” and “amount” portions, increase the amount and cashed the forged checks. The original signature is preserved, the check still looks valid to the bank. Many victims don’t realize they’ve been ripped off until they receive either a bank statement or a past-due notice. Sometimes the criminals obtain the account and routing numbers from the victim’s checking account and print phony checks.
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