Stolen Checks

Image of Mailbox Fishing and How Checks Can Be Stolen

Fraudsters can steal checks and alter them to benefit themselves.  Two ways they get checks include:

  • Stealing them from a mailbox and using chemicals or software to alter the amount and payee.  They then deposit or cash the altered check in their name.
  • Stealing blank checks, make them payable to themselves, and forge the drawer's signature.

Victims may not discover the scam until an unexpected withdrawal occurs or a check does not arrive as expected.

Protecting Yourself

  • Move to other forms of payment, such as debit or credit cards.
  • Check your bank or credit union accounts regularly for unusual activity.
  • Use online bill payers to send payments securely to utilities, creditors, and other companies.  We offer this service for free on PAL Plus and our mobile app!
  • Do not mail checks by leaving them in your mailbox.  Drop them off at the post office.
  • Check your mail daily, especially if you’re expecting a check.  If you sign up for the USPS informed Delivery service, it will email you what mail is expected to arrive each day.

If You Become a Victim

  1. Take the following actions right away:
  2. Notify your bank or credit union for any check payments you did not expect or cannot find.
  3. For stolen blank checks, contact your bank or credit union to put stop payments on all of them.
  4. File a police report.
  5. File a complaint with the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/.

Watch this video from ABC 7 News for more on checks getting stolen in the mail: