BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (WOWO) — A Bowling Green man is warning others about the dangers of mailing personal checks after he says a payment intended for his credit card company was stolen, altered and deposited by someone else in a growing fraud scheme known as check washing.
Dennis Deran told WTVG he discovered something was wrong in January when his Visa card was declined while he was trying to pay for gas.
After looking into the issue, Deran said he learned the payment check he mailed from the Bowling Green Post Office never arrived at its intended destination in Philadelphia.
Instead, his bank told him the check had been deposited by someone he did not know and had been changed to benefit the person who stole it.
“‘Well, it was cashed to your friend Joel Perez.’ I said, ‘Who’s Joel Perez?’ and they said, ‘That’s the guy you made the check out to.’ I said, ‘No, the check was made out to Visa,’” Deran said.
Deran said the original check was altered so the recipient and payment amount were changed, while other identifying information remained visible.
The bank provided him a copy of the altered check, which showed his name, address and signature were still present in the upper-left corner.
“They white-washed everything except up at the top left corner — my name, address, and my signature,” Deran said. “Nothing else looked like my signature or my writing at all.”
The altered check resulted in a loss of $1,363, according to Deran. He reported the incident to local police and federal postal inspectors, but said he has not received an update on the investigation.
His bank later reimbursed the money, but Deran said the experience changed how he handles payments.
“Since this has happened, I don’t write checks anymore,” he said.
Deran said he is also more cautious about using public mail collection boxes, which are often targeted by criminals looking to steal outgoing mail.
The United States Postal Inspection Service describes check washing as a fraud scheme in which criminals steal checks from mailboxes and use chemicals or other methods to remove information written on the check. The thieves then replace the payee name and dollar amount before attempting to cash or deposit the altered payment.
Postal inspectors say counterfeit checks and money orders recovered through investigations represent more than $1 billion in losses each year.
Experts recommend consumers consider safer payment methods when possible and avoid placing outgoing checks in unsecured mail locations. Those who do mail checks are encouraged to monitor bank accounts closely and report suspicious activity immediately to their financial institution and authorities.
The United States Postal Service had not responded to a request for comment about the investigation or check-washing reports in Northwest Ohio at the time of publication.
