HOUSTON – The Houston-area is no stranger to crimes revolving around the mail with at least two happened Tuesday just as the FBI issued a new warning about mail theft-related check fraud.
In Sugar Land, stolen mail belonging to over 50 residents was recovered and three people were arrested.
Near Tomball, a mailman was also robbed of a mail key at gunpoint.
The warning from the FBI, which appears to be the first in years, points to increasing check fraud stemming from stolen mail.
The FBI says suspicious activity reports related to check fraud have nearly doubled from 2021 to 2023. Criminals take advantage of regulations requiring financial institutions to make check funds available within specified timeframes, which is often too short a window for the consumer or financial institutions to identify and stop the fraud.
The FBI says a lot of criminals gain access to legitimate checks and sensitive financial data by stealing them from USPS facilities or during delivery to the intended recipient.
Check thefts typically occur in one of several ways:
- Checks left in residential mailboxes overnight or for long periods of time
- USPS blue collection boxes after the last pickup time
- Burglary of USPS facilities
- Robbery of USPS employees
- Bribery/Collusion of USPS employees
After stealing the checks, criminals will try to make them appear legitimate by “washing” or “cooking” the checks to create counterfeits.
Check washing involves the use of chemicals to physically alter the check, typically altering the original payee and financial amount. Check cooking involves the digital manipulation of an image of a stolen check. Using readily available photo editing software and high-tech printers, fraudsters can manufacture checks. Check cooking allows criminals to manufacture multiple checks from a single check image. Often these checks are written for smaller amounts which can go undetected for longer periods of time by escaping the scrutiny or visibility of a larger check amount.
In some other cases, checks are unaltered and deposited with forged endorsements.
The FBI says this kind of fraud harms businesses, consumers, and government entities. They offer these tips to protect your checks and mail.
Mail protection tips
- Pick up your mail promptly after delivery. Do not leave mail in your mailbox overnight or for long periods of time.
- If you are heading out of town, submit a USPS Hold Mail™ request asking your local Post Office to hold your mail until you return.
- Sign up for Informed Delivery® at USPS.com to receive daily email notifications of incoming mail and packages.
- Contact the sender if you do not receive a check, credit card or other valuable mail you are expecting.
- Consider buying and using security envelopes to conceal the contents of your mail.
- Use the letter slots inside your local Post Office to send mail. If using a blue USPS collection box, be sure to drop your mail as close to the posted pickup time as possible and before the last collection of the day.
Check protection tips
- Use pens with indelible black ink so it is more difficult for a criminal to wash your checks.
- Don’t leave blank spaces in the payee or amount lines.
- Don’t write personal details, such as your Social Security number, credit card information, driver’s license number, or phone number on checks.
- Use mobile or online banking to access copies of your checks and ensure they are not altered. While logged in, review your bank activity and statements for errors.
- Consider using e-check, ACH automatic payments, and other electronic and/or mobile payments.
- Follow up with payees to make sure they received your check.
- Use check positive pay if available at financial institutions to help detect and stop fraudulent checks.
- Use checks with security features to limit the effectiveness of check washing. Security features can include microprinting, holograms, heat-sensitive ink, watermarks, toner adhesion, chemically reactive paper, security screens, thermal thumbprints, void pantographs, ultraviolet overprinting, security padlock icon, and fraud warnings.
- If you believe you have been defrauded, contact your bank immediately. Consider opening a new account and closing out the compromised account to prevent future counterfeit checks being drawn off the account.
- Protect vulnerable members of your family and community. Fraudsters use high-tech, low-cost technology including printers, call spoofing technology, and AI-assisted voice recreation to fool vulnerable people into acting as unwitting accomplices.
If you believe you were targeted or a victim of check fraud, file a report with your bank and request copies of all fraudulent checks and report the incident to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). You should also make a police report and report it to the United States Postal Inspection Service at this link or by calling 1-877-876-2455.
If you have been a victim of check fraud from stolen mail, we want to hear from you. Reach out to Bnewberry@KPRC.com.