Check Washing with Captain Safety
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
Drew Baker, aka “Captain Safety,” is our Risk Specialist here at GHCU. He knows a lot about how fraud is perpetrated, and he’s going to be a frequent guest blogger. We hope his expertise will help our members and readers protect themselves from identity thieves and other scam perpetrators.
from Drew:
Leaving sensitive information in your outgoing mail is becoming increasingly risky. Unsecured mailboxes are an open an invitation to criminals.
A few years ago, some of my mother’s checks were stolen out of her mailbox. The checks were “washed” and cashed for different amounts than they were originally written, and by different people than the intended payees. In order to have the charges reversed, she had to file a police report and fill out affidavits for the bank. Since the checks were for merchants and assorted bills, she had to prove the fraud to the merchants who did not receive their intended payments. It was a lengthy process, and the loss to her sense of security is something she may never recover.
Risk Management has seen an increase in this type of fraud occurring on GHCU member accounts this year. Every GHCU check washing case in 2009 involved members with an unsecured mailbox, who were writing paper checks and putting them in the mailbox with the flag up. The raised flag on an old-fashioned mailbox is becoming a beacon for fraudsters, identity thieves and check washers, who waltz down your street plucking ripe checks and personal information. You can prevent this from happening to you, and the fixes are relatively simple:
- Sign up for free online bill pay. It’s that easy. Visit GHCU.org to enroll.
- Drop off mail in a secure USPS mailbox or at the post office.
- There are a few pens on the market that can prevent check washing by using special ink. Try your local office supply store.
Help to reverse this fraud trend and keep your checks, personal information and neighborhood safe. If you suspect some of your outgoing mail/checks have been intercepted, immediately notify GHCU. Please share this with your loved ones and neighbors.
Do you have a fraud or identity theft question to ask Captain Safety? Leave your question in the comments, or email them to him at news@ghcu.org. Remember, do NOT include personal information in comments or emails!
I do sometimes write paper checks to pay bills, but I wait until the morning to put them in the mail slot in our front door. Do you think that’s safe enough?
Wondering in Seattle
Dear WIS,
If the item is exposed to the outside world, day or night, for any amount of time, then it is at risk of being stolen. You may be able to minimize your risk if you know what time the mail is picked up every day and you put the mail out close to that time. Thanks!
CS
Just to let you know you won. Me and my friend had a bet about which website was superior. I thought your website was better, but she bet this post on gogi was better. We gathered 3 mutual friends who had not seen either webpage before to read them both once through. And they voted for your webpage. I knew I was right all along
Well, that’s just the nicest thing I’ve heard all day! Love that–thanks so much for passing it along! So, does that mean you’ll all join and become members?
Great article. It really makes one wonder why everyone isn’t simply paying electronically these days.
Thank you! I think some people are worried that electronic payment isn’t secure or that it’ll happen without their knowledge and end up overdrafting their accounts. That’s why we try to assure people that online bill pay is safe and can be set up to send you an alert when bills are paid or ready to be paid. It’s a new way of doing things–that’s always difficult to get used to at first!
Another common misconception is that people can initiate electronic payments in their favour…for example: I would like to initiate a payment from Company A into my personal bank account. Which is entirely untrue. Electronic payments are just like writing a cheque…in the sense that you can only make a deposit…its a perfect solution, and its amazing more businesses aren’t doing it!
You are absolutely right that you can’t make withdrawals from other folks–only withdrawals from your own. I think over time people will appreciate the convenience and become comfortable with the idea. I know I did.