That familiar blue mailbox outside the Crafton Post Office is getting some unwelcome attention, as Crafton police say they have received at least three reports of check washing tied to the outdoor collection box. Officers are now urging residents to skip dropping signed checks in any blue USPS boxes and instead hand payments directly to a clerk or use electronic options whenever possible. The alert comes as federal agencies keep sounding the alarm about a national spike in mail theft and check fraud.
Police Say Post Office Box Targeted
Crafton Borough police told local reporters the known incidents all involve the outside mailbox at the Crafton Post Office and that investigators believe more than one person may be involved, according to WPXI. The department is urging anyone who still needs to mail a check to walk it inside and hand it to a clerk at the counter instead of using the blue collection box. Officers also recommend writing checks with a black indelible gel pen to make the ink harder for thieves to remove or alter.
How Check Washing Works And Why It Is Rising
Check washing typically starts with thieves stealing checks from the mail, then using solvents to lift the ink so they can rewrite the payee and the amount while leaving the original signature untouched, according to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The FBI and postal inspectors have warned that mail theft related check fraud has surged in recent years, with suspicious activity reports tied to check fraud climbing sharply, according to a federal FBI alert. Officials say organized rings, and sometimes complicit insiders, have been linked to high volume schemes that take advantage of outdoor drop boxes.
What Victims Should Do And How To Protect Your Checks
Police say that if you discover a washed or altered check, your first call should be to your bank's fraud department to report the problem, freeze any compromised accounts, and open disputes over unauthorized transactions, then follow up by filing a police report with your local department, according to WPXI. Because the checks were likely stolen from the mail, authorities also urge victims to report suspected mail theft to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service so federal investigators can track related cases. To lower the odds of becoming a target in the first place, residents are advised to favor electronic payments, drop outgoing mail inside the post office before the last pickup of the day, and routinely monitor bank activity and images of cleared checks.
