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Using a process known as check washing, mail snatchers erase the ink on a check
with chemicals found in common household cleaning products or on the shelves of
your local Walmart and then rewrite the checks to themselves, increasing the
amount payable by hundreds and even thousands of dollars.
1. Acetone, most widely used, is a highly volatile organic solvent used mainly as
a hand-wipe solvent in cleaning applications. It is also a good drying agent
for wet parts. But it will erase most inks from a stolen check without any
noticeable effect.
2. Reading the remarks on side of a can of Acetone, you will find out it
effectively removes some greases, oils, waxes, and inks. It is commonly used
to remove uncured fiberglass resins, varnish, and lacquer and may be useful
for applications that require a highly volatile cleaner. Acetone may be applied
by hand wipe or immersion in an unheated tank;
3. Benzene,
4. Bleach, used in ever day cleaning in your home. Normally to whiten fibers in
clothes washing.
5. Carbon Tetrachloride, most widely used in carpet cleaning,
6. Chloromice "T", a mild form of bleach, used normally in the socking of baby
diapers,
7. Fox "IT", used mostly with stamp collectors,
8. Clear Correction Fluids,
9. A high-performance eraser to erase everything from ballpoint pen ink, PPC
and Diazo copy ink, to typewriter ribbon ink, drafting ink, and printed matter.
Problem at hand:
One woman became so adept at the technique she prowled the streets with a
portable computer, printer and laminating machine in her car, cranking out new
identification each time she swiped a batch of bills. Of course she had to take the
time to wash the ink from the two vital areas of the check, making sure she doesn't
tamper with the written signature.
The problem has grown so severe that many local and federal authorities have
formed task forces around the country, with agents from the Postal Inspection
Service, U.S. attorney's office, local police forgery units, FBI and Secret Service.
Recent Case:
Reported by the Sun-Sentinel on March 18, 1998, Postal investigators, working with
police in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, busted one of the largest
check-washing gangs in South Florida history on March 12, 1998.
During a 14-month period, the gang stole the mail of 177 people, separated the
checks, sullied them, changed the amounts and assumed fake names to cash them
for a total of $650,000 at 27 banks and credit unions.
The average doctored check was $490, but the gang often got ambitious, once
altering a $2,000 check and cashing it for $24,000.
Investigators, the Sun-Sentinel reported, are in the process of arresting 110 people,
mostly from Hialeah and Miami Springs. Arrest warrants were issued for 11 more
gang members. All will be charged with at least two state felonies: grand theft and
uttering a forged statement. Check washing takes place to the tune of $815 million
every year in the U.S.
U.S. postal inspectors report an epidemic of mail thefts in the United States and
even in other foreign countries, much of it the result of drug users who are
spreading the word. However, it has been reported that some bad postal workers are
getting into the act. Thieves swipe outgoing checks from mailboxes when they see
the red flag up. The bad postal worker removes the check from the "postal bag".
According to a local postal inspector, even U.S. Postal Service collection boxes can
be targeted by thieves who wait until the boxes fill up on weekends and then reach
inside to rifle letters.
Another problem is when residents leave outgoing mail containing checks in the
mailbox before going to work. The thieves will steal a check in the morning and
then cashed the stolen check by the afternoon.
Who suffers:
Check washing costs banks and merchants "hundreds of thousands of dollars"
a year, and ultimately, we, the consumer, pays for that in higher fees or prices.
If the check was in the mail but creditors are hounding you for payment, it may be
that some clever mail thieves snagged your check to pay their own debts.
A California woman was arrested Wednesday night on charges she pilfered personal
checks from mailboxes and altered the checks with chemicals to cash them.
Anita Lucille Okelberry, 35, who is from Oakland but has no local address, faces
eight counts each of forgery, uttering a forged instrument and grand theft. She is
accused of stealing checks from mailboxes in Hudson and New Port Richey,
washing the ink off with chemicals and filling in her own name and inflated dollar
amounts.
Okelberry was being held at the county jail in Land O'Lakes in lieu of $90,000 bail.
Sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said the arrest marks a first in Pasco County in
connection with this type of forgery, though it is familiar to authorities in the
western United States.
1. Don't put bills in a residential mailbox. The red flag sticking up is like an
invitation to a thief.
2. Ask your bank if you can pick up new books of checks. Or ask the bank to
have a parcel delivery service deliver them.
3. Shred or burn canceled checks. If you need to save them, make sure the
canceled checks are in a secured area, such as a bank lock box, or a wall safe.
Don't throw them in the trash.
4. Check bank statements immediately after receiving them. If you fail to report
check fraud within 30 days of receiving your monthly statement, the bank
does not have to reimburse your loss (UCC Code 4-406).
5. Print a return address on an envelope. A signature can be traced, duplicated or
forged.
6. Don't discard credit card records or bills with household trash.
Most of the check manufactures have enhanced their check stock to combat
Counterfeiting and of course Check Washing. This is the main reason that you
should always purchase your supply of business and personal checks from a
company who has implemented security enhanced check stock.
Even some of the mail-order companies have included some security measures in
their check stock. Before you purchase your new supply, ask what security measures
have been adopted into their check stock, both overt (visible) and covert (hidden)
characteristics to alert check handlers and to discourage the check fraud artists.
More Banks are beginning to require their business customers to adopt what is
called due diligence procedures that will minimizes their exposure to check fraud.
One of the easiest ways for companies to meet the ordinary care provisions of the
Uniform Commercial Code is to implement paper-based security measures.
If you are in doubt about the purchase of your checks with security features
included, have your local bank discuss the protective issues with you. You want to
protect your documents against chemical alteration, erasure, toner removal,
photocopying , and counterfeiting .
Check manufactures help deter check fraud by making checks difficult to copy,
alter, or counterfeit by using some or all of the following security measures:
Use a ordinary old fashion ink pen. Use a durable color ink. If you want to use a
ballpoint pen, use a Bic pen with black ink. It seems that from studies, that you
should be safe using these pens.
If you are a ballpoint pen lover, switch to black ink when security is important.
Among water-based inks, remember that gels are the most impervious. But when
you're writing checks to pay the monthly bills, do not hesitate to to use your favorite
fountain pen. Just fill it with ink in one of the more durable colors and enjoy!