Checks In The Mail............Or So You Thought

Imagine writing a check payable to Visa for $100, placing it in an envelope and walking it and various other bills to the mailbox at the end of the driveway for the letter carrier to pick up.

Later, you receive a VISA statement showing payment past due and a late charge. Then later, you learn that the phone and utility company hadn't received their payments either.

A visit to the bank reveals your check to Visa as well as the others, had been cashed, however, the dollar amount had been changed. Further investigation revealed the checks were made out to and cashed by an individual using false identification.

How could this have happened? The criminals stole the mail from the mailbox and used a technique known as check washing. They erased the ink on the checks using chemicals found in common household cleaning products and increased the dollar amount payable to themselves under assumed names.

According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service certain parts of the country are seeing an increase in "volume" mail thefts, particularly in Phoenix, Arizona, and portions of California and Texas. Volume attacks occur when someone steals the mail from neighborhood delivery and collection box units, or from blue Postal Service collection boxes, postal vehicles or apartment house mail panels.

What's alarming is it only takes one stolen item- an outgoing bill, an incoming checking account statement- to give a thief the information he or she needs to steal your identity.

The general public gives little thought to their mail. Most people perceive bills-incoming and outgoing- as having no perceived value. However, by stealing an outgoing bill payment or incoming credit card application, credit card replacement or newly printed checks, a thief can steal your identity.

Thieves generally target mailboxes at the end or the beginning of the month when bills are paid. Some law enforcement officials have also noticed mail theft increases during the Christmas holiday season when cash mailings increase.

The type of mailbox that you utilize can determine your vulnerability. Cluster mailboxes, such as the type found in new subdivisions and apartment complexes are attractive to thieves because one theft can produce numerous pieces of mail.

Suburbs also get hit hard because they have rural type mailboxes on the street, which are easily accessed by someone driving a car or walking up and down the street. A red flag on a mailbox is an open invitation to identity thieves.

In some areas, the increase in mail theft has been linked to methamphetamine addiction. The addicts steal mail to get checks and credit card account numbers to support their drug habits.

It appears methamphetamine addicts have turned to mail and identity theft because they are non-violent and non-drug related crimes with lenient penalties. There is also less chance of apprehension.

The following safeguards will help minimize your chances of becoming a victim of mail theft:

* Avoid sending cash in the mail. Use checks or money orders.

* Have your post office hold your mail while you are on vacation or absent from your home for an extended period if time.

* Remove your mail from the mailbox as soon as it is delivered if possible.

* Don't leave outgoing checks or paid bills in your residential mailbox. Take your mail to the post office or drop it in a U.S Postal Service mailbox. Also consider paying bills electronically, a lot of financial institutions now offer this option.

* Purchase a residential mailbox with a locking mechanism or install a mail slot to your existing door.

* Consider starting a neighborhood watch program to help keep an eye on mailboxes and report suspected mail thieves.

* Contact your credit card company immediately if your card has expired and you have not yet received a replacement or you do not receive your monthly billing statement.

* When you order new checks, do not have them sent to your residence. Pick them up at the bank instead. Or, have them sent registered mail so you have to sign for them personally.

* Shred or tear up canceled checks. If you need to save them, make sure you put them in a secure place.

* Don't leave gaps and spaces around dollar signs and numbers, as the least little space can give criminals room to change the amount. Also fill space in the "payable to" line. This can be accomplished by drawing a solid line in blank spaces.

* Consider ordering checks with extra security features that discourage tampering.

Johnny R. May, CPP is an independent trainer/ consultant who specializes in protecting individuals and organizations from identity theft. He is also the author of Johnny May's Guide to Preventing Identity Theft and the featured expert in the video production Identity Theft: How to Protect Your Credit, Your Money and Your Good Name. For more information visit http://www.identitytheftinfo.com or e-mail at secres@prodigy.net