By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
AUG. 12, 2022 | Something’s going on at the Post Office that belies understanding. The bad part is that postal officials haven’t responded to numerous requests for information on this. That looks bad.
It’s something that is going on nationwide. It’s a scam involving a person writing a check routinely and dropping the check into the mail to pay a bill. Somehow, scammers find a way to intercept the check.
Most all of these checks are not cashed locally. Often younger people are asked to deposit the check in their account, and for this might seek to make $100. But often the scammers also scam the youth and they don’t get their $100 fee.
We first heard that the checks were being stolen out of the drop-boxes in front of a few post offices in Gwinnett. Postal officials said nothing, but finally responded by taping shut these drop-off boxes.
Even that didn’t solve the problem, we now hear. Some people sending checks have simply gone to the post office and mailed their check INSIDE the post office. Even some checks mailed in this way have been intercepted by thieves. How they do that when the letter is deposited within the post office is hard to understand.
Numerous calls to local law enforcement agencies and even the FBI in Atlanta got us the same answer: “That’s something for the postal inspectors to investigate.” Calls to that agency’s national numbers get this excuse: “It’s under investigation, and we can’t talk about it.”
Dead end, you might say.
One banking official tells us that the method being used to change the payee is not something new. “It’s an old way of scamming someone. Once they have a perfectly-good check, made out to a legitimate payee, these persons simply take fingernail polish remover (Acetone) and apply it on the name of the payee. Once it dries, they insert another name, and the check looks proper. After all, it contains the original signature of the person on the check. This type of scam has been going on for years, and the banks have no way to know that this is not a legitimate check.”
The banker adds: “We are under rules to clear the check within 24 hours. If we find a check that looks illegitimate, or is for a large sum, we sometimes call the customer. We’re constantly on the alert for fraud. But if we clear it, and someone is scammed, it’s up to the customer to make a report.”
Given all the facts, we suspect the thieves are using the mobile deposit method of taking a picture of the check on their cell phone, and depositing it that way. That would allow the scammer to get money into his (or her) account without having to show themselves at a bank, and risk getting caught. We’ve heard this from no one; just an educated guess on our part.
Our banker friend says: “So far, our biggest loss has been $1,000. But it can just as well mean that $100,000 could come through.”
One safeguard: you can buy a “Signo by Uniball” pen that the fingernail polish won’t make the payee disappear. Or you can pay your bills electronically through the Internet. But people don’t always take these safeguards.
We often hear of scams generated from other nations. But some group is finding a way to intercept the mail locally, and living high off it. It could happen to anyone. Be careful!
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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