Crafton Police receive several reports of check-washing incidents

CRAFTON, Pa. — Crafton Police have received at least three reports of check-washing incidents involving the outside mailbox at the Crafton Post Office. Police recommend that individuals hand-deliver any checks they must mail directly to a clerk at the counter.

Check washing is a financial crime where scammers steal physical checks from the mail and use chemicals to dissolve the ink. They then rewrite the payee and dollar amount, often for significantly higher sums, while preserving the original signature.

Previous arrests have been made involving check and mail thefts at several post offices, including Crafton. However, authorities suspect that a recent increase in these incidents indicates additional individuals are perpetrating these thefts.

If an individual believes they are a victim of check washing or suspect fraud, they must take immediate steps. Victims should first contact their bank’s fraud department to report the altered check, freeze the compromised account, stop payment on the check and file an unauthorized transaction dispute.

Next, victims must file a police report with their local Police Department, such as Crafton. The police report number will be necessary for their bank and for postal inspectors. Additionally, since the check was likely stolen from the mail, victims should report the theft to postal authorities by filing a mail theft complaint with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service here.

To protect checks in the future, police advise avoiding mailing physical checks when possible. Instead, individuals should use electronic methods such as Zelle, credit cards or their bank’s BillPay service. If a physical check must be written, using a pen with black indelible gel ink, which bonds deeply to paper and is more resistant to “washing,” is recommended.

Police also recommend never leaving signed checks in residential or blue U.S. Postal Service mailboxes. Instead, hand-deliver them directly to the recipient or bring them inside the local post office. Regularly monitoring banking accounts several times a week and reviewing images of cashed checks to ensure the payee and amounts match the original writing are also crucial preventative measures.

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