Why thieves want your checks?
The thieves who steal from mail collection boxes (including personal mailboxes) want the checks, which they alter or “wash” to direct the money — often increasing the original dollar amount — to themselves or someone in their criminal network.
Is it safe to write a check to a stranger?
If a bank does not know the payee, it generally sends a paper check on your behalf, but the checks may have your account number and other information on them, leaving them susceptible to fraud. They are sent from banks' mail rooms, which may be more secure than a metal box on the street.
Why stop using paper checks?
Answer: Checks are not just stolen from unprotected mailboxes. Thieves have attacked mail carriers for keys to secure mailboxes. Checks also can be stolen in transit and from the recipients' mailrooms. Even people who have mailed their payments at a post office have reported being the victims of check theft.
Is it safe to use paper checks?
Paper checks include a lot of personal information that, the wrong hands, can have dangerous implications for your clients. They contain a variety of information that could compromise their privacy and security, including account and routing numbers that anyone could copy down and use for fraudulent purposes.
Can a bank tell if a check was washed?
Is it risky to mail checks?
Is it bad to mail a check?
How do criminals wash checks?