Westport Police Warn of Uptick in “Check Washing”

If you still use personal or business checks, pay closer attention to where you drop them off to be mailed. A Connecticut police department has issued a warning to local residents after a recent uptick in "Check Washing".

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WHAT IS 'CHECK WASHING"?

Check washing is the process of erasing the details from an already completed check to allow them to be rewritten, according to the Westport Police Department. Thieves steal mail right out of your mailbox, retrieve whatever check you've put in your mail, alter/wash the details, and then cash or deposit it for themselves.

The Westport Police Department is now warning resident that checks have recently been stolen from both residential and United States Postal Service mailboxes within town, and they are actively investigating each of the cases that have been reported.

What can you do to prevent this from occurring? Don't mail your check from home, or a free-standing mailbox, instead, bring your mail directly to the post office.

The easier solution to this scenario is to just pay electronically. You'll have layers of cyber security that experts are testing every minute of every day. I was hesitant at first to convert my monthly bills to electronic payments too, but I'm also the guy that used to hide my extra money under my mattress when grandma told me to.

Be careful if you mail checks in Westport, make sure that you bring them to a local post office, identity theft and check washing are rather inconvenient.