Mail theft fuels surge in check fraud, experts warn

Suspicious Activity Reports tied to check fraud nearly doubled from 2021 to 2023. The FBI and the United States Postal Inspection Service warned on Jan. 27, 2025, that check fraud was rising, with mail theft helping drive the surge.

FinCEN’s August 2024 analysis found 15,417 BSA reports related to mail theft-related check fraud during a review period from Feb. 27, 2023, through Aug. 31, 2023. Those reports covered more than $688 million in actual and attempted transactions, and banks filed 88% of them. Postal inspectors recover more than $1 billion in counterfeit checks and money orders every year.

Thieves steal checks from mailboxes, then use chemicals to remove the ink before rewriting the payee name and often the dollar amount. Scammers also exploit the short window banks have to make check funds available, which can leave victims unaware until money has already been withdrawn. In one federal case, four men were accused of stealing checks from the mail and cashing more than $50 million after changing names and dollar amounts on the checks.

Stop mailing checks when a bill can be paid another way. Electronic payments remove the paper trail that thieves are targeting. Collect mail promptly and use USPS Informed Delivery to preview what is supposed to arrive. Checking statements quickly can also help, because missing mail, a changed payee, or an unexpected debit can be the first sign that a check was intercepted and altered.

If a check disappears, act immediately. Contact the bank, review account activity line by line, and move recurring payments away from the mailbox. Once a washed check is cashed, the loss can spread from a household bill to a wider pattern of unauthorized withdrawals.