Check Washing - What is It?

Using a process known as check washing, mail snatchers erase the ink on a check
with chemicals found in common household cleaning products or on the shelves of
your local Walmart and then rewrite the checks to themselves, increasing the
amount payable by hundreds and even thousands of dollars.

Types of Chemicals Reported Used:

1. Acetone, most widely used, is a highly volatile organic solvent used mainly as
a hand-wipe solvent in cleaning applications. It is also a good drying agent
for wet parts. But it will erase most inks from a stolen check without any
noticeable effect.
2. Reading the remarks on side of a can of Acetone, you will find out it
effectively removes some greases, oils, waxes, and inks. It is commonly used
to remove uncured fiberglass resins, varnish, and lacquer and may be useful
for applications that require a highly volatile cleaner. Acetone may be applied
by hand wipe or immersion in an unheated tank;
3. Benzene,
4. Bleach, used in ever day cleaning in your home. Normally to whiten fibers in
clothes washing.
5. Carbon Tetrachloride, most widely used in carpet cleaning,
6. Chloromice "T", a mild form of bleach, used normally in the socking of baby
diapers,
7. Fox "IT", used mostly with stamp collectors,
8. Clear Correction Fluids,
9. A high-performance eraser to erase everything from ballpoint pen ink, PPC
and Diazo copy ink, to typewriter ribbon ink, drafting ink, and printed matter.

Problem at hand:

One woman became so adept at the technique she prowled the streets with a
portable computer, printer and laminating machine in her car, cranking out new
identification each time she swiped a batch of bills. Of course she had to take the
time to wash the ink from the two vital areas of the check, making sure she doesn't
tamper with the written signature.

The problem has grown so severe that many local and federal authorities have
formed task forces around the country, with agents from the Postal Inspection
Service, U.S. attorney's office, local police forgery units, FBI and Secret Service.

They offer the following advice to people with old-fashioned mailboxes:

1. Don't leave outgoing mail in an unlocked box. Take it to work, drop it in a

collection box, hand it to a letter carrier or take it directly to the post office.
2. If you have to leave outgoing mail in your box, do it immediately before the
letter carrier comes, and don't raise the mailbox flag.
3. Avoid leaving mail in a box on Sundays and holidays, when letter carriers
 don't work.
4. Install a lock on your box. This can be done by placing the lock on your
mailbox and then cutting a small slit in the mailbox that is large enough to
slide mail through, but which is not big enough for a hand to fit in. Residents
also can purchase a mailbox with a lock already on it for roughly $20 at a
hardware store. In both cases, you will not be able to have outgoing mail
picked up.

Recent Case:

Reported by the Sun-Sentinel on March 18, 1998, Postal investigators, working with
police in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, busted one of the largest
check-washing gangs in South Florida history on March 12, 1998.

During a 14-month period, the gang stole the mail of 177 people, separated the
checks, sullied them, changed the amounts and assumed fake names to cash them
for a total of $650,000 at 27 banks and credit unions.

The average doctored check was $490, but the gang often got ambitious, once
altering a $2,000 check and cashing it for $24,000.

Investigators, the Sun-Sentinel reported, are in the process of arresting 110 people,
mostly from Hialeah and Miami Springs. Arrest warrants were issued for 11 more
gang members. All will be charged with at least two state felonies: grand theft and
uttering a forged statement. Check washing takes place to the tune of $815 million
every year in the U.S.

The Red Flag:

U.S. postal inspectors report an epidemic of mail thefts in the United States and
even in other foreign countries, much of it the result of drug users who are
spreading the word. However, it has been reported that some bad postal workers are
getting into the act. Thieves swipe outgoing checks from mailboxes when they see
the red flag up. The bad postal worker removes the check from the "postal bag".

According to a local postal inspector, even U.S. Postal Service collection boxes can
be targeted by thieves who wait until the boxes fill up on weekends and then reach
inside to rifle letters.

Another problem is when residents leave outgoing mail containing checks in the
mailbox before going to work. The thieves will steal a check in the morning and
then cashed the stolen check by the afternoon.

Who suffers:
Check washing costs banks and merchants "hundreds of thousands of dollars"
a year, and ultimately, we, the consumer, pays for that in higher fees or prices.

If the check was in the mail but creditors are hounding you for payment, it may be
that some clever mail thieves snagged your check to pay their own debts.

Recent News Articles:

Copyright - Times Publishing Co. May 15, 1998

A California woman was arrested Wednesday night on charges she pilfered personal
checks from mailboxes and altered the checks with chemicals to cash them.

Anita Lucille Okelberry, 35, who is from Oakland but has no local address, faces
eight counts each of forgery, uttering a forged instrument and grand theft. She is
accused of stealing checks from mailboxes in Hudson and New Port Richey,
washing the ink off with chemicals and filling in her own name and inflated dollar
amounts.

Okelberry was being held at the county jail in Land O'Lakes in lieu of $90,000 bail.
Sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said the arrest marks a first in Pasco County in
connection with this type of forgery, though it is familiar to authorities in the
western United States.

Positive Protective Measures:

1. Don't put bills in a residential mailbox. The red flag sticking up is like an
invitation to a thief.
2. Ask your bank if you can pick up new books of checks. Or ask the bank to
have a parcel delivery service deliver them.
3. Shred or burn canceled checks. If you need to save them, make sure the
canceled checks are in a secured area, such as a bank lock box, or a wall safe.
Don't throw them in the trash.
4. Check bank statements immediately after receiving them. If you fail to report
check fraud within 30 days of receiving your monthly statement, the bank
does not have to reimburse your loss (UCC Code 4-406).
5. Print a return address on an envelope. A signature can be traced, duplicated or
forged.
6. Don't discard credit card records or bills with household trash.

Check Security Features:

Most of the check manufactures have enhanced their check stock to combat
Counterfeiting and of course Check Washing. This is the main reason that you
should always purchase your supply of business and personal checks from a
company who has implemented security enhanced check stock.

Even some of the mail-order companies have included some security measures in
their check stock. Before you purchase your new supply, ask what security measures
have been adopted into their check stock, both overt (visible) and covert (hidden)
characteristics to alert check handlers and to discourage the check fraud artists.
More Banks are beginning to require their business customers to adopt what is
called due diligence procedures that will minimizes their exposure to check fraud.
One of the easiest ways for companies to meet the ordinary care provisions of the
Uniform Commercial Code is to implement paper-based security measures.

If you are in doubt about the purchase of your checks with security features
included, have your local bank discuss the protective issues with you. You want to
protect your documents against chemical alteration, erasure, toner removal,
photocopying , and counterfeiting .

New Security Features Available:

Check manufactures help deter check fraud by making checks difficult to copy,
alter, or counterfeit by using some or all of the following security measures:

1. Watermarks. Watermarks are made by applying different degrees of pressure

during the paper manufacturing process. Most watermarks make subtle
designs on the front and back of the checks. These marks are not easily
visible and can only be seen when they are held up to light at a 45-degree
angle. This offers protection from counterfeiting because copiers and scanners
generally cannot accurately copy watermarks.
2. Copy Void Pantograph . Pantographs are patented designs in the background
pattern of checks. When photocopied, the pattern changes and the word
"VOID" appears, making the copy nonnegotiable.
3. Chemical Voids . Chemical voids involve treating check paper in a manner
that is not detectable until eradicator chemicals contact the paper. When
chemicals are applied, the treatment causes the word "VOID" to appear,
making the item nonnegotiable. Checks treated with chemical voids cannot be
altered without detection.
4. High-Resolution Micro Printing. High-resolution micro printing is very
small printing, typically used for the signature line of a check or around the
border in what appears to be a line or pattern to the naked eye. When
magnified, the line or pattern contains a series of words that run together or
become totally illegible if the check has been photocopied or scanned with a
desktop scanner.
5. Three-dimensional Reflective Holostripe. A holostripe is a metallic stripe
that contains one or more holograms, similar to those on credit cards. These
items are difficult to forge, scan, or reproduce because they are produced by a
sophisticated, laser-based etching process.
6. Security Inks.. Security inks react with common eradication chemicals.
These inks reduce a forger's ability to modify the printed dollar amount or
alter the designated payee because when solvents are applied, a chemical
reaction with the security ink distorts the appearance of the check. This makes
such items very difficult to alter without detection. The chemical reactants
produce permanent stains when bleach or solvents are used to alter the check
document.
7. INVISIBLE FIBERS (Covert). Embedded in the sheet, fibers are visible
only under ultraviolet light, and are extremely difficult to duplicate.
 8. VISIBLE FIBERS (Overt). Fibers are visible in ordinary light and arranged
on both sides of the check. These fibers will extend from a torn edge to verify
its authenticity.

WHAT TYPE OF PEN TO USE WHEN WRITING A CHECK:

Use a ordinary old fashion ink pen. Use a durable color ink. If you want to use a
ballpoint pen, use a Bic pen with black ink. It seems that from studies, that you
should be safe using these pens.

If you are a ballpoint pen lover, switch to black ink when security is important.
Among water-based inks, remember that gels are the most impervious. But when
you're writing checks to pay the monthly bills, do not hesitate to to use your favorite
fountain pen. Just fill it with ink in one of the more durable colors and enjoy!