Check Washing

 Anyone know what Check Washing is?

Check washing is a process where someone steals a check that has been written and erases the ink and rewrites the check to themselves for whatever amount they want. As you can imagine, this can lead to the loss of hundreds and thousands of dollars.

Supplies needed:

#1 The chemicals: The chemicals that are used can be purchased at your local Walmart. Some of the  chemicals on the list are Acetone, Benzene, Bleach and Carbon Tetracloride.

#2 The check itself: Thieves then steal the written checks from mailboxes with the Red Flag up or directly from the postal bag.  Then a little bit of spit and polish and your check that was meant to pay your bill is now made out to the thief ready to be cashed.

There are many ways to prevent becoming a victim of check fraud most of which fall into three categories (1) maintaining control of your checks blank or written, (2) check security features in the manufacturing of the checks as well as (3) using the right type of ink (Gel ink is recommended).

Gel ink: It is important to use the right type of ink when writing your checks. Based on recent ink security studies, you should use a gel pen, like the Uniball 207 that uses gel ink that contains tiny particles of color that are trapped into the paper, making check washing a lot more difficult.

Stay tuned for more information on maintaining control and check security features. . . . .