Thieves cashing in on trend of stolen mail checks

Anyone who pays bills through the mail should be aware of an increase in people stealing those checks and cashing in themselves.

A lot of money is on the line. Tens of thousands of dollars are tied to thefts from Southern Pines to Raleigh to Cary.

People are popping checks in the mailbox, expecting them to be picked up by a postal worker, only to have them fall into the hands of criminals.

John Leskovec said he was shocked.

"I had to do a double take," Leskovec said. "Because I felt secure in this neighborhood for a long time, and this kind of opened my eyes."

Jan. 13, he dropped a check in his mailbox in Cary, expecting it to end up at the DMV.

Instead, it wound up here, at this bank off Falls of Neuse Road in Raleigh, in the hands of a thief.

"Over $3,000 was taken out of my checking account with this check," he said.

Leskovec reported the theft to police, learning the thief had likely swiped the check from his mailbox, washed it, and then penciled in a new name and dollar amount to cash.

"I felt violated," he said.

Leskovec isn’t alone.

In Southern Pines, police report a spike in check thefts from mailboxes. New numbers provided to WRAL show there have been at least six such thefts since Jan. 19.

Police say in a normal year, they’d only see one or two.

In Raleigh, police said check thefts have been a consistent issue, especially since a postal worker’s master key was stolen last year.

Now police say there are specific steps you can take here to protect yourself.

If you are going to mail a check, always go inside and hand it directly to a postal worker or use the inside drop box.

Also, use a gel pen to fill out your checks. That ink can’t be washed off.