Mail theft fuels surge in check fraud, experts warn

Thieves are stealing checks from mailboxes, washing away ink, and turning ordinary payments into counterfeit instruments that can drain accounts and trigger follow-on identity fraud. On January 27, 2025, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said mail theft-enabled check fraud was rising, and the FBI said Suspicious Activity Reports tied to check fraud nearly doubled from 2021 to 2023.

FinCEN’s August 2024 analysis found 15,417 Bank Secrecy Act reports linked to mail theft-related check fraud during the Feb. 27 to Aug. 31, 2023 review period, with more than $688 million in actual or attempted transactions. Check washing usually means changing the payee name and often the dollar amount, then depositing the altered check. In some cases, thieves steal checks from mailboxes and use chemicals to strip the ink; in others, they copy or scan the check and make a fake version.

Criminals may keep using personal information found in stolen mail for credit card or credit-account fraud after the original check is negotiated. Postal inspectors recover more than $1 billion in counterfeit checks and money orders every year.

Federal Reserve research found that 6% of consumers paid bills by check in 2024, and in 2025, 33% said they had made a check payment in the prior 30 days, down from 35% in 2024. More than 90% preferred a payment method other than paper checks for bill pay in 2024, but households, landlords, utilities and small businesses still rely on them.

Pick up mail promptly and use USPS Informed Delivery, which gives free preview images of incoming mail and package status updates. If fraud appears, report it to local police and the Postal Inspection Service, and use the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fraud-reporting and identity-theft resources.