Checks Take A Bath In Palos Park

PALOS PARK, IL — Palos Park investigators are working with a resident who discovered that three checks she recently mailed to pay bills were washed, police said.

The resident told police she mailed the checks on April 28 at the mail drop boxes outside the Palos Park USPS branch at 121st Street and 80th Avenue. On Monday, she discovered that the checks had been washed for a combined total of $53,000. There were no signs of tampering on the mail drop boxes.

Check washing is a form of fraud where criminals erase or alter information on a check to make it payable to themselves or others. Criminals will use chemicals such as nail police remover, bleach or paint thinner to remove the ink or “wash the check.” In most cases, checks are stolen from the mail before they are washed and rewritten.

In early 2023, the Palos area was hit by a rash of check washing. Many of the incidents were tied to the Bridgeview USPS branch, where keys had been stolen internally and used to access the mail drop boxes outside the building.

Palos Park police recommend that residents pay bills and conduct transactions online whenever possible.

Here are some more tips to safeguard checks sent through mail:

• Use a gel pen with ink resistant to washing, such as a Uni- Ball Signo, developed by identify thief turned identify theft expert Frank W. Abagnale Jr. whose life was chronicled in the blockbuster movie “Catch Me If You Can.”
• Get out of your car and mail checks from INSIDE the post office.
• Collect your mail from your personal mailbox right away.
• Talk to your bank about alternative payment methods.