ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Stolen checks are being posted for sale online, and it’s becoming a regular occurrence. In Rochester, thieves are stealing mail and the universal keys to the blue mail drop boxes, targeting people’s checks.
Betsy Barber, the bookkeeper for local plumbing business Maxim Mechanical in Gates, is always on guard against fraudsters.
“Usually twice a week I’ll cut checks — Wednesday and Friday — usually in the mail the same day. And I tend to take them to an actual post office. I don’t like to leave them in the mailbox,” Barber said.
Mail theft has become a nationwide problem, and in many cases, stolen checks are being sold on the instant messaging app Telegram.
Maria Noriega, intelligence products manager at Q6 Cyber, a fraud prevention and cyber security company, says Telegram has become a one-stop shop for check fraud.
“It’s really easy to create an account on Telegram — the anonymity behind it as well helps cyber criminals do these things without being known,” Noriega said. “There are markets, storefronts if you will that are selling these very checks to customers — other fraudsters.”
The fraudsters then either alter the checks and cash them under a fake identity or create counterfeit checks.
News10NBC’s Brett Davidsen decided to investigate how easy it is to find stolen checks on Telegram. Using a burner phone, he downloaded the app, created an anonymous username and email address, and plugged in a couple of code words provided by Noriega. Within a minute, he found hundreds of checks for sale, including a $2,000 check from Maxim Mechanical.
Brett Davidsen: “Is that check from Maxim?”
Betsy Barber: “It is. Yup. I cut this for a piece of equipment we have. It’s a monthly payment check.”
Brett Davidsen: “When you hear that this check is showing up on some app, what are your thoughts about that?”
Betsy Barber: “First, it’s how are they getting them, right?”
Investigators say mail theft has flourished due to trends in technology, and a 2024 report by U.S. Postal Inspectors specifically mentions Telegram. When contacted, a Telegram spokesperson said “the sale of stolen checks and other forms of fraud are explicitly forbidden” and that their moderators remove millions of pieces of harmful content each day, including fraud.
“I think that they have been trying to better control the content that is on their platforms. Trying to curb the illicit activity that’s on the platform, at least that’s what they’re claiming,” Noriega said.
Fortunately for Maxim Mechanical, no one has tried to cash the stolen check yet. Barber says they use a security program called “Positive Pay” that requires her to input all check information with their bank as it’s issued.
Brett Davidsen: “If somebody tries to change the name on it, what happens?”
Betsy Barber: “It won’t clear our system. I will get a notification that they’re trying to cash that check and it does not match what I have put in our system. And I can deny that check and that check will never clear.”
While it provides peace of mind for now, Barber warns that “these criminals are extremely smart and capable and they adapt.”
To better protect your personal checks, experts recommend taking your mail directly to the post office, not leaving it in your mailbox overnight, using the blue boxes before the last collection time of the day, and avoiding using them on Sundays and holidays.
The U.S. Postal Service is also taking steps to enhance security of postal vehicles, phase out the universal keys used to open blue mail boxes, and offer bigger rewards when a carrier is robbed.
To read the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s 2024 report on mail theft, click here.
News10NBC Investigation: Rochester mail thefts rise, stolen checks sold on Telegram app WHEC.com.
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