Check, stolen from mail and altered, costs Boardman woman $4,300

Boardman Police are investigating a report of mail fraud involving an altered check, marking at least the third such incident reported by township residents in recent months.

A woman living on Indianola Road contacted the Boardman Police Department to report that a personal check had been stolen and changed to a much higher amount. She discovered the issue while reviewing her bank statement and noticing a large, unexpected withdrawal.

The victim told officers she originally wrote a check for $40 to a creditor on Dec. 22. When she viewed the processed check, she found the date had been changed to Dec. 28, and the amount increased to $4,350. The name of the payee had also been changed to a person she did not recognize.

Investigators believe the check was stolen from a mailbox at the woman's home or a public collection box. The fraudulent check was deposited using a mobile banking application.

This latest report follows a string of similar thefts in the area. In March, a local couple reported a loss of more than $32,000 after several of their checks were stolen and "washed." In that case, the victims had dropped off mail at various blue collection boxes throughout the township. One check for about $53 was altered to more than $5,500, while another $40 check was increased to $2,000.

Earlier in December, another Boardman resident reported losing $2,000. That victim had placed a check in her home mailbox for pickup. She later found that the check had been altered and made out to a stranger before being deposited through a mobile app.

Check washing is a method where criminals use household chemicals to erase the ink on the "pay to" and dollar amount lines of a check. Once the original information is removed, the thief writes in a new name and a higher value.

The United States Postal Inspection Service recommends that residents take several steps to protect their mail:

• Hand outgoing mail directly to a letter carrier or drop it off inside a post office instead of using outdoor boxes.
• Pick up mail from home boxes as soon as possible so it does not sit overnight.
• Use gel pens with permanent ink, which is more difficult to remove with chemicals.
• Monitor bank accounts frequently to ensure processed checks match the original details.

The Boardman Police Department has listed the most recent incident as a case of suspected forgery and counterfeiting.