Birmingham police issue check fraud warning

Birmingham police are issuing a warning to the community about a recent trend of checks being stolen from the mail, both during distribution and from postal boxes.

Once stolen, police said, the checks are then forged in multitude and fraudulently deposited. The checks are then sent to numerous individuals – sometimes even the victims themselves – to be cashed or deposited, and then in most cases, having a portion of the funds returned to the original suspect.

“It cannot be stressed enough that mail theft, specifically anything that may be even suspected as a check, is in high demand by check fraud suspects,” said Birmingham police.

The Birmingham Police Department recommends that citizens and businesses avoid mailing checks when any other form of payment or delivery is available. “If mailing a check is the only option, we recommend disguising the package and using an envelope or package that does not indicate a check is contained within,” police said. “Further, businesses are urged to use Positive Pay, which is a program offered by banks to help prevent check and ACH fraud.”

Police said that if you discover you are a victim of check fraud, immediately report the incident to your bank and have the account closed.

“It is important to close the account, as police agencies are noticing even after failed attempts to cash forged checks, the suspects continue duplicating the check and making attempts until the account is closed,” Birmingham police advised.