Joseph Cantara of Flushing, Queens, got caught in a check washing scam — and not even a good one. He and his wife Margaret described to ABC 7 On Your Side (1) how their routine check for their quarterly property taxes, made out to the city for $2,570.24, was altered to $9,995.00 “for seven months of physical therapy.”

"All of our printed information was crossed out. Our address was rewritten, another phone number, rewritten," Joseph said.

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The couple put a stop payment on the check in November 2025, but found money was withdrawn from their account just a month later, on Christmas Eve.

In spite of the obviously doctored check, the couple spent three months trying to resolve the issue, only to end up with their bank account frozen for three weeks — unable to access their money or pay their bills.

Here’s why you need to be aware of check fraud, plus tips on what to do if you’re caught up in a similar scam.

Scammers can get their hands on personal checks in a number of ways (2). They can be stolen from mail boxes or post offices, and can sometimes be taken from businesses by employees. These fraudsters are often a little more smooth that the one who targeted the Cantaras: check washing schemes involve altering checks using chemicals to break down ink without damaging the paper, usually resulting in a forged check that looks legitimate.

Losing money to a forged check is bad enough, but the fraud doesn’t always stop there. Personal information found on stolen checks can be used by scammers to take out loans or open bank accounts in the victim’s name. According to the U.S. Postal Service, Postal Inspectors uncover more than $1 billion in counterfeit checks and money orders in the U.S. every year (3).

The worst part of check fraud is that it can be hard to recover your stolen money if you don’t act quickly. The Illinois Educators Credit Union (IECU) warns many financial institutions don’t offer complete coverage for check fraud that isn’t reported right away (4). Many other banks offer partial protection within 60 days. Therefore, it’s critical to keep on top of your bank accounts if you regularly use checks.

In the case of Margaret and Joseph Cantara, the couple were only able to get their issue resolved through working with the journalists working for ABC’s 7 On Your Side team.

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Since checks are easier to alter and harder to trace than transactions through a debit or credit card, the Association for Financial Professionals says they’re the payment method most popular with fraudsters (5). Their 2025 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey found 63% of U.S. businesses that responded to their survey were victims of check fraud in 2024.

After years of serious increases in check fraud, the FBI and the United States Postal Inspection Service issued a public warning in 2025 that those who still pay their bills by check need to be on the lookout for scams (6).

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network reported a 23% increase in Suspicious Activity Reports for check fraud between 2020 and 2021 — then the number of these reports nearly doubled in 2022 (7).

There are a number of ways to dodge fraudsters who would steal your checks. One of the best ways is to avoid using checks altogether, and opt for electronic payment methods that can be traced.

If you still need to use checks, be careful to:

Use black gel ink on checks, as it's the hardest for check washers to remove.

Drop off checks at your post office instead of leaving them in your personal or neighborhood mailbox to be collected.

Monitor your bank account regularly and flag any suspicious payments as soon as you find them.

If you believe you’ve been the victim of check fraud, act fast. You should first report it to your financial institution, then report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) (8). You can also report fraud to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at IdentityTheft.gov or at 1-877-438-4338.

If your check was stolen from the USPS, you can also file a report with them uspis.gov or 1-877-876-2455, and file a report with your local law enforcement.

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ABC 7 (1); Comptroller of the Currency (2); U.S. Postal Service (3); Illinois Educators Credit Union (4); Association for Financial Professionals (5); FBI (6); Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (7); Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) (8)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.