Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office investigating pair of check washing cases

LINCOLN COUNTY – The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office is investigating two cases of check washing and is sharing steps the public can take to avoid falling victim.

Check washing is a financial crime that involves stealing a check that is written to another person, business or organization, often from the mail, and using chemicals or other means to erase the ink on the check. The perpetrator can then rewrite the check to themselves or another entity.

In a Tuesday, July 22 Facebook post, the Sheriff’s Office said perpetrators oftentimes use fake names that are difficult to track.

“Your checking account releases the funds, but the money doesn’t go where you intended, leaving you liable,” the Sheriff’s Office stated. “For example, if you pay a credit card or other bill by sending a check in the mail and it gets stolen and washed, you/your account would be out the money, but you would still owe the bill.”

In the post, the Sheriff’s Office shared details about where its investigation into local checking washing cases stood as of last Tuesday.

The Sheriff’s Office said that although it “certainly (runs) the risk” of tipping off suspects by sharing information, public education and protection outweigh the need to “play our hand close to the vest.”

As of last week’s post, two cases were under investigation – one originating in the Tomahawk area from the Tomahawk Post Office, and another originating in the Merrill area from the Merrill Post Office.

“Of the two cases we are working on, we were able to determine some commonalities and some differences, both of which can offer us some clues,” the Sheriff’s Office stated.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, both checks were written to Discover Card to pay credit card bills, and both checks were mailed to the same address.

“This leads us to believe that the cases might be linked by a suspect specifically targeting envelopes addressed to Discover Card, particularly when sent to that specific address, knowing that the envelope likely contains a check,” the Sheriff’s Office said.

The Sheriff’s Office added that it does not believe the suspects are stealing checks from random mailboxes. The suspects are also not believed to be affiliated with local post offices because “the two incidents are too far apart.”

“In other words, while the intended recipients of those two checks are the same, which leads us to believe there is a link, there doesn’t appear to be any other commonalities (at least locally) between the two for us to connect any more dots,” the Sheriff’s Office stated.

The next step in determining whether or not the cases are linked, the Sheriff’s Office said, is to “start looking for the next/nearest common denominator,” which, according to the Sheriff’s Office, is the United States Postal Service (USPS) sorting facility in Green Bay.

“We are currently looking into that, but want to assure you that the USPS is working closely with us to further this investigation and that together we will aggressively pursue every means available to root out the issue and prevent any future occurrences,” the Sheriff’s Office stated.

The Sheriff’s Office provided steps the public can take to avoid becoming a victim of check washing.

The first step is to use secure online payment methods whenever possible. The Sheriff’s Office recommended that Discover Card users avoid paying bills via mail.

“That being said, this time it’s Discover, but next time could be any one of the other credit card or other billing companies,” the Sheriff’s Office said.

The Sheriff’s Office recommended that if bills must be paid via mailed check, “opt for checks with extra security features, and use a gel pen, as gel ink is more resistant to being washed than traditional ballpoint ink.”

“As always, be vigilant,” the Sheriff’s Office stated. “Monitor your accounts closely and take advantage of features such as security alerts whenever possible. Check with your financial institution(s). They may be able to offer further advice and/or assistance.”

The Sheriff’s Office said it is “continuing to pursue this matter aggressively,” but in the meantime, it wants to make the public aware so individuals can take educated steps to protect themselves, as well as friends and family.