Checks in the Mail: Protect Yours!

With IRS tax refund checks arriving over the next few weeks, consumers should keep their guards up.The following tips will help deter mail and identity theft.

Detroit, MI- August 20, 2001 - With IRS checks arriving over the next few weeks, consumers should keep their guards up.

According to Johnny May, CPP, a security expert and author of the soon to be released book The Guide to Identity Theft Prevention, "theft of mail is more common than most people think". I dentity thieves steal mail and use a process known as check washing, they erase the ink on a check with a mix of common household solutions and then rewrite the checks to themselves, sometimes increasing the amount payable by hundreds of thousands of dollars" May said.

May, an identity theft expert, offers these tips for deterring mail and identity theft:

• Install a mail slot on your door or purchase a residential mailbox with a locking mechanism.

• Don't leave outgoing checks or paid bills in residential mailboxes. Take your mail to the post office or drop it in a U.S. Postal Service mailbox.

• Consider paying bills electronically, alot of financial institutions now offer this option.

• Promptly remove mail from your mailbox after delivery.

• Have a post office hold your mail while you are away for a length of time.

• If a check, credit card, or other valuable piece of mail doesn't arrive when you are expecting it, contact the issuing agency or person immediately.

• Start a neighborhood watch program to keep an eye on mailboxes and report suspected mail theft to the Postal Inspector immediately.