An elderly woman in San Francisco lost $14,000 from her bank account after thieves stole cheque payments she mailed, changed the payment details, and cashed them. The case, reported by ABC7 News, showed a growing problem of mail theft and cheque washing across the Bay Area. Cheque washing is a type of fraud in which criminals use chemicals such as acetone or bleach to remove the name and amount written on a genuine cheque while leaving the original signature untouched. They then rewrite the cheque with a different name and amount and use it to steal money from the victim’s account. In this case, the woman mailed several routine cheques to pay utility and personal bills. Instead of reaching the intended companies and service providers, the cheques were stolen while in transit. The thieves altered the details and successfully deposited the cheques, taking $14,000 before the fraud was discovered.
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