It really is a sad day when you can't even use your own mailbox for what it was intended for. When these thieves are caught, they should be charged with every conceivable charge that relates to the crime.
More than 30 in 30 days.
That's the number of times thieves have preyed on Augusta homeowners by stealing checks from mailboxes, police say.
The thieves are making their money by illegally removing the checks from the mail, removing the ink from the check, then changing the payee name and the dollar amount by hundreds and sometimes thousands more than the owner intended.
In one case from June, an 86-year-old man wrote a check to his credit card company for $19.26. It wasn't until weeks later that he learned the check for his Discover card account never made it to its destination and his account was short $1,900.26.
There are four technical crime investigators with the Richmond County Sheriff's Office, and they all have been saddled with mail theft cases within the past month.
Investigator Michelle Walden said they are averaging one or two thefts a day in this latest rash.
"This has just gotten out of hand," Investigator Walden said. "Either they're watching (victims) or just hitting specific neighborhoods to see if the flags on the mailboxes are up."
The technique is known as "washing" the check. Thieves dip the paper into a chemical solution that removes the ink. They then fill in the information with their own name and a new amount of money, Investigator Walden said.
"I've seen some really good ones lately, which is scary," she said.
So far, at least one suspect is behind bars. Investigator Mike Lanham said he arrested Maurice Bernard Bennett, of the 2800 block of Lumpkin Road, on Tuesday afternoon. Mr. Bennett faces one count of forgery. Bank officials said they noticed he attempted to cash a forged check at the Bank of America on Wheeler Road.
Investigators say more charges are possible against Mr. Bennett, but he's not the only one suspected of stealing from the mail to make quick cash.
Investigator Walden said she is looking for 25-year-old Gina Michelle Telfair, of the 2900 block of Oklahoma Avenue, on forgery charges.
She is accused of cashing $2,000 in checks reported stolen from a 72-year-old retiree on Beman Street.
Police ask that if you believe you've been the victim of a theft, first notify the sheriff's office and file a report by calling (706) 821-1080.
Reach Adam Folk at (706) 823-3339 or adam.folk@augustachronicle.com.
PROTECT YOUR MAIL
- Be mindful of your surroundings when placing mail in your mailbox. Be sure no one is watching you.
- If you are able to, drop important mail off at a post office box, which is considered more secure than your home mailbox.
- Use a Uni-ball 207 ink pen to write checks. The pen uses a specific ink that makes it resistant to check washing. They can be found in most major stores.
Source: Investigator Michelle Walden
Comments
It really is a sad day when you can't even use your own mailbox for what it was intended for. When these thieves are caught, they should be charged with every conceivable charge that relates to the crime.
Nasty little thieves...
These idiots put so much effort into breaking the laws. What a bunch of low life, too lazy to get a decent legitimate job.
get a job!
It is much safer to pay your bills online or take your mail to the post office near you instead. If you are expecting a check, ask your carrier to look out for this and they will deliver it to your door. In this way, you cannot get stiffed again.
I started on-line bill pay almost two years ago and it's great. No problems yet. You save money on postage and have easy on-line records to prove payment.
Ooops. I did have one problem with on-line bill pay. I sent my Knology payment to Georgia Power one time. But that was operator error, not the bank's fault.
No checks coming here, only bills going out! Good luck cashing checks made out to someone else!
uhhhh DonH don't mean to burst your bubble but it IS the checks going out that are being altered....did you read the article? If you have elderly parents or neighbors who refuse to pay online offer to take the mail to the Post office or postal drop box.
Lil thieving %$#@&$%#. get jobs you lowlife [filtered word]'s!!! thats why I pay online, deliver the checks personally to business or PO, and recieve them in a P.O. Box.. have been for years. If these thieves put half as much effort into working a real job they wouldn't have to steal. they are just to dang lazy to work!!! That's ok, God is watching and after bubba gets done with you in prison, you will be going to hell!! I hate a thief!!!!!!
lol, yeah karma.... someone didn't read past first paragraph. I have been guilty of that at one time or another by not reading the whole article, then have to come edit my post and hope no one saw it!!!! lmaoooooo
My mother was one of the victims. They stold 4 checks from her mailbox and altered one that was written for $16.99 to $760.00 and cashed it at the same branch. She is 76 and going thru pure hell trying to get this straightened out. She had to close her bank account and open a new one, change Social Security and everything.
Time to snag an old Paymaster check embosser off of ebay - let them wash that off!
Great advice, TakeAstand--I've been doing the same thing. This year I started getting bills through email and eliminated the paper trail. So anybody that comes to my mailbox will only get coupons and store flyers. Unfortunately, many elderly people, like my parents, barely know how to turn on the computer. My parents don't put mail in the mailbox, but take it to the post office.
Good job, Augusta Chronicle-tell everyone how to commit this crime with details. Channel 6 was no better in telling us how to steal gas with a screwdriver. The crooks don't need anymore help figuring this stuff out.
Many years ago when I first arrived in the US, I noticed the mailboxes we still have today. I thought the mailboxes were for the bread delivery man and the flags were to notify the breadman that you were in need of a loaf. Although I thought it was a neat way to get that staple, I also thought that thieves could easily steal the bread. Instead they are stealing checks.....
My mail has been stolen in the past and it was terrible! First I found out they got my checking account number and charged hundreds of dollars to T-mobile and than I figured out they stole a check for $22,000 and cashed it. Let me tell you how hard of a situation that was to explain to the numerous people I needed to do that to. But guess what! I found a solution. I went out and bought a security locking mailbox from mailboss.net. This thing is awesome. I doubt anybody will get to my mail now. Actually I challenge one of these mail theives to come to my house and try and steal my mail so I can catch them and give them what they deserve! If any of you reading this are looking for protection you should really take a look at the site I mentioned earlier.
Here's the thing.. you know when your outgoing mail is stolen you usually find out sooner than later when a forged check is caught or your bank account is overdrawn. So you should be careful and take your outgoing mail to the PO Boxes or put in the box right before the mailman comes.. whatever. BUT your INCOMING MAIL is just as vulnerable!!! Where do your bills go? account numbers.. credit card numbers.. social security checks.. etc. all of this can be much more lucrative to a cunning thief than a single check. They accumulate this information and then steal your IDENTITY. and if this happens, it takes months and hours and hours to reconcile. IT IS CRAZY that we receive our most sensitive information in Breadbaskets!! (nice observation MGroothand!) @ThiefCatcher: my family also has a Mail Boss... 40lbs of steel with an anti-pry device, this thing is a mail fortress~!
The cheapest way to avoid this if you can't buy one of the embossers is to buy the new pens with ink that can't be washed out. The few bills I can't pay on line used to go directly into the post office's inside box, but even so I never know for certain if that check is going to make it to its intended destination unless I use signature confirmation. Sometimes it's worth that extra buck to ensure your payment goes where it's supposed to.
I too was a victim to mail theft. I live in florida but also have a home in georgia. I came across a website that help me keep from ever getting my mail stolen. I bought 2 of their locking mailboxes. One for each house since I have had them up nobody has messed with them because as far as I know they never were able to catch the thieves. The place I found these locking mailboxes were themailsafe.com they at the time had 6 colors to choose from. My wife and I really love our locking mailsafe. Sometimes we aren't home to get our medicins and there mailbox keeps our pills cool until we get home. Hope this message can help somebody elese that has fallen victim to Mail Theft. Again the name of the site was themailsafe.com.
thewaterboy I pay all of our bills online,and all but one we get e-bills. I like the idea of a locked mailbox. I will check out that link. Thanks
I tried and no such site, but I googled safe mailboxes and found several sites.
I warned my mom. Again. It makes me nervous when she puts bills out in the mailbox with the flag. I told her check theft from the mailbox even happened to Joe Jackson, who doesn't live too far from either of us. The neatly dressed guy in glasses that used to walk up and down Thomas Lane checking mailboxes finally got caught a few years ago. So did the two big women that were doing the same thing in a gold car on Thomas Lane and Ridge Road. Not that we live there, but I thought that was close enough to convince her to put her bills in a post office pickup box instead of her mailbox with the flag, but I noticed she was still doing that during my day visits lately. Thanks for the story, I think this finally convinced her. One of my old neighbors got a locking mailbox since he kept his property but moved away from the crime and was still picking up his mail there once a week for several years. That did help.
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