{"id":4400,"date":"2024-04-26T00:51:18","date_gmt":"2024-04-25T17:51:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.harborstone.com\/wph\/workarea\/?p=4400"},"modified":"2024-04-26T00:51:46","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T17:51:46","slug":"remember-check-washing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harborstone.com\/wph\/workarea\/remember-check-washing\/","title":{"rendered":"Remember check washing? Scammers cooked up a digitized version of this dirty old trick."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What it is:<\/strong> \u201cCheck baking\u201d (sometimes referred to as \u201ccheck cooking\u201d) is a scam where criminals get their hands on a paper check someone has written, possibly from the victim\u2019s mailbox, and use digital tools to create a counterfeit check made out to themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How it works: <\/strong>Thieves steal the check, take a picture of it, then use commercially available software to change details \u2013 like payee and amount \u2013 and deposit it into their own account. They can also make digital copies of that first counterfeit check they created, effectively \u201cscaling up\u201d their operation. Depending on how closely the victim monitors their checking account, it can take days or weeks before the crime is discovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where it all began<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in the day, industrious scammers would erase the ink on stolen checks using common chemicals \u2013 this was called \u201ccheck washing.\u201d This trick was bad enough, but at least the damage was limited to that single stolen item.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The modern, digital scam is worse. Not only is it fast and easy to digitally alter and replicate a stolen check, many check bakers take advantage of image-based check depositing through banking apps \u2013 further obscuring their crime. They don\u2019t even need to walk into a bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protect yourself<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a few tips to help you protect yourself against digital check manipulation scams:<\/p>\n\n\n\n