Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Nearly lost $29,000. Got it back. Here's what happened — and what you can learn from it.
A check written to Seiko got intercepted somewhere between our mailman and the Seiko lockbox, washed, and cashed to a private individual. Chase Fraud reached out asking if we wrote a check for that amount. We confirmed yes — because the amount and check number were correct. What the text never asked was who the check was written to.
By the time I logged into the bank and saw a person's name instead of Seiko on the paid check, the money had already been debited. One frantic call to our bank rep later — and thankfully the funds hadn't yet cleared the receiving account. Money recovered. Lesson learned.
What to take away from this:
Fraud alerts that ask "did you write this check for this amount" don't tell you who it's written to — that's the gap scammers exploit
Check washing is real and happening in regular mail streams, even to locked dropboxes.
If you're still writing paper checks, hand them directly to your mail carrier — don't leave them in your mailbox
If possible, switch vendors to ACH/digital payment to eliminate the risk entirely
Stay vigilant. It can happen to anyone.
Https://www.LongIslandWatch.com
Nearly lost $29,000. Got it back. Here's what happened — and what you can learn from it.
A check written to Seiko got intercepted somewhere between our mailman and the Seiko lockbox, washed, and cashed to a private individual. Chase Fraud reached out asking if we wrote a check for that amount. We confirmed yes — because the amount and check number were correct. What the text never asked was who the check was written to.
By the time I logged into the bank and saw a person's name instead of Seiko on the paid check, the money had already been debited. One frantic call to our bank rep later — and thankfully the funds hadn't yet cleared the receiving account. Money recovered. Lesson learned.
What to take away from this:
Fraud alerts that ask "did you write this check for this amount" don't tell you who it's written to — that's the gap scammers exploit
Check washing is real and happening in regular mail streams, even to locked dropboxes.
If you're still writing paper checks, hand them directly to your mail carrier — don't leave them in your mailbox
If possible, switch vendors to ACH/digital payment to eliminate the risk entirely
Stay vigilant. It can happen to anyone.
Https://www.LongIslandWatch.com
