FinCEN Says Banks Reported $688 Million in Mail Theft-Related Check Fraud

Mail theft-related check fraud amounted to more than $688 million in a recent six-month period.

So said the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in a Monday (Sept. 9) press release outlining its Financial Trend Analysis on mail theft-related check fraud incidents from February 2023 to August 2023.

During the period, FinCEN received reports of that type of fraud in 15,417 Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reports from 841 financial institutions, according to the release.

“FinCEN values its ongoing collaboration with the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) to raise awareness of this criminal activity impacting innocent Americans across the country,” FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki said in the release.

Chief Postal Inspector Gary R. Barksdale said in the release that FinCEN’s Financial Trend Analysis demonstrates the severity of mail theft-related check fraud and the importance of the role financial institutions play in reporting information that helps bring fraudsters to justice.

“Suspicious Activity Reports are a valuable tool utilized by postal inspectors for not only targeting criminal networks and their illegally derived assets, but they also aid in the identification of victims,” Barksdale said. “Postal inspectors are committed to helping financial crime victims using all available resources and aim to ultimately make these victims whole through restitution.”

FinCEN found that after checks were stolen from the mail, 44% were altered and then deposited, 26% were used as templates to create counterfeit checks, and 20% were fraudulently signed and deposited, according to the release.

The organization also found that there was a range of sophistication of check manipulation methodologies, that many perpetrators tried to avoid interaction with bank personnel, and that populous states with large urban areas had more reported incidents of mail theft-related check fraud, although every state was affected by this form of fraud.

FinCEN reported in February 2023 that check fraud had risen substantially in the previous three years.

“Criminals have been increasingly targeting the U.S. Mail and United States Postal Service mail carriers since the COVID-19 pandemic to commit check fraud,” the agency said at the time in a press release.

FinCEN also released an alert on mail theft-related check fraud in February 2023, saying that financial institutions should be vigilant in identifying and reporting incidents of this form of fraud.