Residents in Schaumburg say the checks they are dropping off at a post box are allegedly ending up in the hands of criminals.
Last month local Chris Slowinksi said she put about 30 checks in a box on Schaumburg Road, paying bills for the excavation company she works for. When she started going over bank records, she said she saw a big problem.
“The name had been erased and a different name had been put on the check and those had actually gone through and been cashed…there was like $2,000 worth of checks that had been washed and counterfeited,” she said.
Slowinksi said she notified the bank and authorities about the manipulated, counterfeit checks.
“The bank would get my approval to be able to cash a check, I would look at the image and decide if it was able to be cashed or if it was fraud.
Through the month of November, she says thieves attempted to cash fraudulent checks totaling more than $240,000.
“I just closed the account down on Friday and up until Friday, checks were still coming through,” Slowinksi said.
Local
Authorities said they are also investigating mail thefts reported in Chicago Heights.
The Postal Inspection Service said they are “aware of mail theft reports in the Schaumburg area and is actively investigating those reports.”
Slowinksi said she has already contacted Senator Tammy Duckworth’s office and her hope is to have a database with all the victims of mail fraud.
