Police in Swampscott, Massachusetts, are warning the public to be on the lookout after a series of check-washing incidents.
Criminals are stealing checks from people's mail, changing the names and dollar amounts. The Swampscott Police Department says it is investigating about 20 such cases.
Frank Colanto was taking a look at his bank account online when alarm bells started going off in his head.
"I was angry, but then sick to my stomach," the Swampscott resident said.
Get New England news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NECN newsletters.
He realized something was up with his checking account, and then noticed he was out over $13,000.
"For 25 years, never put mail in a blue box," he said. "Always inside the post office."
Colanto says he's always placed his mail inside the Swampscott post office, which is what postal officials suggest people do to avoid having mail stolen.
Still, Colanto was a victim of check-washing.
"It has turned into a massive amount of my time," said Colanto. "I've got about 40 man-hours in closing accounts, personal accounts, business account."
"We started getting an influx of similar cases where our residents were notifying us their checks were stolen," said Swampscott Police Chief Ruben Quesada. "Once we started looking into it, we realized it started to become more rampant."
Colanto got his money back, but it took about a month — a big headache for a small business owner.
"It's made me tighten up everything I do," said Colanto. "I got different checks that have holograms that can't be washed, I got special pens with ink that won't wash off."
