Stop sending checks in the mail in Washington state.

When was the last time you said, “the check is in the mail”? Honestly, when was the last time you put a check in the mail? Recent information indicates that putting a check in the mail is not necessarily the best way to get that money where it needs to go. 

These days I do most of my banking online and that means sometimes the bank will put a check in the mail. Is that safe?  

AARP.org says,
“Last year (2022), banks identified 680,000 reports of check fraud, up from 350,000 in 2021. Meanwhile, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service reported that about 300,000 mail theft complaints were made in 2021, more than double the complaints in 2020. That’s happening even as the number of paper checks in circulation has declined dramatically, to roughly 3.4 billion checks in 2022.” 

When I was a kid, I remember getting checks in the mail from my grandparents. When I was in college, occasionally I would get a check in the mail from my mom or dad. But with Mail theft rising in the United States, this is not the best way to go. 

Receiving your mail in the mailbox out in front of your house has never been the most secure thing, now even less so. People with post office boxes are more secure. Where I work, we receive our company mail delivered straight to us here in the building. 

Many people now are using apps to transfer money. An app like Zelle or using a credit card are reliable ways to transfer money from point to point.  

The main thing is to be sure that your money is getting where it's supposed to go. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to figure out how the Tooth fairy is going to be delivering cash to my grandkids. 

Stop Sending Checks in the Mail in Massachusetts (live959.com) 

8 Things You Shouldn't Send in the Mail (aarp.org) 

259c7333-0fb3-4bc0-a059-4b116594c473.pdf (worldnow.com)