Guest: Frank McKenna
In this episode, I’m talking with Frank McKenna about a fraud problem a lot of people assume should have faded years ago, check fraud. But it has not faded. It has surged back in ways that are hitting consumers, banks, and even postal workers much harder than many people realize.
What makes this conversation especially important is that physical check fraud is not just creating financial losses. It is also helping drive more mail theft fraud and a disturbing rise in violent attacks tied to stolen mail and access to checks. That is the part I think a lot of people outside this space are missing. When stolen check fraud becomes lucrative enough, the crime around it gets more aggressive too.
Frank breaks down the methods behind check washing fraud, stolen physical checks, and the broader check fraud trends affecting the US right now. We also get into why these schemes are often harder to detect than people assume, especially when paper check scams are layered into bigger criminal workflows and sold or supported through fraud-as-a-service models.
And that matters.
Because check fraud is not just an outdated payment problem. It is a live fraud issue with real-world consequences for consumers, financial institutions, mail systems, and public safety.
Here is what that check fraud resurgence means in practice:
- I need to stop thinking of check fraud as an old problem that no longer matters
- I need to understand how stolen check fraud connects financial crime to mail theft and physical risk
- I improve check fraud prevention when I treat physical check fraud as part of a broader criminal ecosystem
- I make better decisions when I understand why these schemes are still effective against banks and consumers
What you’ll hear in this episode:
- Why check fraud is resurging in the US
- How check washing fraud and stolen check fraud typically work
- Why mail theft fraud and US postal fraud are becoming more dangerous
- What makes bank fraud detection harder in physical check fraud cases than many people expect
- How fraud-as-a-service is shaping modern check fraud trends
You should listen to this episode if you:
- Work in bank fraud detection, investigations, or financial crime
- Need a clearer view of check fraud trends affecting banks and consumers
- Want to understand the mechanics behind check washing fraud and paper check scams
- Care about check fraud prevention and the broader banking fraud risks tied to physical mail
- Want better context for how postal crime and violent crime linked to fraud are connected
If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and review the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. It really helps with getting the word out.
Episode notes & key takeaways
Why check fraud is back in a big way
Let’s break this down.
A lot of people hear the phrase check fraud and assume it belongs in another era. Something outdated. Something replaced by newer payment abuse. But that assumption is exactly part of the problem. Physical check fraud has become lucrative again precisely because enough people stopped treating it like an active, evolving threat.
That creates an opening.
Checks still move through systems that involve physical handling, mail delivery, account data, signatures, and delayed verification points. Criminals know that. And when those checks can be intercepted, altered, deposited, sold, or used as the basis for additional fraud, the value chain gets a lot more attractive than many outsiders would expect.
This is one of those fraud patterns that sounds old until you look at the economics.
And once you do, the resurgence makes a lot more sense.
- Check fraud remains attractive because physical payment instruments still create exploitable gaps
- Physical check fraud benefits from assumptions that paper-based payment fraud no longer matters
- Check fraud trends are rising in part because the attack path is still profitable
- Banking fraud risks increase when old payment methods are treated like low-priority threats
How stolen checks and check washing fraud actually work
Here’s what’s actually happening.
At the core of a lot of these schemes is access. Criminals get hold of physical checks through mail theft fraud, stolen mail, or other interception points. Once they have the check, they may alter the payee, the amount, or other details in a process often described as check washing fraud. In other cases, they may use the information on the check to fuel additional account abuse or counterfeit activity.
That is where the problem gets bigger.
Because a stolen check is not just one compromised payment. It can expose routing information, account information, signatures, and patterns criminals can reuse. And when those checks move through enough hands, or are traded through broader fraud networks, the damage can spread beyond the original theft pretty quickly.
This is exactly why paper check scams are harder to dismiss than they sound.
The mechanics may look simple. The downstream effects usually are not.
- Stolen check fraud often begins with physical access to mail or delivered checks
- Check washing fraud allows criminals to alter check details and redirect value
- Physical check fraud can expose account information that fuels additional fraud
- Financial fraud against consumers often expands once stolen checks are reused or resold
Why mail theft and postal violence are part of the story
This is where things get darker, and also more important.
One of the biggest points in this conversation is that check fraud is no longer just about quiet financial theft. When criminals realize stolen mail can lead to profitable check theft, the incentive to target mail systems and postal workers rises too. That is a deeply serious consequence of the economics behind this fraud.
Because now the crime is not only financial. It is physical.
Mail theft fraud and US postal fraud become much more dangerous when the value inside the mail is high enough to motivate organized and aggressive targeting. And when that happens, postal worker attacks are not some unrelated crime trend sitting off to the side. They are part of the same fraud ecosystem.
That is a problem.
And it is one more reminder that fraud is often more connected to broader harm than people assume.
- Mail theft fraud becomes more dangerous when stolen checks create strong criminal incentives
- Postal worker attacks can be linked directly to the profitability of physical check fraud
- Violent crime linked to fraud is often driven by the value of what criminals expect to steal
- Postal crime should be understood as part of the larger check fraud problem, not separate from it
Why detection and prevention are harder than they look
A lot of people assume check fraud should be easy to catch. It is paper. It is slower. It feels less sophisticated than digital abuse. But that is not necessarily how it plays out in practice.
Bank fraud detection gets harder when the fraud exploits real account details, authentic-looking documents, and operational gaps in how checks are processed, reviewed, and cleared. Add in timing issues, image quality, manual processes, and the sheer volume of transactions some institutions still manage, and the picture gets a lot messier.
Then there is the fraud-as-a-service angle.
Because once methods, tools, and access are being shared more broadly, the barrier to entry drops. That means more people can participate in check fraud without independently developing the skills behind it. We have seen this pattern in other fraud areas too. The tactic spreads faster when the know-how gets packaged.
- Bank fraud detection is harder when criminals use real account details and authentic-looking instruments
- Check fraud prevention requires more than assuming paper fraud will be easy to spot
- Fraud-as-a-service can accelerate check fraud trends by distributing access and methods more widely
- Check fraud becomes more scalable when knowledge and stolen assets circulate through organized networks
The big takeaway from this episode is pretty straightforward. Check fraud is not a leftover problem from the past. It is an active and profitable fraud vector that connects stolen check fraud, check washing fraud, mail theft, consumer harm, banking fraud risks, and even physical violence against postal workers. In my conversation with Frank, what stands out most is how important it is to see the full picture. Once I understand how these pieces connect, check fraud prevention starts to look a lot less like an outdated banking concern and a lot more like a modern fraud priority.
