WEST ALLIS — A local bank is urging customers to abandon paper checks entirely, warning that continuing to use them could cost thousands of dollars due to sophisticated fraud schemes targeting traditional banking methods.
Representatives of The Equitable Bank shared their concerns during a recent TMJ4 Let's Talk community event in West Allis, explaining that while check fraud has always existed, the rise of online banking has made writing checks a significant security risk.
Watch: Why this bank executive is urging customers to stop writing checks:
Lisa Jonas, assistant vice president of bank operations at The Equitable Bank, detailed how criminals are exploiting vulnerabilities in the check system through a practice called "check washing."
"'Washing' is where they remove the payee — the person you made the check payable to — and put a different name in," Jonas said. "At that point, they can do a mobile deposit. You can take a picture of your check and run it through your bank. Nobody is looking at that check. You can't necessarily tell that it's been washed."
The fraud scheme works by thieves stealing checks from residential mailboxes or USPS collection boxes, then erasing and replacing the original information. The altered checks can then be deposited through mobile banking apps without detection.
"So for me, if I wrote the check, it cleared my account for that dollar amount, and I think I'm good. But in reality, somebody else got the money," Jonas said.
The security risks extend beyond check washing. Criminals can also create and print counterfeit checks using the routing and account numbers printed on legitimate checks, giving them access to all the information needed to drain accounts.
To combat these risks, The Equitable Bank strongly recommends customers switch to electronic payments, which offer enhanced security features compared with traditional paper checks.
The bank's warning comes as financial institutions nationwide report increasing incidents of check fraud, prompting many to encourage customers to adopt digital payment methods for routine transactions.
This story was reported on-air by Andrea Albers and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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