So a non profit I do some work with is having a problem with checks getting mailed to them, but never arriving. The checks are never cashed. Sometimes the reissued checks go missing as well. Been going on about a year now. Other mail seems to arrive just fine. What is the point of stealing a check if you don't cash it? They are always made out electronically, so it would be tough to change any of the fields.
Maybe I'm overthinking it.
I would put it down to undelivered mail. Yes, it's that common--and it's certainly not getting better.
Margie
"I told you...the check's in the mail!"
This isn't really a fraud issue, as there is no fraud occurring.
Unfortunate, but the truth--not much you can do other than make it extremely easy to donate via electronic methods.
One other thing that you can do is to have all the mail sent to a PO box. It takes out a node, which means that there is less chance of it getting lost.
mtn said:One other thing that you can do is to have all the mail sent to a PO box. It takes out a node, which means that there is less chance of it getting lost.
That was my first solution but I was met with resistance by their leaders for even suggesting it.
mtn said:This isn't really a fraud issue, as there is no fraud occurring.
Unfortunate, but the truth--not much you can do other than make it extremely easy to donate via electronic methods.
I was just wondering if this is a sign of a bigger scheme. They never used to have a problem with checks missing, now there have been at least 10+ in a year.
Scheme??
"Oooh, how 'bout we PRETEND to steal their money, but never actually cash the check, just to annoy them! Wouldn't that be awesome!"
"Hey, people aren't using checks any more. If we collect enough of them, the paper they are printed on might become really valuable one day!"
Sounds like simple dumbness. Maybe a new mail carrier, or a secretary who forgets that she sometimes sticks them in the desk drawer to deposit the next time.
...or maybe someone is not telling the truth, and the check was never mailed at all.
Just because the checks being sent to the charity are never cashed doesn't mean those same checks are not being replicated and used some other way. The fraud may be happening against the account holder (unlikely here), the bank (possible), or other businesses which take checks.
Johnboyjjb said:Just because the checks being sent to the charity are never cashed doesn't mean those same checks are not being replicated and used some other way. The fraud may be happening against the account holder (unlikely here), the bank (possible), or other businesses which take checks.
Bingo. Just having the routing numbers and account numbers is valuable. These checks come from very large companies, and there is no reason for them to not pay or mail it. Many of them come from automated systems. I have confirmation from the different accounting departments that the checks were mailed, and since it is happened with checks from several companies I've ruled out the check source as an issue.
So either someone at the USPS is routinely throwing them away or pocketing them, or someone at the receiving address is pocketing them.
My money is on:
"someone at the receiving address is pocketing them."
And your "met with resistance by their leaders for even suggesting it" on the PO Box is suspicious.
In reply to slefain :
I’d definitely report it to the closest post office, and provide at least some basic details like when the check was(supposedly) sent and it origin zip code. USPS doesn’t take fraud lightly, and it’s possible that your missing checks might be part of a bigger problem.
This probably doesn't have anything to do with it, but if the checks are being generated via a bank's online bill pay system...they often resemble junk mail when they arrive.
I've experienced a fair amount of schadenfreude over the ex's inability to figure this out.
Thinking along the same lines as ClemSparks. Could be mis-delivered to a close but incorrect address. Receiver thinks it's junk mail and trashes it. Could be that someone collecting the mail thinks it's junk mail and trashes it.
STM317 said:"I told you...the check's in the mail!"
This.
If, as the OP asserts--"the checks are never cashed.", then there is no fraud. The most likely explanation is that the sender claims to have mailed a check, but in fact has sent nothing.
Happens all the time.
A lawyer and his friend from Czechoslovakia go out hunting. The come across two bears, which attack them and kill the friend. The lawyer escapes and finds a game warden. They go back to the area and there are the two bears. The lawyer tells him "That one, the big male, he's the one that ate my friend." The game warden takes his rifle, aims and kills the female bear. The lawyer starts screaming "What did you do that for? I told you the other one did it!" The game warden replies "Would you believe a lawyer that told you the Czech was in the male?"
1988RedT2 said:STM317 said:"I told you...the check's in the mail!"
This.
If, as the OP asserts--"the checks are never cashed.", then there is no fraud. The most likely explanation is that the sender claims to have mailed a check, but in fact has sent nothing.
Happens all the time.
Except these are checks from billion dollar companies, not cousin Martha. And it happens across multiple companies. And I've spoken to their accounting teams who verify that the checks were mailed. They aren't trying to skip out on paying, they want to pay and are just as annoyed as we are.
As for their not being fraud, that is true for now. I was hoping someone here might have seen something like this before the fraud happened. Warning signs as it were.
Apparently a solution is finally in the works, as they are looking into a P.O. box. About time.
For the "malicious" possibility, my guess is that someone is stealing the account and routing numbers, and entering them into some sort of online system that has a "pay from my checking account" option.
The "stupidity" option has been covered pretty well with ClemSparks's "junk mail" theory.
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