WASHINGTON—A bipartisan group of more than 25 House members recently wrote a letter to the five federal financial regulators, including NCUA, asking for more coordinated action on check fraud/mail theft.
The group expressed “significant concerns” over the “alarming” rise in physical mail theft related to check fraud across the United States.
“These scams often target America’s elderly and most vulnerable citizens, costing everyday Americans and small businesses tens of billions of dollars every year. We urge your agencies to work together to address this pressing issue and better allow financial institutions to protect American consumers and businesses,” the group wrote.
The letter notes that Treasury Department data show check fraud has surged by 385% since the pandemic.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) also issued an alert last February about the issue.
Unprecedented Increase
“This unprecedented increase not only puts a financial burden on Americans, but also undermines their trust in our payments infrastructure and poses a serious threat to public safety,” the group said. “Despite the apparent decline in the use of checks in the U.S., criminals continue to target physical mail to steal personal checks, business checks, tax refund checks, and those related to Social Security payments.
The House members emphasized that organized criminal networks have exacerbated the problem by selling and sharing stolen check images, with over one million stolen check images posted online in 2024 alone.
“These sophisticated attacks underscore the need for a coordinated, cross-agency response,” the group stated.
The group urged regulators to jointly take the following steps:
- Update information and typologies to help financial institutions voluntarily detect, prevent, and report suspicious activity connected to mail theft-related check fraud
- Improve the process to allow law enforcement and customers of financial institutions to react more quickly to fraudulent activity, in order to increase the likelihood of successful funds recovery efforts
- Collaborate resources that facilitate more information-sharing between financial institutions, regulators, and law enforcement agencies
The group also requested a bipartisan briefing organized by the offices of Rep. French
Hill and Rep. Bill Foster and the regulators to further understand the scope of check fraud in the United States and the specific steps the agencies are considering or plan to take.
Washington credit union advocate John McKechnie noted the problem “has been an emerging issue for credit unions for a while. I’m pleased to now see congressional attention to it. Checks may be going the way of the dinosaurs, but from what I am hearing from credit unions on the front lines, check fraud is becoming more prevalent, and more sophisticated. The federal regulators, including NCUA, have a role to play here and I am hopeful that there may be a concerted effort to combat this problem.”