WILSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Wilson County Sheriff's Office is warning of a new resurgence of an old crime, that could take place in neighborhoods in the middle of the night or in broad daylight.
Faced with increased security measures surrounding electronic money fraud, the sheriff's office says thieves in Wilson County are now going old-school with a crime called check washing that surfaced in the '80s.
A thief will take a check sitting in a mailbox, and wash out the payment info, leaving the signature, using paint thinner or other chemicals that wash out the ink from ballpoint pens. Then they'll fill in their own name and dollar amount.
The sheriff's office says if you are still sending paper checks in the mail for bill payments or gifts, you should consider signing up for electronic bill pay or transferring funds online.
But they say if you must send a paper check, believe it or not, the color ink you use can make a difference.
"They recommend using black ink from a gel pen, because its harder to dissolve from those chemicals than it is from a blue ink," said Captain Scott Moore of the Wilson County Sheriff's Office.
Stopping those thieves, the sheriff's office says, is as easy as watching for cars you're not familiar with in your neighborhood.
