Fraudster altered check to steal $4,998, Des Plaines police say
Someone altered a check mailed by a Des Plaines woman to steal $4,998, police said Thursday.
The crime occurred between June 27 and July 1.
The 71-year-old woman wrote the check to the city to pay her water bill and mailed it at the Prospect Heights post office, according to a news release.
She was notified by her bank on July 1 that someone had intercepted the payment and altered both the amount and the name of the recipient before depositing the check at an ATM in Minnesota, police said.
To avoid being victimized like this, people can pay bills online or personally bring payments to a vendor, police said.
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