Mail Intercepts Cost Thousands of Lost

If bad people want to do bad things - they can do those bad things in whatever bad ways @ methods and for sure with bad intentions they have in their bad minds and bad hearts. If you are expecting cheques to be arrived in your mail boxes, make sure it arrives you safe and sound.

KUALA LUMPUR: Complaints have surfaced that cheques sent by mail are being intercepted and tampered with, resulting in senders losing money from their current accounts to fraudsters.

So far, MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong has received five such cases involving tens of thousands of ringgit – and this is just the tip of the iceberg. More cases are expected to be revealed soon.

Authorities believe that fraudsters are “hijacking” cheques sent through the mail and altering the instructions written on them – the payee’s name, date and amount – leaving only the signature intact. The authorities do not rule out the possibility of an inside job.

Chong said the people had no idea how easy it was to lose their money this way.

He said those involved were believed to use a high-performance eraser to rub off printed or written words – from ballpoint pen ink to typewriter ribbon ink and other printed alphabets.

“After removing the details and leaving only the signature, the suspects will ‘fill in the blanks,’” he said in an interview here yesterday.

It is also believed that the fraudsters used a computer and scanner to produce “clean” copies of the altered cheques.

“The end result is very good. Even the banks cannot detect the changes. It looks like the cheques were never tampered with,” Chong added.

The public has been advised deposit cheques at banks to prevent them from being intercepted.

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