NORTH CAROLINA - Rookie criminal and aspiring check altererer Casey Wisescheme took an interesting and unorthodox approach to washing recently stolen checks.
Check washing is when a check fraud bandit steals a written check and attempts to erase parts of it. This alteration can result in negotiating the stolen item or lead to using the image to create counterfeit checks. This type of fraud is highly correlated to mail theft and check interception.
Wisescheme, new to the fraud scene and taking thing very literally, did not know all of this. He went to the local laundry mat with a collection of pilfered checks and threw them in the biggest washer the location had. Inserting the needed quarters, he added some detergent for good measure.
The washing machine whirled and sloshed the checks as Casey stood mesmerized by the action. This was too easy, he thought to himself. Soon the checks would be under his control. They would be distributed, negotiated, and all that glorious cash would be his. His mind drifted further off, picturing himself as Scrooge McDuck swimming in gold coins.
Ah, to be rich like that…
Ding! Twenty minutes later Casey was taken out of his trance. The sound let him know that the washer had finished its cycle. He opened the door, anticipating blanked out checks he could then fill out. To his disappointment, the checks were completely destroyed. A pile of paper goop was all that was left.
He pulled the heap out into a bucket and left the laundry mat sad. He knew he had screwed up somewhere. What would he do now? No way anyone would accept checks like this.
On the plus side, the mess actually made a great start to a paper mache project Casey had been thinking about. Days later, he had crafted a washed check paper mache bust of Frank Abagnale Jr. as portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in 'Catch Me If You Can'. So, while he hadn’t successfully washed the checks, he had definitely captured the spirit of it.
“I'm using my Abagnale Shrine for inspiration,” he states confidently with the paper face in the background and votive candles everywhere. “I still intend to figure out this check washing thing. The laundry mat was a really bad idea. What was I even thinking?”
“This UltaMega Blast pressure washer has 3,000 PSI. If you want to wash something, pressure is the way to go, right? I’ll soon be on my way to washed checks and obtain riches beyond belief.”
We wish Casey Wisescheme well with this specific check washing plan as it too is sure to fail. Keep dreaming Casey!