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News & Current Events Apr 17, 2026 at 3:24 AM

Check Washing: Dozens of property tax checks in Napa County were stolen through mail, tax collector says

Posted by Dependent-Western642

Dozens of property tax checks in Napa Co. were stolen through mail, officials say
ABC7 San Francisco
Dozens of property tax checks in Napa Co. were stolen through mail, officials say
The Napa County Tax Collector is urging taxpayers to review their bank records if they paid their property taxes by mail. Dozens of checks mailed to the office, totaling millions of dollars, have been stolen and altered through a fraud called "check washing," officials said. An investigation is underway.
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buzzonga Apr 17, 2026 +98
The used bright green return envelopes. Bright green to put the payment in...
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midasweb Apr 17, 2026 +94
Another reminder that in 2026 we still trust paper checks like it's 1995, until someone literally erases your money.
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nw342 Apr 17, 2026 +81
Checks are literally the least secure form of payment possible. Hell, a check has your name, address, account number and routing number. Thats a lot of bad information for a random person to have.
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finbarrgalloway Apr 17, 2026 +23
It’s legitimately safer to send someone cash in the mail than a check
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funky_duck Apr 17, 2026 +7
What is the major fraud vector from checks? Phone books with people's names and addresses were the norm for a century and still exist; routing numbers are public information. If someone cashes your check illegally you have a literal paper trail to prove there was fraud.
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finbarrgalloway Apr 17, 2026 +2
Whether the person who defrauded you gets caught isn't important, either way you are temporarily out a large amount of money and time. The major fraud vector with checks on the consumer side is a stolen check being wiped of writing and having the amount/payee changed and cashed fraudulently. With cash you can only steal however much cash was actually in the envelope. Much like debit cards, checks are basically open hoses connected to your account and lack the security features debit cards do have (debit cards are still quite unsafe).
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OMGWTFBBQUE Apr 17, 2026 +1
You can pay bills via ACH with routing and account numbers. Scammers can probably do something with them too.
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derwiki Apr 18, 2026 +1
Last time I ordered checks, I got them to not put my address on them
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adx931 Apr 18, 2026 +1
And often times your drivers license number, which up until not that long ago was often times your social security number.
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[deleted] Apr 17, 2026 -3
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fallingdowndizzyvr Apr 17, 2026 -1
It's not our banking system. It's the idiots that still use checks. Most are old and thus checks are just the way it's done. Others are poor. So the day or two it takes the check to clear is a day or two they have to actually put money into their accounts. It's like a self payday loan. Personally, I give people the side eye when I have to wait for them to fill out a check when I'm trying to checkout at a store. The last time I used a check in a store, the stores had registers that would fill out everything for you. Hand the cashier the blank check, they insert it into the register that prints everything from the amount to the payee. They hand it back to you for a signature. That was like decades ago.
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[deleted] Apr 17, 2026 +8
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fallingdowndizzyvr Apr 17, 2026
> The IBAN system allows for direct, instant, free transfers between any bank in the EU. LOL. Yeah, that's what Zelle does in the US. So you are claiming we don't have that while at the same time mentioning that we do have that.
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[deleted] Apr 17, 2026 +1
[deleted]
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fallingdowndizzyvr Apr 17, 2026 -1
Yeah, in Europe things are nationalized. In the US, we have this thing called "free enterprise". I'm not saying one is better than the other. You believe the government should provide all goods and services. While others believe that private industry can provide that. The thing is, Zelle has been around for years. Transferring instantly using IBAN in the EU has only been around for months. So there is that difference.
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[deleted] Apr 17, 2026 +1
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fallingdowndizzyvr Apr 17, 2026
> Banks are in NO WAY nationalized here. We have a free market, but we have rules on how to enact business. Ah.... I'm talking about instant payments made through IBAN. That is a creation of governments in the EU. It's mandated by them. That makes it nationalized. The government requires it. > And LOL, the IBAN system has literally been around since 1997 with most countries having adopted it by 2007. LOL is right. You were talking about using it for ..... "The IBAN system allows for direct, instant, free transfers between any bank in the EU." -- you That didn't exist until a few months ago. https://finance.ec.europa.eu/news/new-eu-rules-make-instant-euro-payments-faster-and-safer-2025-10-10_en As mandated by the government as a nationalized scheme. Just having the IBAN system doesn't inherently allow for that. US banks also are part of IBAN. But as you pointed out, we don't use that to allow for "direct, instant, free transfers between any bank". > And don’t forgot to deposit your paper check! LOL. And don't forget to look things up so you don't make BS statements about them. Update: He blocked me. Yep, he must be really confident in his arguments. NOT! Anyways, here's my reply to his latest piece of BS below. > Instant free payments have been around for more than a decade. LOL. But not by all banks. That wasn't mandated until a few months ago. All banks was your point.... "The IBAN system allows for direct, instant, free transfers **between any bank in the EU**." -- you > And IBAN is a standard. Not a nationalized system… LOL. I didn't say IBAN was a nationalized system. I said the *government* mandating instant payments by all banks is what's nationalized.... "The fact that they’re mandatory now" -- you Try to learn English, then you would know what I'm writing.
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SufficientMediaPost Apr 17, 2026 +16
do people cash the checks under a fake account and then what? move a ton of money without setting off any bank monitoring?
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texasinv Apr 17, 2026 +19
I'm a bank fraud investigator. That's exactly what they do. Wire it out, ACH it out, move it to random drop accounts at Cash App, withdraw it at ATMs, buy gift cards. Sometimes we catch them, sometimes we don't. The bank where the check is deposited takes a loss when it returns. Sometimes the victim doesn't notice in time, and then all they can do is ask us for what's left.
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SufficientMediaPost Apr 17, 2026 +1
thank you for clarifying! They must move so incredibly quickly and in smaller transaction chunks to not set off any alerts for moving so much money
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texasinv Apr 17, 2026 +2
Yes, fraud in 2026 is largely done by organized crime groups who specialize in this activity.
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pointlessone Apr 17, 2026 +9
Check washing is shockingly close to the name on the label. Get a handwritten check, literally wash the handwritten ink from it, then write a new person's name and amount into the now blank check. Cash it out and be gone before anyone knows it happened. The victim accounts are completely valid, there's no warning system in place that the check never made it to the right destination, and most banks will allow checks to overdraft accounts even with the opt in/out overdraft regulations. The check printers have a lot of ink tech designed to help prevent washing (Such as self destructing designs on the faces to auto void with common solvents), but there's always a new method to be found. It's honestly a fascinating cat and mouse game.
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SufficientMediaPost Apr 17, 2026 +3
i guess my question is the amounts of money they are able to move. One of the checks was over $200K so these accounts must be fake business accounts to move that much money without setting off a hold.
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pointlessone Apr 17, 2026 +3
Compromised or fraudulently opened accounts are perfect for this. The thing about most bank fraud is that it's not a quick smash and grab, most involves an entire network of planned and carefully structured accounts. A high risk transaction goes into compromised accounts (the $200k check) then are immediately moved out while it's pending (cryptocurrency is ideal for this) Since the crypto is decentralized, it's effectively unrecoverable at this point, but difficult to use without being traced since the Blockchain tracks everything. Moving the crypto into dozens, if not hundreds of wallets, then cashing out it out with mules or fraudulently opened accounts (using stolen IDs) and moving it into the primary coffers through a traditional laundering method is generally how it ends, as it's nearly impossible to ***prove*** anyone knew where the money for that $150k online p**** buy in came from where the player went all in on round one with a 6 high.
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funky_duck Apr 17, 2026 +1
> immediately moved out What bank lets you withdraw $200K without validating the check? When I worked at a bank we would validate checks way smaller than this and put the vast majority of the funds on hold for several days.
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BurrrritoBoy Apr 17, 2026 +11
There was an article about this in the NYT and it was mentioned that gel pens (uni-ball Signo was listed) don't wash out.
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throwtrollbait Apr 17, 2026 +5
I have some fountain pen ink that will survive anything the paper can. Noodler bulletproof or something like that. If you’re going to use old fashioned checks, might as well use an old fashioned pen
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Rakastaakissa Apr 17, 2026 +1
Any archival waterproof ink should stay no matter what, tbh. 
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Dependent-Western642 Apr 17, 2026 +16
If this happened to me I’d be mad as c***.
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Fallouttgrrl Apr 17, 2026 +58
Worked at a company once, Jackson Hewitt, tax prep We had a couple of CPAs overseeing things but it was a local H&R block Bunch of customers reported they didn't get their checks and it turned out the owner had not done background checks and one of my coworkers was hired two days after getting out of jail for check fraud and grand theft, lmao 
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Davran Apr 17, 2026 +4
Happened to me, can confirm I was mad as c***. The perpetrators tried to use the washed check to make a fake one, but my bank flagged that it was like 10 check numbers later than the last one I wrote and the signature was weird. Fortunately the payment the check I wrote was meant to cover was early enough that I didn't get a late fee or anything, but did have to get all new bank accounts and such. Huge pain in the ass.
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eastsiderhere Apr 17, 2026 +5
I never thought of my c*** being angry. TIL.
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sighthoundman Apr 17, 2026 +7
When it is, you'll know it.
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crakemonk Apr 17, 2026 +1
This is one of the most factual things I’ve read all day. You will definitely know *during* and for some time afterwards.
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eastsiderhere Apr 17, 2026
That's going to bother me now.
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Weaver270 Apr 17, 2026 +1
May I introduce you to the ghost and reaper peppers and whatever has been recently cultivated.    Its a bit more than just angry
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PetriDishCocktail Apr 17, 2026 +9
This happened to my sister 2 years ago. Someone stole her check, washed it, and then took more than $10,000 out of her account--luckily, she eventually got it all back. She was careful and dropped the check off at the blue bin at the post office. The property tax collector had proof from the opening/sorting machine that it was received (apparently, each label gets photographed and has a barcode that is specific to each property. So, The county knew it had received the envelope and received the check via photographic evidence). Someone stole the check after it had been opened by the county.
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Vintage_Arena Apr 17, 2026 +5
lowkey still mailing checks in 2026 is crazy, this was bound to happen eventually
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Hodr Apr 17, 2026 +2
Is this news? Our local area has had hundreds of checks go missing (but still being cashed) per month for YEARS. Postal inspection service always says it's a coincidence. It's too the point where the community has determined which upstream post office is almost guaranteed to be the location the checks are stolen, but they still won't act.
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modechsn Apr 17, 2026 +1
The filthy rich are doing all the surreptitious actions they can take. without blatantly give themselves away, to Finally privatize the postal service. Don’t allow them to turn the postal service into another predatory company!
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sucobe Apr 17, 2026 +1
Lived in an apartment building years ago and all our rent checks were washed. All deposited at the same shitty check cashing business across town.
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Heatherb78 Apr 17, 2026 +1
My company had a checks washed like this twice. The person opened an account in the name of a legit business in Texas. Cashed my check with the amount changed to 20K and deposited it to the account. The second time the person made the check out to a name and tried to cash the check. My bank flagged them. Now I have special checks that I use and a system where I upload all checks I write and the bank flags them if a check is presented that doesn't match what I uploaded. I have to personally approve all flagged checks. It sucks so bad and these people who do this can f*** off into the sun.
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Zncon Apr 17, 2026
Paper checks need to be removed from use. Whatever government body has to power to regulate them needs to set a date after which they're nothing more then the paper they've been printed on. The economic damage their use causes is not worth keeping them around for the small numbers of places they're still used. Give people and companies a few years to figure out the change then shut it down...
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ArrowDel Apr 17, 2026 +11
No, wite fraud happens all the time, a check at least provides a paper trail to follow to charge the fraudsters, wire transfers can vanish
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brooklynlad Apr 17, 2026 +17
Wire fraud happens. ACH fraud happens. There's fraud in every medium. We just need to be smart and common sensical about things.
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pointlessone Apr 17, 2026 +6
ACH and wire fraud are so much bigger problems than check washing will ever be. There's a reason a few dozen checks stolen makes the news - it's the same reason plane crashes make the news but the hundreds of car crashes that happened in the last 12 hours don't. The number of "Please change my direct deposit" ACH fraud emails I see on a daily basis while monitoring the spam quarantine would blow most people's minds.
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Zncon Apr 17, 2026 -1
These things are not the same. Under normal, careful use ACH and wire transfers are safe. They just require the user to pay attention to what they're doing. The attack method for exploiting these is the same as anything else - social engineering, which is also a risk with checks. Checks however can be attacked directly with theft. Under normal expected use of a check it can be intercepted and used fraudulently without the use doing anything wrong.
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DartTheDragoon Apr 17, 2026 +2
Using positive pay would have prevented the checks from being deposited.
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funky_duck Apr 17, 2026
Tons of people who interact with the government do not have a stable bank account needed to abandon checks. Check fraud like this is annoying but ultimately people get made whole - the benefit of the check is at the end you have physical evidence to show you didn't get your money and get made whole by the bank.
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nrquig Apr 17, 2026 -5
I work in a bank. The IRS has stopped taking paper checks. This old lady came in the other day all confused about doing an electronic payment. She wanted to use our bill payment service I explained that all it would do was send a paper check and it wouldn't have a voucher or anything so I would advise against that. I advised her to talk with her accountant who filed her taxes who can help with the payments. What does she do instead. Goes home and writes a paper check to the IRS. Not out problem when she gets wacked with late penalties. We are far too nice to the elderly and not making them get with the times. Sounds harsh but they will adapt if they are forced to.
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yawetag12 Apr 17, 2026 +6
>The IRS has stopped taking paper checks. This is incorrect. The IRS definitely accepts paper checks. They even have [a whole page](https://www.irs.gov/payments/pay-by-check-or-money-order) on their website on how to do it. You can even [pay by cash](https://www.irs.gov/payments/pay-your-taxes-with-cash) if you wish.
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logicalcommenter4 Apr 18, 2026 +1
The IRS definitely takes paper checks. I wouldn’t recommend doing it, but the option is still there.
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