Check theft is increasing. The Federal Reserve received more than 660,000 reports of check fraud in 2023. An increase of approximately 20% since 2020. A Boston resident experienced it firsthand.
Every month, Yaneris Lara goes to a PLS financial services store to buy the check with which she pays the rent for her home.
“Before my rent payment date is due, I am very responsible. I go and proceed to make the payment. I had never had this circumstance. I have never had this kind of problem,” said Yaneris Lara.
He adds that he mailed it directly to the Boston housing office but the envelope with the check never reached its destination.
“I get it next month, which corresponds to December, and I get a high rent bill. And I say what happened?
Looking for answers, Yaneris says he immediately went to the PLS store where he bought it.
“They just gave me the paper with the copy of the person who changed it and told me, go to the police, that’s it,” Lara said.
She then reported the theft to the Boston Police Department and in their investigation, authorities report finding that Yaneris’ check, and possibly other checks, were laundered and cashed at another local PLS store in the name of Tatiana Morales, 26. .
Morales now faces charges of placing at least one false money order and an arrest warrant for failing to attend his court date last March.
But while the judicial system continues its course, Yaneris still had not been able to recover from the $1,017 debt left by the robbery. Seeing that PLS did not offer him an immediate solution to recover his money, he decided to call Telemundo Nueva Inglés Responde. We communicate with PLS. They responded with a willingness to solve their client’s problem. In a matter of 10 days they sent a new check to Yaneris for the full amount he had lost.
“I feel super happy because he doesn’t work a lot. In my case I worked a lot and losing that money is a little difficult for me. “I feel very, very satisfied with the help of Telemundo,” said Lara.
We requested a statement from PLS, but they offered no comment beyond having resolved the problem.
For its part, the United States Postal Service says it recovers more than one billion laundered checks each year. To prevent your check from being stolen and cashed, the postal service recommends:
Drop the envelope with the check into a blue mailbox just before the collection time.
Never leave your mail in the mailbox overnight.
If you’re going on vacation, have your mail held at the postal service office or ask a trusted neighbor or friend to hold your mail.
To make a complaint to our consumer help line, Telemundo New England Responde, you can call 855-622-1000 and leave a voicemail with a brief description of your case, and your contact information. We will return your call in at least 24 hours. To speed up the process, you can fill out the online form.
