There are individuals who avoid using technology for financial transactions because they worry about cyber fraud. These folks prefer traveling to “brick and mortar” financial institutions (banks with a physical presence in a building) and “snail mail” (conventional method of sending material via the US Postal Service). But technology offers a number of advantages over traditional banking, not the least of which is comprehensive monitoring for suspicious financial activity − which may include a Mail fraud illustrationfraudulent change of address form, theft, or even account-takeover. Technology services can scan for anomalies in transactions at all hours of the day and night to assist customers in shutting down unauthorized activity – at its inception.

A recent case in New York State illustrates the challenges in identifying fraud within the traditional banking system. Tameka Babulal has been charged with stealing checks and credit cards mailed by victims and then using them for personal gain. The allegations include “depositing altered checks stolen from victims into personal finance accounts and also coordinating with co-conspirators to take victims’ personal identifying information,” according to law enforcement sources. This information was then used to open fraudulent accounts in the victims’ names. Officials added that police also found several forged social security cards and tax documents as well as “washed checks” during their search of the defendant’s home. Mail fraud is on the rise. FinCEN issued an alert last year, indicating that there were 680,000 cases of possible check fraud reported in 2022, up from 350,000 in 2021 − which itself was a 23% increase over reports in 2020.