BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — Another victim of check fraud connected to a U.S. Postal Service collection box in Boynton Beach reached out to WPTV after seeing our previous stories.
It was just a typical trip to the post office in Boynton Beach on Jog Road where Kathryn Willet told WPTV she dropped off two checks on a Sunday afternoon and put them in the outdoor collection box.
“Dropped them in, thought everything was fine, and about a week and a half later, my bank called and said that somebody was trying to cash a check with my ID and with my bank account information,” Willet said.
Willet said her bank caught it fast and neither checks were cashed, but she had to change all of her bank account information.
“When I went inside [the post office], I said, 'Hey, this happened.' And they said, 'Oh, you should never put your checks in that outside box.' They said, 'You need to walk in and put it in here. The lobby’s always open,”’ Willet said.
Willet called WPTV after seeing our series of stories last month about the collection box at the Jog Road post office.
It started with Lorna Swartz who told WPTV she lost $50,000 after putting a check to the IRS in that same box.
“Forged my signature, left the amount,” Swartz said in August.
After her story aired, Daniel Castiglione called WPTV with the same story.
“The check was for $113 and I see a withdraw out of my checking account in the amount of $2,560 and I said, what is this?” Castiglione said.
Earlier this week, Delray Beach police arrested five people in connection to mail fraud cases in the city.
Officials with Delray Beach police said they are working with other area law enforcement agencies, including Boynton Beach police, and these suspects could end up being connected to cases there, too.
“We’ve recovered over 2,000 checks, about 150 bank cards. We’ve uncovered two embossing machines. We’ve recovered evidence of check washing and check making materials,” Det. Kimberly Mead with the Delray Beach Police Department said on Tuesday. “There are additional arrests forthcoming.”
People like Willet will be watching and waiting for that, as this investigation is far from over.
“I’m having to send Venmo to my nephews. I mean, I should be able to take a Hallmark card and put a little check in and not worry about it, but you can’t do that anymore,” Willet said.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service confirmed they have several reports of mail fraud at the Boynton Beach Jog Road post office currently under investigation.
No arrests have been officially connected to those cases at this time.
