MONTGOMERY COUNTY — An area woman was just trying to pay her taxes when someone else tried to get their own pay-day out of her account.
Pamela McChord of Miami Township said she and her husband were mailing checks to the State of Ohio and the Internal Revenue Service — but that’s not where they ended up.
“A week ago we got a phone call from Bank of America and [they] wanted to know if we issued those checks for $21,000 on one check and $4,000 on another check and I immediately said no, we did not write that amount of check,” McChord told News Center 7′s Molly Koweek.
She said not only did someone alter the amount on her check but also changed where they were supposed to go.
“My concern is that there are so many people that go and put in their checks in the outside box,” she said.
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News Center 7 reached out to a spokesperson for the United States Postal Inspection Service to ask about the security of outside mailboxes.
In an email, the spokesperson said they could not “provide any specific details on active investigations to ensure the integrity of those investigations.”
McChord said she has had to open a new checking account and update all of her automatic payments.
She’s also had to work with the social security office to make sure their numbers were not compromised, as well as get in contact with her health insurance and more.
“You’re like well am I going to get another phone call, do I have something else I have to deal with?” she said.
Now, McChord has a warning for others.
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“Just don’t mail checks ... and put them in the outside mailbox, regardless of what, where you are,” McChord said.
The spokesperson for the postal inspector said one way to protect your mail is to drop it off before the last day of pick up, to make sure it goes out on the same day.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office told News Center 7 it has taken 26 reports of theft at the Paragon Post Office in Dayton.
These reports came from people who dropped off their mail at the post office.
The Sheriff’s office said that it’s likely the suspects have a key that unlocks the outdoor drop boxes.
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