UPPER WEST SIDE — Police are investigating a widespread check-cashing scam in which someone is stealing checks or money orders from the mail and forging signatures to fraudulently cash them, officials said.
There have been 10 incidents of checks and money orders being taken from local mailboxes and then cashed with forged signatures — including one check for a whopping $37,000, the NYPD said.
"It’s either someone associated with these postal offices or someone who lives in or visits these neighborhoods," Deputy Inspector Marlon Larin, the precinct's commanding officer, said at a meeting Wednesday, adding that he doubts it's someone fishing the items out of mailboxes.
"It could be that there are dishonest [postal] employees involved," he said. "If you can pay something online, please do so."
In the majority of cases, the checks and money orders came from mailboxes in the 24th Precinct, which runs from West 86th Street to 110th Street, Larin said.
There have also been cases in the 30th Precinct in Harlem and the 34th Precinct in Hudson Heights, though Larin did not specify how many.
A spokesman from the USPS said the agency has an ongoing investigation in the same areas the precincts cover. He added the public should call the USPS with any complaints, noting every complaint is investigated thoroughly, he said.
The complaint line information is available here.
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