Will Rampant Crime Mean the End of Paying by Check?
SomeGuy writes:
Write the amount you wish to pay someone on a piece of paper, and mail it in. Simple. No expensive computing device needed, no browser dependencies, no compatibility headaches, and no web site to get hacked.
But getting your check to where it needs to go has become a lot more difficult lately.
This last year has seen a huge increase in mail drop box break ins. The once familiar blue drop boxes around the country are either being covered up or removed. Even the post office is warning, don't send checks through the mail. The attacks on the postal service have continued.
CBS News reported that Pittsburgh-area post office collection boxes were broken into. Boston.com reports on a string of mail collection box thefts at post offices and strip malls. In Tampa Bay, ABC Action News reports of brazen thieves stealing checks from mail as postal workers pick it up.
But now even taking your check directly in to a post office is not a guarantee. WSBTV in Atlanta reports a postal employee was fired for stealing thousands of checks.
Paying most bills with cash has already been not an option for a long time. New, more secure mail pickup boxes are on the way. A spokesperson for the Postal Inspection Service emphasizes "There is no plan to stop until the mail is secure,"
But, will the problems be solved before digitally enamored begin to look down on and ignore checks like they do landline telephones? Will rampant crime leave us with no other alternative than electronic payments?
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