Earlier this month, Lenexa police uncovered a large-scale check fraud operation where criminals stole paper checks directly from USPS mailboxes and used them to commit over $500,000 in fraudulent transactions. (Source: KSHB News)
This isn’t just a one-off incident. It’s part of a growing trend targeting small businesses who still rely on paper checks for payments. Why? Because paper checks are easy to steal, alter, and cash, especially when criminals gain access through vulnerable physical mailboxes.
🛡️ What This Means for Kansas City Small Businesses
If your company still sends or receives payments by check, you could be exposing yourself to unnecessary risk. The smarter, safer option? Move to digital payment methods such as:
- ACH transfers through your bank’s verified portal
- Credit card payments using your vendor’s known and trusted payment page
- Verified payment apps with MFA (multi-factor authentication)
Digital transactions leave less room for tampering and are easier to track. Plus, they don’t sit in a mailbox waiting to be stolen.
(P.S. Business Data Services make it easy to set-up digital payment methods in our self-service billing portal. Reach out to your account manager if you have any questions!)
📧 But It’s Not Just the Mail—Your Inbox Is Under Attack Too
These criminals don’t just wait at mailboxes—they’re in your inbox, trying to trick you or your staff into handing over credentials, money, or access.
Take a look at this phishing email example from one of our recent webinars:
This email shows several telltale signs of phishing, including:
- Unfamiliar or suspicious email address
- Sense of urgency
- Generic greeting like “Dear Valued Customer”
- Spelling or grammar mistakes
- Suspicious links or links that don’t match the real destination
- Unexpected attachments (especially .exe files)
When in doubt, don’t click—call the company using a number you know and trust, not the one listed in the email. And never send sensitive data by email unless you're sure it’s secure.
👥 Your Team is Your First Line of Defense
Cybersecurity isn’t just about firewalls and antivirus. Your employees are your first, and often best, line of defense.
Make sure your team:
- Knows what suspicious emails look like
- Understands safe payment practices
- Knows how and when to report threats
But when human error happens—and it will—you need layers of protection:
- Email filtering and security
- Endpoint protection
- Encrypted backups
- 24/7 monitoring
- MFA across all logins
✅ Ready to See Where You Stand?
If you’re unsure how secure your payment practices, email defenses, or employee training are, we offer a free cybersecurity assessment for Kansas City small businesses.
Let us help you identify gaps in your security before the hackers (or mailbox thieves) do.
👉 Schedule your free cybersecurity assessment now
Let’s keep your business safe, secure, and scam-free.
