If you don’t use electronic bill pay, you probably mail your checks using your home mailbox. You put the check in the box, raise the red flag and a few weeks later you get a notice from your credit card company saying it hasn’t been paid. Did it get lost in the mail? Maybe. But more likely a criminal stole your mail and has taken the check with your personal information and account information. One of the easier low-tech crimes out there is mailbox theft. It can happen in an instant and the letter carrier is none the wiser. The criminals can very easily alter the check and cash it. You stand a good chance of losing that money if you are a business customer. Business owners are held to a higher standard to take care of those matters. If the payment if for a credit card, it’s even worse. The criminal can start using your credit card almost immediately by ordering a new card and putting a new magnetic strip on it. So, what should you do? Follow the advice of the Federal Communications Commission. When you are mailing things, put the items in a secure mailbox. Do not put them in an open box and raise the red flag. If you choose to buy checks from the bank, have them delivered to your bank branch, not to your mailbox. Checks that fall into the wrong hands can be a financial and possibly criminal disaster for you.