The Walworth County Sheriff’s Office is warning county residents about a scam circulating in the area.
A Facebook post Wednesday evening (Feb. 11, 2026) says the office is looking into two cases involving people mailing checks to make payments to their credit card companies (Discover and Visa). The checks are being intercepted, altered and then cashed after the “Pay to the Order of” information has been changed to the intercepting party’s information.
Subsequent comments to the post asked for clarification of the FRAUD/SCAM statement. The Walworth County Sheriff’s Office responded by telling people to “change how you pay bills, do not send payments through the mail. Pay online if possible. Individuals are intercepting the checks and changing information on the check and then cashing it.”
One Walworth County SD Sheriff Facebook follower commented, “They took a check my boss mailed to pay her Discover Card that was made out for $500 and changed it to $5000 and payable to themselves and cashed it.”
A Customer Service Representative at a local bank in Mobridge said they have seen a number “Check Washing” incidents related to credit card payment, most of which involve payments to Discover. They told DRG News to use caution whenever sending checks in the mail and that it is best to set up online payments, if at all possible.
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