LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- You may have heard about the issue of mail theft the past two years. Perhaps it happened to you. 

Consumer reporter John Matarese explains why you still need to be on guard. 

The new year brings the same old problem of mail theft. Thieves steal and wash checks. 

Richard Neal does things the old fashioned way, especially when it comes to mail. 

"Usually if I am out driving, I will mail it at the mailbox," Neil explains. 

But these days, that's risky. He believes someone recently stole a $59 check he wrote to pay his water bill out of a blue mailbox. 

A scan shows that the check was washed and re-written for almost $10,000.

Neal's daughter Sheri has spent hours dealing with the bank with no luck. 

"It was bleached and forged and a $59 check turned into a $9,800 check written to somebody who we have no idea who it is," she said.  "It all falls on deaf ears, it seems like."

The postal service the past two years has been spending millions of dollars to fight the problem of theft. Some post offices no longer have blue mailboxes out front. You have to go inside to mail a letter. 

This past summer, new and more secure blue mailboxes were installed at some post offices across the country. There is no longer any door where thieves can fish out mail. 

The USPS suggests mailing things early. Mail checks from your local post offices, not blue mailboxes, and pay extra for insurance and tracking, if it is really important. 

In the meantime, Richard Neal's bank promised it will see what it can do to help. 

"I'm 75 years old.  I'm retired. On a fixed income. So I can't afford that," he said.

"He's worked his whole life and all he tried to do is pay a bill.  And  now he's out almost $10,000 plus bank fees," Sheri Neil said. 

The simplest solution is to pay bills online or drop checks inside the post office, so you don't waste your money. 

To read more Don't Waste Your Money stories, click here. 

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