AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Travis County Tax Office is recommending people pay their property tax bill online instead of depositing a check in the mail this winter. One of the reasons? Mail theft.
"We would encourage people to pay online by e-check so they get an immediate receipt," said Bruce Elfant, the outgoing Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar. "Over the past several years we've seen more property tax checks stolen out of the mail."
According to the United States Postal Inspection Service, postal inspectors recover over $1 billion in counterfeit checks and money orders each year. The postal service says criminals will steal checks out of the mail for what's called "check washing."
Check washing is where people alter the payee names and often the dollar amount on a check and then fraudulently deposit them, according to USPS.
Even if your check isn't victim of check washing, Elfant says "They're not all going to get a timely postmark and those taxes that aren't paid in time will receive a 7% penalty in interest right off the bat."
