Check Washing Scam Steals Thousands From Rhode Island Couple
The Perfect Scam
AARP
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 20 March 2026
⏱️ 52 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Richy and Terri send a check to their son and daughter-in-law for their anniversary, but it never arrives. After a tough year of medical issues and the death of a close friend, they open a bank statement to see that their account is $10,000 short. They learn that a criminal has stolen their check from the mail, "washed" it, and fraudulently cashed it for big bucks. This sends the couple on a monthslong quest to try to get their money back.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This week on The Perfect Scam. |
| 0:03.0 | We were looking at the checks at the bank statement and I noticed that there was a lot less money in the account than there should have been. |
| 0:12.0 | We actually saw the check made out to this strange person and then endorsed by the same person and thinking, |
| 0:18.0 | wait a minute, this is crazy. |
| 0:20.0 | It's like someone breaking into your house and like, how could this happen? |
| 0:28.1 | Welcome back to The Perfect Scam. I'm your host, Bob Sullivan. |
| 0:32.8 | Stealing mail is one of the oldest crimes, and so is stealing checks. |
| 0:39.7 | But criminals have recently added a modern twist to these old-fashioned scams with some really dire consequences because, in my |
| 0:46.5 | view, consumer protections haven't really kept up with the times. Which means you have to be |
| 0:52.9 | extra vigilant to protect yourself. |
| 0:55.1 | Today we'll show you how. |
| 0:56.7 | But first, let's meet Richie and Terry Kless. |
| 1:00.0 | Their Czech theft nightmare began in a most innocent way |
| 1:03.3 | when they tried to send a happy anniversary card to their son and daughter-in-law. |
| 1:08.4 | As you can already guess, they are a charming couple. I've been here my |
| 1:12.6 | whole life. I was born in Rhode Island and I'm still here. I came up from Brooklyn, New York, |
| 1:18.5 | riding the subways, and met Terry while I was in college and have stayed ever since. |
| 1:23.6 | I used to tell people I used to ride the subways longer than it takes to drive through the state of Rhode Island. |
| 1:30.8 | I want to hear the rest of that story, though. |
| 1:32.2 | So you grew up in Brooklyn and tell me how you guys met? |
| 1:35.1 | Got a track scholarship to Providence College, and I came and went to PC. |
| 1:42.0 | Got an undergraduate degree in social work, and then I went on for a master's degree |
... |
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