I recently received the following letter from a lady who was victimized. When she informed her friends and neighbors, they seemed not concerned in the least - it couldn’t happen to them. If every citizen could stay informed by reading this and other columns and accessing www.RBernardo.com "Scams and Frauds" would it make any difference? Would they continue to help the crooks? I hope not. This is what happened:

"On Monday morning, September 27, I left four pieces of outgoing mail in my mailbox, with the red flag up. Two of these were payments to SDG&E and Pacific Bell, and the other two were a birthday card and a survey. None of the mail reached its intended destination.

"On Wednesday night, October 6, I got home very late and happened to call my bank's telephone access line to check on something else. I discovered my checking account was $1500 overdrawn - and I have never overdrawn my accounts. I checked further, and discovered that my check, originally to SDG&E for $39.59, had cleared the night before for $2500.00.

" I told my bank the next morning, and they faxed me a copy of the check, and it had none of my original writing on it. The check was deposited at a B of A’s ATM in South Bay. I'm still wondering why my bank would clear such a large check, and overdraw my account for so much, without any flags going up, but that is another issue entirely. I saw the actual check, and, as the bank suspected, it had been "washed". Apparently there is a chemical that will take off permanent ballpoint ink from any check; they say there is no such thing as "secure" checks. When I held the check up to the light, I could see very faint blue smears behind the writing, but it was my original check.

"The Pacific Bell check also was passed through the same B of A account on the same day. It was altered for $4200 and was kept by B of A's security personnel. I haven't seen it, but assume the check was made out to the same person as the first one. B of A has a picture of a woman making one of the deposits at an ATM, and they are trying to lift fingerprints off the check(s). The banks hope to be able to prosecute the thief/thieves.

"This can happen to anyone - not just in ‘bad’ neighborhoods. Mine is a great one with neighbors home all day on both sides of me and directly across the street.

"After informing all my neighbors in two square blocks either in person or by letter, I noticed that two of them later had their mail out (with the red flag) all day and night! I also saw four newspapers piled up in front of a neighbor’s door. How can I get the word out?" This lady has now contacted Neighborhood Watch to help her pass her story around. She has offered to help.