She put a $4,600 check in the mail. Someone promptly stole her money: 'So many red flags'

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- When Wanda Bass looked at her bank statement last month, she realized a $4,600 tax payment, meant for the U.S. Treasury, made it into the hands of someone else.

"There was one dollar amount that was written out in numbers, and then when you write out the amount of the check, whatever it is, that amount was different," Bass said. "There were so many red flags on this particular check."

Bass said she hand-delivered the check to her local post office in Sycamore Square in Midlothian, something she's done for more than two decades.

She didn't file any kind of report through USPS, unsure if she had enough of a claim to do so.

"I have no proof that it was USPS, I mean, everybody seems to think that was the case, so I have no proof," Bass said.

She did file a report with Chesterfield Police, but because USPS is a federal entity, the investigation at the local level could only go so far.

"They said their jurisdiction ends, and when I spoke with a detective the following day, he said it was because it had been a mobile deposit," Bass aid. "Because they can tell, because it had been deposited, via mobile transaction, there really wasn't much they could do to investigate it."

Wendy Bass

Sergeant William Rosser with Chesterfield Police's Investigation Division said his team has seen an increase in fraud cases.

"They do occur a tremendous amount, a lot more than we would like to see," Rosser said.

Fraud cases often take time, and sometimes perpetrators, if found, are pinpointed halfway across the country.

"A lot of the offenses that occur, the theft may have occurred here in the mail, but the actual offense occurred here in say, Ilinois, Wisconsin, Colorado," Rosser said. "It's not as easy as us just making a phone call. Right? We're the police, we have to follow laws, procedures, subpoenas, that's a lot of hoops for us to go through for them to acquire information to look at frauds, right?"

U.S.P.S.'s Office of the Inspector General is investigation the claim, but as of now, Bass has not gotten her money back.

She also filed a claim with her bank, saying she was unaware of its fraud protection services, which she says cost a fee.

According to a letter sent to Bass from Atlantic Union Bank, customers are responsible for all fraudulent or unauthorized transactions on their account unless the bank "acted in bad faith" or its "negligence contributed to the loss."

Tuesday, CBS6 reached out to Atlantic Union Bank asking for more clarification on their policy, as what the bank is doing to prevent fraud. As of Wednesday afternoon, we have not heard back.

Sergeant Rosser is encouraging everyone to read their bank's fine print and ask about protection plans, both for person and business accounts.

"No one pays close attention to it until it's you, right? It's your victim, right? So you're kind of closing the door after the horse got out," Rosser said. "But sit down and talk with your bank representatives and see what they offer as far as security. If this happens to me, what happens on my end? Will I get my money back?"

WATCH: Stolen mail costs Virginia woman $4,000: 'You feel helpless'

The bank told her it had tried to retrieve funds from the bank used in the check washing case, but that bank said there were "no funds available" to return.

"There just needs to be some sort of reform and ways to stop this, you know, people need to have trust," Bass said.

Bass said she was unaware of her bank's fraud protection services for business account.

Tuesday, CBS 6 reached out to Atlantic Union Bank asking for more clarification on their policy, as what the bank is doing to prevent fraud. As of Wednesday afternoon, we have not heard back.

Sergeant Rosser is encouraging everyone to read their bank's fine print and ask about protection plans, both for person and business accounts.

"No one pays close attention to it until it's you, right? It's your victim, right? So you're kind of closing the door after the horse got out," Rosser said. "But sit down and talk with your bank representatives and see what they offer as far as security. If this happens to me, what happens on my end? Will I get my money back?"

According to USPS OIG, the fastest way to make a report is by filing a Hotline Complaint, which can be done here.

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