If you owe money for income taxes — and many who drag their feet to file in late March or April often owe money — you will want to take extra care with how you mail that check to avoid getting stung by a check washing scam.

The warning: It is possible put a tax check in the mail and run into trouble. You might later discover that check cleared the bank, but your bill didn't get paid. Instead, a crafty scammer got a huge payday by changing the name on the "Pay To" line. And they might change the amount on the check. A check written for a few hundred dollars could be changed for a few thousand dollars. Your signature remains.

The crooks will use some sort of chemical wash, such as bleach or nail polish remover, to erase key information, such as the name of the company or person you're trying to pay.

The crooks could deposit the altered check into bank accounts they control. They often attempt to withdraw the money before the victim and bank discover the check was stolen.

Think twice about writing a check

If you're paying your federal income taxes by check, write the check to the U.S. Treasury Department, not the IRS. In the past, there were scams where crooks would intercept a check and change IRS to MRS. Smith or Jones or whatever. The IRS says: Do not send cash through the mail.

If you're paying taxes by mail, tax professionals advise that you to send those checks by certified mail.

The IRS does offer a way to pay up to $500 in cash for taxes at a participating 7-Eleven, CVS Pharmacy, Dollar General, Speedway or other stores, if needed, but there are fees involved and several steps to take in advance. It's not as simple as going in and buying a Slurpee. For example, as part of the process, you will need to print a payment barcode at home or send it to your smart phone.

If you're mailing a payment, make sure that the check or money order includes: your name and address, daytime phone number, Social Security number (use the first Social Security number listed on the return if you're a married couple filing jointly), tax year and related tax form or notice number.

And yes, it's possible to pay your taxes electronically via your bank account through DirectPay and no extra fees. So that may be the best way to go.

Tax season scams can include check theft

Tax season scams clearly are out there and I'd fully expect ID thieves and those who wash checks to take advantage of the season, too.

One consumer complained to the AARP Fraud Watch Network that he wrote two checks for his taxes, presumably state and federal income taxes, but then those checks ended up being stolen and information, such as his Social Security number and banking information ended up being compromised.

Amy Nofziger, director of victim support for the AARP Fraud Watch Network, said she's concerned that we could see an uptick in stolen checks during tax season, as people pay those tax bills.

Some of the problems have been building, she said, with organized crime rings and often in connection with drug use, including meth addiction. "It is a crime where you don't need much equipment or technology," she said.

The March AARP Bulletin outlined that criminal activity isn't limited to a fake check here or there. Some criminals are able to buy information online that can let them know how much money might be in your bank account — enabling them to figure out how big of a check they might be able to write and even possibly access your account electronically.

If you've just written a big check to the federal government to pay your taxes, the crooks could assume you've got the money in the account to cover it.

The crooks are often stealing checks and other information from mailboxes or postal carriers.

In January, for example, the Troy Police Department conducted extra patrols in a neighborhood near Crooks and Big Beaver roads after several complaints of mail theft. While there, officers arrested a Detroit woman attempting to remove mail from a mailbox. Police later found pieces of mail from Troy residents, along with personal checks and credit cards in the name of other people, in her car, according to Troy police.

The police noted that stolen mail can lead to identity theft and stolen checks and negatively affect an individual's credit rating.

A Troy business mailed a check for $22,164 to a vendor in December. But later was told in late January that the vender never received payment, according to a police report. The business reviewed their account and discovered that the check had been fraudulently deposited Jan. 10. The suspect had altered the name of the payee.

A Troy resident placed a $300 check in his outgoing mail, according to another police report. Several days later, he checked his bank mobile app and noticed a check withdrawal for $800. The man did not recognize the name on the check and believes that someone tampered with the name, the date and the amount.

A spike in mail theft has led to a long list of cases across the country, including one on Detroit's west side on Northlawn Street in late October, where U.S. Postal Service carriers have been robbed by gunpoint. Crooks often are trying to get their hands on checks in the mail or a master key, which can open multiple blue mailboxes in an area.

A crook can be targeting stolen mail that includes checks or even credit cards, tax forms, and financial statements that can be used for ID theft or check washing.

“The rise in sophisticated check fraud is a serious issue," said Sarah Grano, a spokesperson for the American Bankers Association.

Grano said the banking industry is working together with law enforcement, the Postal Service and regulators to find solutions to target the bad actors preying on customers and banks.

More:Is the IRS really texting you? No, it's one of many tax scams.

More:IRS warns that a tax credit everyone's heard about definitely isn't for everyone

More:Detroit rapper sentenced in multimillion-dollar tax fraud scheme

How to protect yourself

Consumers are able to protect themselves to some degree by taking extra care about how they mail a check, where they mail it and when.

Don't leave your checks at your mailbox at home for your mail carrier to pick up. Avoid dropping off a check to be mailed at a postal box that isn't in a well-traveled area.

In December, I was mailing a batch of cards — yes, we still send Christmas cards with a holiday letter — and I drove up to the mailbox at the post office near my house. All three mailboxes outside were simply overflowing with mail around noon that day. If you wanted, you could just grab a batch right then and there. Pretty easy for a crook to steal a check or two or three that someone might have sent to pay a bill.

What should you do? I parked my car, walked into the post office and deposited my mail inside.

"If the mail box at the post office is overflowing, find a new box. Do not put your mail into a box that is overflowing," AARP's Nofziger said.

An alert on check washing from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service suggests that you "deposit your outgoing mail in blue collection boxes before the last pickup or at your local Post Office. Never leave your mail in your mailbox overnight."

Other tips:

• Use a pen with indelible black ink on a check to make it more difficult to wash your checks, according to the ABA. Use a gel pen.

• Follow up with a business or charity to make sure the check was received.

• Know that some crooks won't change the amount on the check but will change the payee. The check could get cashed by the crooks and you might not even realize it if you're only tracking the amount via your statements.

• Use online banking, according to the ABA, to review copies of your checks to spot if they were altered. Sit down and review your statement each month if you're receiving paper statements.

• Shred old checks — don't dump them later in the trash — if you receive them from the bank after they were processed.

If you are a victim, file a report with your local police department, your bank or credit union and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service online at www.uspis.gov or at 877-876-2455.

Contact Susan Tompor: stompor@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @tompor. To subscribe, please go to freep.com/specialoffer.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Watch out for check washing scams if you owe income taxes, other bills