Fr: Sgt Patrick Walker, HCSO

To: Houston Apartment Association

Fr: Sgt Patrick Walker, HCSO

Financial Crimes Unit

281-290-2215

Re: Night Drop Fishing/Forgeries

Dt: 081811

Sir/Madam:

In June 2010 I submitted a letter to your association notifying you of a significant increase in the number of “Night-Drop” Fishing incidents. (Night-Drop fishing is where, by a variety of methods, thieves remove checks and/or money orders from the apartment complex nightdrop, Forge (alter) the payee and cash the document.) In my letter I requested that you pass this information on to your members so that they could (a) protect or close their nightdrop and (b) better serve their residents.

Since June 2010, several hundred apartment complex night-drops have been burglarized and literally thousands of money orders have been stolen and forged.

As noted in my previous letter, the suspects are focusing on Money Orders because of the time involved in dealing with money orders:

(a) it takes several days before the theft is noticed,

(b) it may take several weeks for the resident to get a copy of the negotiated item, which

(c) causes a delay in filing a report and identifying the location where it was cashed.

Please disseminate this information and these recommendations to your members.

-----If the apartment complex utilizes a ‘night-drop’ for their resident’s convenience, ensure that it is the ‘drum’ type (the type used by banks) that does not allow easy access.

----- Make sure the night-drop is well lit and visible.

----- Establish whether the Apartment complex or the resident will be responsible for any stolen money orders. Law Enforcement has to be able to identify who is suffering the loss. NOTE: Several of the residents I have spoken to have stated that although the apartment complex is holding them responsible for the rent, they intent to ‘sue’ since the use of a night-drop is common practice.

----- Instruct their residents to keep their copy of the money order receipt. The resident MUST to be able to prove that they purchased the money order; not the suspect.

----- Instruct their residents to make the money orders payable to the apartment complex. If the resident leaves the ‘payee’ line blank, it becomes a misdemeanor ‘Theft’ case whereas altering a check or money order is Forgery; a 4th degree felony.

*****Recommend that your residents purchase only BANK money orders,*****

Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Woodforest, etc. Banks treat their money orders like a regular check and will send them back if reported stolen and forged. More times than not a Money Order company will NOT send it back as a Collection Item. The result is that the purchaser CANNOT get their money back, which may result in the apartment complex not getting their money.