West Allis bank executive urges customers to stop writing checks amid fraud concerns

WEST ALLIS — A local bank is urging customers to abandon paper checks entirely, warning that continuing to use them could cost thousands of dollars due to sophisticated fraud schemes targeting traditional banking methods.

Representatives of The Equitable Bank shared their concerns during a recent TMJ4 Let's Talk community event in West Allis, explaining that while check fraud has always existed, the rise of online banking has made writing checks a significant security risk.

One Milwaukee bank has a surprising warning: Stop writing checks!

Lisa Jonas, assistant vice president of bank operations at The Equitable Bank, detailed how criminals are exploiting vulnerabilities in the check system through a practice called "check washing."

"'Washing' is where they remove the payee — the person