Check washing happens when someone utilizes simple chemicals available around the home (nail polish, bleach, etc..) to remove portions of the information you have written on your check.  Check washers typically take your check and put a piece of masking tape over your signature. Then they soak your check in the chemicals mentioned above and all the other handwritten ink will disappear from the face of your check. After letting the check dry, they now have a blank check with your legitimate signature. They complete the check for any dollar amount that they feel appropriate and are off to the local bank or check cashing store (PayDay Loans, Check Into Cash, etc..) to get your money. You don’t find out for days or weeks later and when the bank researches it and compares signatures, they say that it is an official check with your signature. Studies show that check washing is costing Americans over $800 million dollars a year!! (FTC 2006 annual report)

Help is on the way! Uni-ball, with the guidance of Frank Abagnale (author of Catch Me If You Can), has put into production a new line of pens that are impervious to check washing. The Uni-ball 207 utilizes a technologically advanced ink that won’t wash away with standard check washing solutions. The ink is formulated so that it chemically bonds to the paper that you are writing on.