EAST ELMHURST, Queens (WABC) -- Check fraud is back in a big way and getting more sophisticated. The number of fraud cases has nearly doubled year to year, up to nearly 700 annually.
It starts when a check is stolen out of the mail and then fraudulently cashed. And now they are even targeting government checks worth thousands.
Every day since last year, Anthony Perlongo been checking his mailbox and his inbox, waiting for money he is owed by the federal government to arrive.
"I'm worried about how to pay rent, food, thank God I have friends," Perlongo said.