Jimmy Chiprean, owner of Miller’s Shoes, puts mail in the mailbox at the Andrew Gomer Williams Post Office in Butler on Friday, July 7. Check fraud is on the rise nationally, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Justin Guido/Butler Eagle

Check fraud is on the rise, and it’s targeting the U.S. mail — but the national trend hasn’t caught up with Butler County, yet.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury sent an alert earlier this year stating that Suspicious Activity Reports related to check fraud nearly doubled last year, and that in 2021, reports of check fraud increased nationally by 23% compared to 2020.

Pat Collins, a Butler Township resident, said that she pays her bill to Peoples Gas by check each month. She said she has never experienced mail theft and that she drops her mail off in the mailbox directly outside the post office.