MILFORD — While concerns about credit card and debit card fraud get a lot of attention, police departments across the state are seeing more of an old-fashioned problem — an increase in stolen and forged checks.

In Amherst, Elizabeth Melanson, 23, is facing seven felony charges of forgery after being arrested for allegedly stealing checks and cashing them. Melanson is also facing shoplifting charges as well as another felony charge for allegedly having pharmaceutical narcotics.

According to court documents, Melanson checked into a 90-day inpatient substance abuse treatment center not long after being arrested.

Milford resident Douglas Roberge, 20, is facing nine felony forgery charges after allegedly stealing checks from his parents and cashing them. Roberge is also facing misdemeanor theft by deception charges because he allegedly convinced two women, including a stranger, to cash the checks for him.

Amherst police Chief Peter Lyon said fraud, including forgery, is on the rise, with 15 more cases in his town reported in 2011 than in 2010.

“Check forgery has always been an issue, though it has somewhat been replaced by electronic forgeries, scams, etc.,” Lyon said. “As with much of our property crime (burglary, theft, and forgery), it is often related to drug abuse.”

Goffstown police Chief Patrick Sullivan said forgery tends to be a crime that happens close to home.

“Often these cases involve friends or family members or people who work inside the home,” he said. “But in many cases, the person stealing the check writes it to their own name so most of our cases are easily solved.”

In cases where family members are involved, sometimes the victims are reluctant to come forward, said Epping police Chief Mike Wallace and Salem Deputy Chief Shawn Patten. Patten believes that the need for drugs is behind many thefts like forgery.

“Unfortunately, in cases like this, we are usually the last to find out,” said Patten. “Families typically do not get us involved until the thefts (and the drug) problem has become such that they can no longer deal with it.”

Lt. Michael Moushegian said that when forgery involves a family member, ignoring the crime or letting it go can make a bad situation worse.

“I think sometimes there’s a need to exercise some tough love in order to deal with these problems,” he said. “And people who think their family members may have substance abuse issues need to secure their checkbooks and pocketbooks and other personal information.”

In Rye, Chief Kevin Walsh said a lot of the forgery cases he’s seeing have more to do with scams in which someone gets a hold of the victim’s bank account and routing number and makes forged checks. In one recent instance, a resident posted an item for sale online and received a check from the “buyer” that exceeded the amount he was asking for the item. The resident was reportedly told by the buyer to cash the check, keep a little extra for himself, and send the rest of the money back to the buyer along with the item.

“This is a common scam that’s been going on for years, but unfortunately people still fall for it,” said Walsh. “In this case, the resident who came forward realized the deal was too good to be true and didn’t get caught up in it, but oftentimes people do.”

Walsh said he is also dealing with a case where it appears that an employee may have intercepted the company’s mail and cashed a check written to the company. And though forgery cases aren’t always drug-related, he said there is definitely a trend.

“A lot of it is driven by drugs, especially prescription drugs,” said Walsh.

But by making use of the technology that’s available, people can avoid becoming victims of check fraud.

“I’m still an old-fashioned guy,” said Walsh. “I still write checks to pay a lot of my bills, but I’m online at least once a week looking at my bank account.”

Sullivan said he recommends that people check their accounts daily for any unusual activity.

“With the technology we have today, if something’s wrong, it should be easy to see,” he said.