An Ames resident was arrested by the Ames Police Department Thursday and charged with four counts of forgery and identity theft.

During the course of 16 days, Jennifer Wheelock stole and forged her signature on four checks for over an estimated $1,000 dollars.

The checks were reported to have been stolen sometime between June 10 and June 26 of this year and used at various businesses around Ames.

Using the stolen checks, Wheelock purchased $236 dollars worth of merchandise at Main Street Sportscards, 305 Main St.

“She talked knowledgeable about sports and bought a bunch of wax box cards,” said Bill Ford, owner of Main Street Sportscards. “But I acted on an instinct.”

Within an hour, Ford checked with the bank the check was from and discovered the account had been moved.

Ford then contacted the person named on the checks and Ames Police Department.

“It doesn’t happen every day,” said Ames Police Patrol Cmdr. Randy Kessel.

“But [Wheelock] gained control of someone else’s checks,” he said.

He said debit cards are quickly replacing paper checks, which helps stop a fraudulent act from continuing.

“There are burglaries, check books left in cars and purses stolen [that can lead to identity theft],” Kessel said.

He said he encourages using debit or ATM cards in place of paper checks to help prevent identity theft.

“As long as we have checks, we’ll have [forgery],” Kessel said.

He also recommended checking bank statements carefully.

Kessel said Wheelock also forged checks for $178 at Savvy Shoppers, 310 Main St.; $121 at Clark Sports Collectibles, 1025 Lincoln Way; and $485 at Wal-Mart, 3015 Grand Ave.

Wheelock is accused of forgery and charged with a Class D felony, Kessel said.

She is being held at the Ames Police Department until her arraignment Friday morning.