Mail Theft, Check Fraud on the rise, USPS Warns

Behind the crime

Sometimes criminals go fishing — not to be confused with “phishing” — a rather old-fashioned (but effective) method in which they’ll attach something sticky to a weighted object tied to a string, drop it into a mail receptacle and reel in their catch.

Thieves will also snatch mail from residential mailboxes that have their flags up for pickup and will break into cluster-mailbox units (the kind you’ll find at many apartment or condo complexes).

More complicated and allowing for higher-volume thefts: Criminals will get their hands on what are known as arrow keys, designed to open multiple mailboxes within a certain area. Arrow keys are often stolen from mail carriers in what can be extremely violent robberies and are sold on the black market for $5,000 to $10,000, according to Donahue.

Thieves will then “wash” the stolen checks with a basic household chemical that can dissolve many kinds of ink, says Mark Solomon, president of the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators. This allows them to “make it out to whomever they want, change the dollar amount and forge the customer signature from the check. Sometimes they can even put some superglue over the signature of the check while washing it, to keep the [original] signature.”

Finally, they might recruit people experiencing homelessness or hurting financially to serve as “runners”; their job is to deposit the forged check, then withdraw the money to give to the criminals (minus a cut for themselves).

Keeping your mail secure

The USPS and USPIS Project Safe Delivery crime prevention effort outfits some mailboxes in high-risk areas with anti-fishing devices to prevent criminals from pulling up mail through collection box slots. They plan to replace arrow locks with electronic locks on collection boxes around the country. They're also adding new, more secure postal vehicles and strengthening partnerships with law enforcement to identify patterns.

There’s still plenty that consumers can do to lower their risk of mail theft and financial loss. Some tips:

• Deposit mail in collection boxes as close to the indicated pickup time as possible — or bring it inside the post office for mailing.
• If you choose to leave outgoing mail in your mailbox, don’t put up the flag.
• Try not to leave incoming or outgoing mail sitting in your mailbox for an extended time, particularly overnight.
• Sign up for Informed Delivery. With this free service, the USPS will email you images of everything that will be delivered to your home that day, so you’ll know what to expect (and what’s missing when the carrier drops off your mail). About 44 million postal customers have signed up. “It’s an added security benefit that many people have not heard about,” Donahue says.  
• Use the USPS Hold Mail service (you can sign up online) if you’ll be away from home, or have a neighbor collect your mail.
• Keep an eye on your bank accounts for potential fraud, and report suspicious activity as soon as possible.
• When making out a check, write out the amount — “One hundred and twenty dollars and ten cents,” for example — so the words fill out the line. This makes it more difficult for someone to alter it without washing off the ink. Also make sure the numeric amount fills the box on the far-right side of the check.
• Keep an eye out for your letter carrier, USPS suggests. “If you see something that looks suspicious, or you see someone following your carrier, call 911.”

If you think your mail has been stolen

1. Report suspected mail losses to the USPIS, which uses such reports to identify problem areas and where to focus crime investigations, at uspis.gov/report or by calling 877-876-2455. 
2. Notify your bank. If you’re a victim of check fraud, “you’re usually not held responsible,” Solomon says. “Most of your financial institutions will make you whole.”
3. Report the theft to local law enforcement, so you’ll have a police report documenting the crime.
4. For support and guidance, the trained specialists at AARP's free Fraud Watch Network Helpline (877-908-3360) can share information on what to do next and how to avoid future scams. The Fraud Watch Network also offers online group support sessions.

Even if you follow the proper reporting procedures, it can be extremely inconvenient trying to get your money back, Solomon notes, particularly when “sometimes people don’t realize for a long period of time that the checks have been stolen. It might be a month before you find out your mortgage check was never received by your financial institution.”

Ana Warner would agree on the inconvenience factor. Her attempt to recoup her $1,000 turned into a monthslong ordeal. She started by reporting the theft to the manager at her bank’s local branch, who told her, “It’s not our fault. You signed the check.” She then reached out to Wells Fargo, the bank that issued her credit card, the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Communications Commission — anyone she thought might help. “You have no idea how many letters I wrote,” she says.   

Eight months later, Warner’s bank finally reimbursed her for the loss. “It took a lot of work and a lot of stress on my part,” she says, “and a lot of people told me, ‘Let it go. Let it go.’ But I told them, ‘No. I’m not going to let it go. It’s not fair.’ ”