KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasMail Fraud On The Rise
(Mar. 8) -- E-mailing your bills hasn't caught on with everyone. But more people might start doing it after they hear this warning. It's the way most of us have paid for a long time. But now the U.S. Postal Inspection Service says it might be time to re-think how you pay your bills, especially for people who drop their checks in community mailboxes.
They were designed to make it easier on the postal service, and allow neighbors to go to one spot to retrieve their mail. But the community mailbox, which usually stores anywhere from 6 - 12 mailboxes, has become as popular a place for crime as the local convenience store. The reason is they're so convenient. When residents place their checks in the outgoing mail slot, thieves are coming by and collecting them before a mail carrier ever gets to the box. It's become such a popular crime, that one U.S. Postal Inspector advises that no money should ever be placed in these drop slots, especially overnight.
"What we don't want people to do is to go out on Saturday night, or whatever night of the week it is, and put it out there and leave that mail out there overnight. If people can keep that mail out of there on an overnight status, they're not going to become a victim," says inspector D. Obritsch.
What he says often happens. Thieves break open these boxes at night, searching for money they can steal and use for a quick drug fix. He says the chance of someone stealing your check is decreased just by placing it in the box during the day before a mail carrier comes by. One apartment complex on Decatur Blvd. has caught on. They're bolting their boxes shut so no one can break in.
What do the thieves do once they get your check? Postal Inspectors say it's not a complicated procedure to wash the check and create a new one, with your name still on it.
R.N. Carwell, a U.S. Postal Inspector says, "They will use tape to secure the original signature, washing off the intended payee and then issuing it to themselves or someone else to secure the funds."
This is not a new crime, according to inspectors. But it's becoming more popular. Prompting the following advice from 8 On Your Side:
The neighborhood and apartment collection units can be convenient, but lately, say inspectors; they've become convenient for the wrong people. It's not happening here, yet, but Postal Inspectors say there is an increase in "volume" mail thefts. It's happening in Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona and portions of California. That's where thieves steal mail from postal trucks, collection boxes, and neighborhood collection box units.
