The stolen-mail scheme now targeting a wealthy D.C. suburb

[dalton99a]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/05/01/chevy-chase-mailbox-stolen-checks/

The stolen-mail scheme now targeting a wealthy D.C. suburb
The theft of checks from USPS blue mailboxes has spiked across the country, and the D.C. region is a new hot spot
By Alisa Tang and Razzan Nakhlawi
April 30, 2022

In January, Steve Rosen dropped a check to the Internal Revenue Service in a blue mailbox a block from his home in the affluent D.C. suburb of Chevy Chase, Md. About two weeks later, his bank called him to alert him to fraud. Someone had stolen his check and rewritten it for $13,000.22.

The 59-year-old lawyer immediately filed a report online with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service but says he never heard back from them.

“The real horror was, after it happened the first time, I got a whole new bank account, new checks; a month later, I thought this couldn’t happen again,” he said.

Rosen put the second check — for his tree-care service — into the same U.S. Postal Service mailbox. When he called to ask whether the business had received his payment, it hadn’t. So, he kept an eye on his bank account and again found out that someone had tried to swindle him. That check was repurposed and written out to someone for $2,500.

This time, Rosen didn’t bother with the Postal Inspection Service and instead contacted police in Montgomery County. He was told by the officer taking his report: “Yeah, we’ve had a lot of this going on. You’re not the only one.”

...



A mailbox in Chevy Chase, Md., where one resident dropped a check that was stolen. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)


A screenshot of stolen checks posted on Telegram. (Obtained by The Washington Post)


After Susanna F. Fischer put a check in this mailbox in Chevy Chase, it was stolen and later turned up for sale on the Internet. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)

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[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. Sending checks in the mail.

I haven't done that in I don't know how long. Years, maybe decades.

When I do pay by check, I give it directly to the person involved. I sometimes pay directly in cash. Otherwise, by credit card.

[Celerity]

2. I have never written a personal cheque in my life. I have almost never seen one used here

in Sweden as well. They are very rare here. Cheques court trouble IMHO.

[Ford_Prefect]

4. Until the postal service was gutted by the GOP and the current director this was less of a problem.

You have a population of roughly 10 million people. We have 331,893,745 and growing. That makes the rate of solution more complicated.

Checks have been common here for over 100 years. The problem seen above is a recent one where public post boxes are targeted. Identity theft on any scale is a problem found world wide.

[BigmanPigman]

5. My checks never made it to my utility companies

about a year ago. About 6 of them were missing. I think the blame is due to DeJoy. My mother told me that San Diego has had the slowest/worst mail delivery in the whole country. I don't know which source my mom got the info but she is pretty damn pissed off too.

[Celerity]

7. The entire process is so 19th and 20th century. It also is very non environmentally friendly.

[childfreebychoice]

3. More fodder for rethugs to grouse on against mail-in ballots. Nt

[DFW]

6. I use checks for payments in the USA

Bank transfers for EU/CH payments, except for the very occasional check for internal German payments. We prefer cash where possible and allowed, and hate credit cards. My US card was hacked AGAIN just a month ago. I especially avoid using credit cards for political contributions, and I avoid Act Blue like the plague. Since the recipient can lose as much as 8% of the intended contribution, the amount retained by Act Blue and the credit card companies runs into the tens of millions nationally.

On the other hand, when I do send checks, I send them from my office in Dallas or from a post office.

[FL_Jerry]

8. Used to Be

Messing with the Mail used to have some stiff penalties, insanely so. The Postal Inspection service were aggressive in investigations.

The one thing that the USPS could boast about was having it's own police force and aggressive protection for shipped/mailed items over it's competitors. Even porch pirates would pause knowing that messing with USPS packages could land them in federal prison for 5 years.

Without getting rid of DeJoy and without oversight I don't see it improving.

[Eugene]

9. The advice for years has been to use the post office lobby collection slot for anything sensitive.

That applies to low crime places too.

Sale on the Internet is relatively new. Check theft from blue collection boxes isn't.

[PTWB]

10. I'm shocked so many people still write checks.

There are so many better methods of payment available.

[dalton99a]

11. 3.8 billion checks were processed through the Federal Reserve in 2020

There is a downward trend, but checks are still in use