Is marking a misdelivered letter "deceased" a crime?

[shockingelk]

Having a debate with a famous freeper. He claims he received at his address two social security checks to someone else, and returned them both marked "not at this address". Upon receiving a third, he returned it marked "deceased", and it quite proud of it ("One less person sapping off my hard earned wages", etc etc).

I suggested that that may have been a crime. Is it? Google results for just about anything I can think of just turn up stuff about credit card fraud, fraudulently collecting SS, etc. Help?

[wtmusic]

1. Not if you kill the person first n/t

[flamingyouth]

2. *rimshot*

:D

[bloodyjack]

3. *rimjob*

[Gore1FL]

4. I don't think it is a crime

But certainly seems wierd.

Why would SS checks come to his address, and wouldn't the intendee notice they were not getting them?

Mehtinks your freeper is pulling htis out of his ass to get a response.

[jukes]

5. not a crime

IMO, but i'm shakey on the postal codes.

certainly wdnt affect reality as far as the postal service is concerned, or social security for that matter.

the story is almost certainly a lie anyway.

[truthspeaker]

6. I hope not I do that with credit card offers.

[EstimatedProphet]

7. Why would SS be taking HIS money?

You pay into your own account with SS. He's taking someone else's money by doing that!

[Bertha Venation]

9. This is an excellent point and you must repeat it to the freeper.

SS deductions come from YOUR pay for YOUR benefit down the line. My SS deductions aren't taken from anyone else's earnings. Fer chrissakes, it's not a tax.

[mrboba1]

12. Uhh no its not.

You don't pay into your own account. You pay into a system that is set up on trust.

What I mean is this: You pay into SS so the current SS receivers can get their money (unless there is a surplus, but we won't get into that for this discussion). You are operating under the assumption that the next generation of workers will be doing the same, thereby paying for your SS payments. You don't have an "account" with SS that you would have access to, the govt just sends you a check based on whether you put into SS for long enough.

Does that make sense?

[EstimatedProphet]

13. True. I represented it wrongly, but

so did the freeper. Anyone who draws SS has, or is, paying into the system. It isn't welfare. People don't get SS by milking someone's taxes. That was the point I was trying to get across, and i wrote it up too fast to put in the right details.

[Bertha Venation]

8. I don't know, but in some cases, it sure is an asshole who does it.

When I moved to MD, I rec'd mail forwarded from my former address, a privately-owned single condo, in CA. I'm glad it was forwarded, even though the asshole who moved in there was marking everything "DECEASED." I wrote the asshole a letter demanding that she STOP, and told her that I would have no qualms about calling the former landlord to report this shit.

It stopped.

[amazona]

10. my letter carrier says yes, it's a crime

It wouldn't normally be prosecuted but it's a federal crime to interfere with the delivery of a piece of mail. I was putting notes on letters I received that the person in question had never lived there. He asked me not to do that any more. Just to return the letter to him or to the Post Office but not to write on it. He was very nice about it, and I didn't get in trouble or anything, but, as he said himself, "I know you are trying to help..."

Someone maliciously writing "deceased" on mail containing a payment...hmmm, that does cross a line into malicious territory and there is a small chance that he could be prosecuted. He would be dead to rights if the victim decided to complain considering that he is going around bragging about it.

Here's what I would do. I would pretend to be concerned and say to the freeper: "I have learned that altering mail is a federal offense. Please don't tell me any more about any crimes you're involved in. Because if I was ever questioned, I would have no choice but to tell the truth, and I wouldn't want to be forced to testify against you." A comment like that really takes the air out of the freep's sails...I know because I've used it in a slightly different situation.

Enjoy screwing with his head. It's the right thing to do. :-)

[truthspeaker]

11. I misunderstood. Writing it on someone ELSE's mail is a crime

Makes sense.

But I have no qualms about writing it on mail addressed to me. "You've been prepproved!" No shit, asshole, I already have three credit cards and a mortgage.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

15. LMAO...

"Enjoy screwing with his head. It's the right thing to do." Amazona, you are hilarious.
Duckie

[jukes]

14. might be worth

sending link to US Postal Inspectors. a knock on the door of his tarpaper shack might be interesting...