Legal Definition Of Mail Theft

MAIL FRAUD - 18 U.S.C. 1341, makes it a Federal crime or offense for anyone to use the United States mails in carrying out a scheme to defraud. A person can be found guilty of that offense only if all of the following facts are proved: That the person knowingly and willfully devised a scheme to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false pretenses, representations or promises; That the person used the United States Postal Service by mailing, or by causing to be mailed, some matter or thing for the purpose of executing the scheme to defraud. Mail Theft Facts !! Postal Inspectors report that Identity/Mail Theft has become the #1 white-collar crime in the country. New reports indicate that mail theft is up 71% versus last year. According U.S. Postal Inspectors, it takes a minimum of 44 months to recover from Identity Theft. One in three cases involving identity theft occurs via the mail! For the criminal, the mailbox is the gateway to financial fraud, and victims are left with empty bank accounts and shattered credit ratings. Parcel Packages are at their most vulnerable when left unattended on your doorstep. With Internet shoppers increasing daily, more and more parcel packages never find their rightful owner due to thieves who follow these trucks and grab packages left unattended. Police and the US Postal Service say that "deterring mail thieves is as easy as locking outside mailboxes and warns to never leave bills in mailboxes for postal workers to pick up. Postal Inspectors term this "Red Flagging" and recommend that you always take outgoing mail to a Postal drop box or US Post Office. "The unlocked mailbox", according to one Postal Inspector, "comes from the days when you left your house unlocked." Click here to view a large selection of quality locking mailboxes. According to local Police Chiefs, mail theft is one of the nonviolent ways drug users use to support their drug habits when they steal your bank checks and credit card statements from your mailbox. DID YOU KNOW?? A mail thief can get up to $1,000 per box for a box of reissued and/or new checks you receive through the mail. Think about the fact that each time you move you have to get new checks. Mail theft has become so common that some states are considering legislation for stiffer penalties since current laws consider it only a misdemeanor theft. For the sophisticated criminals, mail can be extremely valuable. Stolen checks are chemically "washed" of their ink, so the thief can make out a new amount and a new payee.

Reporting Mail Theft

Here's some common questions (and answers) regarding reporting of mail theft: How would I know if I'd had mail stolen? Is every complaint to the USPS followed up by the Postal Inspectors? How does the Oakland Police Department (OPD) respond to 911 reports of mail theft? Is every complaint to the OPD followed up? Are all OPD cases turned over to the USPS? What kind of data does the USPS provide on reported cases of mail theft? How would I know if I'd had mail stolen? a.) You might see all the mailbox doors wide open: For some thieves, this is their calling card. Report this immediately as a suspected theft. b.) You may discover mail you were expecting never arrived, and after confirming with the sender it was mailed, you suspect theft. While this may turn out to be misdirected rather than stolen mail, report this as a suspected theft. c.) You go to pick up your mail well past the delivery schedule, and your box is empty. You check again early in the morning and it's still empty. It's not a holiday. You talk to your neighbors, and their boxes too were empty. Report this immediately as a suspected theft. Is every complaint to the USPS followed up by the Postal Inspectors? No. There are not enough Postal Inspectors to follow each and every complaint. However, the USPS enters every complaint into a database, and active investigations could be triggered by any part of the information you provide. The inspectors are looking for information patterns used to catch the major criminals, or to find gangs of mail and identity thieves. They have been quite successful in the past in stopping the majority of mail theft and identity theft that has been reported in our area. How does the Oakland Police Department (OPD) respond to 911 reports of mail theft? They will respond to a 911 call of a mail theft in progress. Provide as much information as you can: name of the suspect, license plate of any vehicle involved, address of crime , and have personally watched the suspect steal mail, they will take a report and possibly pursue the case. If you have less than the above, they will forward the case to the USPS. This includes ongoing fraud or ongoing identity theft. Is every complaint to the OPD followed up? No, but every complaint is entered into the database, and active pursuit of a case could be triggered by the dollar amount at stake, indication of a trend, connection with another case, or evidence that a ring is at work. Are all OPD cases turned over to the USPS? They should be, but they aren't always, and therefore OPD numbers aren't always in agreement with USPS. What kind of data does the USPS provide on reported cases of mail theft? The USPS provides some data on reported cases of mail theft, but they are, in our opinion, not representative of the actual amount of mail theft going on in our area.

How a Mail Thief Operates

Who are the thieves? What are thieves looking for? What do mail thieves do with stolen information? Who are the thieves? A mail thief is someone who sees easy money in stealing mail. There are organized groups that descend upon neighborhoods such as Montclair, sometimes from great distances such as Phoenix, San Diego, Los Angeles or Sacramento, knowing the money in Montclair will make it worth the trip, that the distance will make them harder to track, and that until now there has been no organized mail theft prevention effort in Montclair. Not all thieves are from afar: a current case awaiting sentencing involves a Hills neighbor preying on mailboxes within a short distance of his home. What are thieves looking for? Mail thieves sift through incoming and outgoing mail, looking for: Identifying numbers, such as Social Security Number (SSN), bank account number, medical account identification numbers Passwords: Banking account online access password, computer passwords Names: Mother's maiden name, all residents Mailing addresses Personal checks you have written to pay bills they will alter the checks and cash them for a lot of money Credit cards - while they hope to find already activated cards, they are usually successful in using the 800# to activate a new card and use if it form personal gain It is common practice in identity theft cases for thieves to submit false changes of address orders to the Postal Service. They will also call the victim's known financial institutions to redirect mail for fraud purposes. What do mail thieves do with stolen information? Mail thieves can chemically alter checks, create databases with information about you and your family, use your credit cards to purchase goods, and apply for credit in your good name. Most mail thieves are intelligent: they understand mail, computers, how to gather information, how to assemble and relate information into a searchable database, and of course, how to use it for personal gain. One local mail thief gathered hundreds of thousands of dollars in a few months, bought computers, and kept a database on each resident he robbed, which accounts he utilized, and which were still to be hit.

Help Prevent Mail Theft

How can I better protect my incoming mail? Install an effective (easy, strong, hard to break into) personal locking mailbox and USE THE LOCK. Click here to view a large selection of quality locking mailboxes available for you to purchase online. Watch your mailbox for deliveries (when possible). Pick up your delivered mail as soon as possible from your personal mailbox. Never let it overflow unless you want greedy hands picking your mail off the top. If you are away, give a neighbor your mailbox key, and have them pick up and safely store each day's mail deliveries. Consider electronic banking and direct deposits to minimize the amount of financial data coming into and going out from your mail box. Get your bank to provide you with copies of your cancelled checks. Make sure none were chemically altered to change the payee and amount Review your credit card and bank statements closely and promptly. Run a credit check regularly. Stay current with local media for news on mail theft. How can I better protect my outgoing mail? ALWAYS put outgoing mail into an official USPS collection box. They are hard to break into, in a more public setting, and postal employees monitor them at pickup times. NEVER put outgoing mail into your own personal mailbox NEVER put up your red flag on your personal mailbox. It's a perfect signal to a mail thief that there is outgoing mail present. If you must put outgoing mail in your box, don't raise the flag; postal personnel will still pick it up, but you won't be advertising that it is there. Stay current with local media for news on mail theft. Be actively aware of mail theft in your neighborhood; watch for thefts in progress and report them immediately to 911. Shred all mail going into your garbage that contains your name, address, or other vital information.

What exactly is identity theft?

Identity theft occurs when someone uses your name, address, Social Security number (SSN), bank or credit card account number, or other identifying information without your knowledge to open accounts, commit fraud or other crimes. A public service message from Sheriff Ken Jenne In Pictures: Prevent Identity Theft In Pictures: World's Greatest Heists In Pictures: Cashpoint Scams In Pictures: How To Shop Online And Stay Safe How can someone steal my identity? Identity thieves may use any number of low and or high-tech methods to gain access to your personally identifying information. For example: They get information from businesses or institutions by: stealing records from their employer, bribing an employee who has access to the records, conning information out of employees, or hacking into the organization's computers. They rummage through your trash, the trash of businesses, or dumps in a practice known as "dumpster diving." They obtain credit reports by abusing their employer's authorized access to credit reports or by posing as a landlord, employer or someone else who may have a legitimate need for and a legal right to the information. They steal credit and debit card account numbers as your card is processed by using a special information storage device in a practice known as "skimming." They steal wallets and purses containing identification and credit and bank cards. They steal mail, including bank and credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, new checks, or tax information. They complete a "change of address form " to divert mail to another location. They steal personal information from your home. They scam information from you by posing as a legitimate business person or government official. What are the consequences of identity theft? Once identity thieves have your personal information, they may: Go on spending sprees using your credit and debit card account numbers to buy "big-ticket" items, like computers, that they can easily sell. Open a new credit card account, using your name, date of birth and SSN. When they don't pay the bills, the delinquent account is reported on your credit report Change the mailing address on your credit card account. The imposter then runs up charges on the account. Because the bills are being sent to the new address, it may take some time before you realize there's a problem. Take out auto loans in your name. Establish phone or wireless service in your name. Counterfeit checks or debit cards, and drain your bank account. Open a bank account in your name and write bad checks on that account. File for bankruptcy under your name to avoid paying debts they've incurred, or to avoid eviction. Give your name to the police during an arrest. If they are released and don't show up for their court date, an arrest warrant could be issued in your name. PREVENTION AND PROTECTION ARE THE KEY To avoid becoming a victim of identity theft, there are certain preventative measures you can take. Don't give out personal information such as your SSN, mother's maiden name, or account numbers over the phone or the internet unless you know the information is secure. You can recognize a secure website, as it has an https:// at the beginning of the web address (url) at the top of the page on which you are submitting your information. It also must have a picture of a lock in the bottom right corner of the page. If you don't see both of these measures in place, do not submit your information Your home is your castle, but your personal information should be secure from visitors or outsiders who may come in to your home to perform service. Keep this information stored away where it can't be easily found. Do not keep your Social Security Card or SS number in your purse or wallet; leave it at home in a secure spot. Your trash might become an identity thief's treasure: a thief can go through your trash to find personal information from receipts, medical bills, bank statements or checks. Even those pre-screened credit card offers that you receive can be used if they fall into the wrong hands. SHRED ALL OF THESE BEFORE THROWING OUT. DO NOT open e-mails or attachments from e-mail addresses you are unfamiliar with. There are programs you can buy that will filter out junk e-mail and if you have an e-mail address through Hotmail(MSN), AOL, or Yahoo they offer certain protections against junk or spam e-mails. How can I tell if I'm a victim of identity theft? Monitor the balances of your financial accounts. Look for unexplained charges or withdrawals. Other indications of identity theft include: failing to receive bills or other mail, which may signal an address change by the identity thief, receiving credit cards for which you did not apply, being denied credit for no apparent reason, or receiving calls or letters from debt collectors or businesses about merchandise or services you did not buy. Some of the signs mentioned above could be the result of a simple mistake, but you shouldn't ignore these and just hope they will go away. Always follow up with the business or institution to find out exactly what is causing the situation.