Mail Theft Monday – 7/26/10

Mailbox tampering hits Hunts Point
Bellevue Reporter – 7/23/10

(BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON) “A total of 10 mailboxes were pried open by an unknown person(s) in the 4200 block and north of Hunts Point Road in July.

Although the boxes were tampered with, there have been no reports of anything taken.

The tampering occurred between 10 p.m. July 21 and 10 a.m. July 22.”

COMMENTS: Hunts Point – that’s in our backyard! What kinds of locking mailboxes were these? There are videos on mailboss.staging.wpengine.com showing many competitors’ “secure” mailboxes being easily pried open with a screwdriver. If you’re going to invest in a locking mailbox you should get one that can’t easily be pried open. Mail Boss has a patented anti-pry latch that makes leveraged entry exceedingly difficult.

To the victims of mail tampering in Hunts Point, I would recommend putting a credit alert with one of the 3 major credit unions for the next year, just to be safe. Monitor your credit report. Often crooks get your sensitive mail – you might not even miss it if you weren’t expecting it. Then they may not use it for awhile… until they collect enough information for identity theft.

Two admit to cashing stolen checks
STLToday.com – 7/23/10

(ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI) “April Lynn Dunn and Keleen Badalmenti, both of St. Louis, pleaded guilty Thursday of mail theft and bank fraud for stealing mail and cashing stolen checks. They admitted in U.S. District Court to stealing two checks worth $1,914 from a man in Florissant. Investigators said the women cruised through neighborhoods in St. Louis, Jefferson and Franklin counties and stole checks from mailboxes. Sentencing is set for Oct. 21.”

COMMENTS: Mail theft and check fraud is a going problem. NEVER send checks from an unsecured mailbox; they can easily be stolen, washed and fraudulently cashed. Bring your checks to the post office directly, or better yet use online bill pay. It’s more secure. Also, it’s important to secure incoming mail with a high security locking mailbox like the Mail Boss to prevent thieves from stealing your sensitive documents they can use for identity theft. Finally, shred all mail before discarding it.

Post Office Punches and Census Scare
Flathead Beacon – 7/22/10

(FLATHEAD VALLEY, MONTANA) “Wednesday 7/21: 8:11 a.m. After stealing a Bigfork resident’s mail, someone thoughtlessly tore it up and tossed it into a ditch. […]”

COMMENTS: Oh. my. gosh. It’s mail theft… in Montana! For all you naysayers in Montana who say that doesn’t happen in “The Treasure State” – well crooks have found a new treasure: your mail!

Sacramento mail thief sentenced to 5 years
ABC 10 – 7/21/10

(SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA) “Convictions for mail theft and possession of stolen credit and ATM cards has gotten a Sacramento man five years in prison to be followed by three years of probation.

Lauren Horwood, spokeswoman for the Eastern District, U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento, said Henry M. Martinez, 46, was arrested on Jan. 27, 2009 for possessing more than 200 pieces of stolen mail taken from several dozen victims and at least 15 credit cards and ATM cards belonging to others.

The prosecution said the monetary loss of the stolen mail and cards was more than $30,000.”

COMMENTS: Glad to see Horwood put away for a decent amount of time. Now hopefully he is not released after serving only a fraction of his sentences (due to overcrowded prisons) like most mail thieves and so-called “white collar” criminals.

Mail theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the nation, and most victims don’t know when their mail has been stolen. The best defense is a high security locking mailbox like the Mail Boss to keep your mail and identity secure.

In brief: Drugs stolen from mailbox
The Tribune-Democrat – 7/20/10

(SEWARD, PENNSYLVANIA) “State police Tuesday were looking for whoever stole a 112-count bottle of hydrocodone from the residence of Stephen C. Shesko, 62, of Route 56 in East Wheatfield Township.

The bottle had been mailed and was stolen from the mailbox sometime between Friday and Monday, state police said. […]”

COMMENTS: Theft or prescription drugs from unlocked mailboxes is common. Just as a secure locking mailbox can prevent mail identity theft, so can it prevent small package theft. If you want your medications to arrive safe and sound, you should consider investing in the Mail Boss Package Master, which safely and securely stores mail as well as small packages.