Mail & Identity Theft

Blogging live from the MidStates Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Here is this week’s round up of mail theft, from Alaska to Virginia and everywhere in between. Federal grand jury indicts Kong woman for mail theft The Tundra Drums – 8/27/10 (ANCHORAGE, ALASKA) “A Kongiganak woman was indicted by a federal grand jury in Anchorage for…

Mail thief on the loose in Concord, watch out! Contra Costa Blog – 9/1/10 (CONCORD, CALIFORNIA) “I received the following email from a reader near Santa Paula Drive, which is off Oak Grove Road in Concord…. This morning around 5am I was laying in bed with my eyes open and saw the headlights of a…

Surprisingly, not much to report this week. I’m sure next week will be much more exciting! Guilty plea in check-snatching scam Washington Post – 9/8/10 (MARYLAND) “Prosecutors say a Maryland woman has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud for cashing stolen D.C. and federal treasury checks. Twenty-six-year-old Annternet Howard of Hyattsville, Md., entered…

Thieves often target outgoing mail to steal bill payments because they can wash the Payee and then cash the check fraudulently. However, they also target incoming mail to steal sensitive information that can be used for identity theft. Check fraud is common, and is a hassle to address, but identity theft is a nightmare, requiring hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to rectify. To prevent mail-identity theft, use a high security locking mailbox to secure incoming mail, and use online bill pay to prevent theft of checks in outgoing mail. And as always, shred sensitive documents (which primarily come in your curbside mailbox) to thwart dumpster divers.

Can you believe it’s November already? Many of us spent last week in Orlando at the Ace Hardware Fall Convention, so we apologize for the lapse in posting. Next week, we will return to your regularly scheduled Mail Theft Monday. But for today, we’ll include the mail-identity theft stories that have occurred in the past two…

Suspected mail thief arrested in Live Oak Santa Cruz Sentinel – 11/4/10 (LIVE OAK, CALIFORNIA) “A man who stole mail and ran from a sheriff’s deputy was arrested early Thursday in Live Oak, the Sheriff’s Office reported. Ethan Benoit, a 21-year-old Hollister man, was arrested just after 12:10 a.m. Thursday on the 2300 block of…

This week it’s going to be brief. Not going to lie – I’m going to Mexico… like, right MEOW! So, fewer comments than usual and [emphases added]!. Andalé Andalé!!! Maui Meadows Mail Thief ListOwn.com -11/18/10 Last night between the hours of midnight and 8AM, some icehead stole my outgoing mail from my mailbox. Nothing too…

Broomfield Enterprise police report – Nov. 28 Broomfield Enterprise – 11/27/10 (BROOMFIELD, COLORADO) “[…] Nov. 19 […] Mail was stolen from a business in the 6900 block of West 117th Avenue. Loss, unknown. […]” COMMENTS: It is important to remember that thieves target business mailboxes just as they target residential mailboxes. Business should use high…