Mail Identity Theft
Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States for the past 10 years, and affects over 10 million Americans each year.
Mail theft is a common way that identity thieves can steal your identity, and the 60 million unlocked mailboxes in the US offer a treasure trove of opportunity for would-be identity thieves.
Victims of mail theft often do not realize they have been victimized until their credit record and good name is ruined. Remedying the outcomes of fraud and identity theft requires thousands of dollars and hours of your time.
This section provides information about the prevalence of mail and identity theft, and the precautions you can take to protect yourself and your name.
Mail Identity Theft
- More than 1 in 20 Americans are victims of ID theft each year
- ID theft is the fastest growing crime in the nation
- Only 35% of ID theft victims know how their info was compromised
- The majority of known ID theft is perpetuated via low-tech methods: stolen wallets, stolen mail and stolen trash.
- Mail theft is highly under-reported because most people don’t realize when their mail has been stolen
Mail Theft Monday – 6/21/10
Medication taken in suspected mail theft Rome News-Tribune – 6/19/10 (WEST ROME, GEORGIA) “West Rome residents told police medication was likely stolen from their mailbox. According to Rome police reports: The medications ordered through mail were supposed to arrive by June 3, but by the middle of the month it had not arrived at the Williamson Street location. A woman…
Staten Island DA Says “Lock Up Your Mail”
New York ID Theft Ring Steals Mail, Nets Over $5 Million The New York Times reports that a Staten-Island based identity theft ring was charged this week with gaining access to the personal and financial information of over 200 victims, in a complex fraud scheme that netted over $5 million dollars. The 26 charged are Nigerian immigrants now facing deportation.…
Mail Theft Monday – 6/28/10
Police Chase Down Suspected Mail Thieves; Two Arrested San Diego 6 – 6/24/10 (SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA) “A man and woman wanted on suspicion of stealing mail on several prior occasions led police on a brief road chase through Carmel Valley Thursday before getting into a crash and making a failed attempt to escape on foot. An officer spotted a blue…
Mail Theft Monday – Is it Really July Already?
Hi there, blog followers. Sorry this “Monday” post is so late in coming. But what is an apology without excuses? First excuse? Well, of course Monday was a holiday here at Epoch so we abandoned our computers for cookouts! Second excuse? There are so many dang mail theft stories… really juicy ones… all across the nation this week, it took…
Mail Theft Monday – 7/12/10
Juvenile Arrested In East Hartford Mail Thefts The Hartford Courant – 7/8/10 (EAST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT) “Police arrested a juvenile male in an ongoing investigation into a rash of mail thefts in town. About six residents have had mail stolen, East Hartford Police Officer Hugo Benettieri said. The thefts were near Burnham Street in the north end of town and in…
Mail Theft Monday – 7/19/10
Mail theft in Maple Leaf The Maple Leafer – 7/15/10 (SEATTLE, WASHINGTON) “Anyone else in Maple Leaf having a problem with mail theft? I remember at a Maple Leaf Community Council meeting earlier this year, this issue was brought up — but I thought I had heard they caught the main culprit. Either they didn’t, or a copy cat has…
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.…
Mail Theft Monday – 10/4/10
Thief Stealing Mail, Identities in Chesterfield FOX 2 – 10/1/10 (CHESTERFIELD, MISSOURI) Crimestoppers: Credit Card Theft KFSM 5 – 9/30/10 (FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS) “Fort Smith police are looking for this man accused of stealing a credit card. On September 7, 2010, a Fort Smith resident reported a credit card mailed to him from a banking institution had been stolen from…
Mail Identity Theft – May 2012
Stolen mail leads to identity theft across the nation. In June, Washington and Georgia seemed to be hit by mail thieves particularly hard, and of course California (per norm) as well. Other areas like South Carolina and parts of the MidWest are seeing rashes of mail theft as well.
Mail-Identity Theft: June 2012
If you learn one thing from our monthly round-up of mail-identity theft news stories nationwide, it should be this: Don’t trust your mailbox! Stealing mail is one of the easiest and most common ways thieves obtain your sensitive information for identity theft. Most people don’t even realize when their mail has been stolen, because savvy thieves often take only what…
