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
VP Corner: ID Theft Protection
Credit Report dot com gets it right I have read so many articles on identity theft protection that I dream about it. Just the other night, I woke up in a panic after having dreamt about getting a huge credit card bill for items I didn’t even buy. I was about to start questioning my wife when I realized we…
Locking Mailboxes as ID Theft Prevention
Locking Mailboxes: A Basic Way to Prevent Identity Theft Monday through Saturday, most of us check our mailboxes without giving it a second thought. Our mail is delivered throughout the week, and we take our letters, advertisements, statements, and credit card offers out of the mailbox when we find time during the day or when we get home from work. Some…
Mail Theft in Topeka, KS
KTKA News reports mail theft on the rise, puts you at risk for ID theft In Topeka, Kansas, mail theft is on the rise. Mail carriers are seeing a trend. Terry Cook, Postal Service Supervisor, explains “[Mail theives] are out there going through the mailboxes, taking what they want and dropping it off at other peoples’ mailboxes giving the impression…
Baltimore Mail Thief Gets Prison Time
Followed postal carriers and stole government checks from mailboxes Earlier this year in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. sentenced a 41 year old to three years in prison for receiving stolen property and aggregated identity theft in connection with stealing government checks from mailboxes and cashing the checks using fraudulent identity documents, announced U.S. Attorney for…
Ask Washington State Attorney General
Rob McKenna on Mail Theft: Why You Should Use a Secured Mailbox and a Shredder This site allows consumers to ask questions of the Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna. All of us here at the Mail Boss found one Q & A particularly relevant and informative, and have included it below. Consumer: I mailed a credit card bill a…
Port Hadlock Postmaster Warns Residents
Individual(s) following mail carrier stealing mail Today, a concerned resident from Port Ludlow came to our Epoch Design warehouse to purchase a curbside Mail Boss locking security mailbox. He said that mail theft had been an ongoing problem in his community, and finally decided to purchase a secure locking mailbox when he received a letter from his Postmaster warning residents…
Identity Thief from Grand Rapids, MI Sentenced
Will serve 4 years for mail fraud and aggravated identity theft On Sept 24, 2008, US District Judge Robert Holmes Bell sentenced a 29 year old illegal alien and former resident of NYC to four years in federal prison for conspiring to commit identity theft, mail fraud and aggravited identity theft. Agents of the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS)…
Mail Identity Theft on the Rise
Animation illustrates national epidemic of mail theft & identity theft This YouTube video shows the increase in mail and identity theft nation wide over the past few years. As you can see, mail theft and identity theft is a massive problem of a national scale that is growing at an alarming rate. Criminals steal your mail to gain your sensitive…
Just for Fun- Mail Theft Gets Personal
Woman reports birthday cards stolen While browsing Criggo, a weblog that reports funny or strange newspaper messages, I found this Crime Brief: “A woman […] reported Oct. 15 that someone must have stolen her mail, because she did not receive birthday cards from some of her friends.” This is amusing, because it obviously begs the question of whether this woman’s…
Mail Theft in Wheat Ridge, CO
Wheat Ridge Police Department warns residents “Mail and identity theft a growing and difficult problem” Mail and identity theft is a problem of epidemic proportions that plagues cities, suburbs, and small towns alike. Even the pristine Wheat Ridge, Colorado (“Deep Roots, Short Commutes”) is not immune, and the authorities are taking notice. The Wheat Ridge Police Department has categorized Mail…
