The Facts About Identity Theft

The Mail Boss: Identity Armor for ID Theft

25 million Americans were victims of identity theft in last five years, many of them from mail fraud. The Mail Boss^TM locking security mailbox is the best, affordable first line of defense against the fast-growing crimes of mail and identity theft.

• “Total one year fraud amount [from identity theft] rose from $53.2 billion in 2003 and $54.4 billion in 2005 to $56.6 billion in 2006.” (www.privacyrights.com)
• “…the mean fraud amount per fraud victim [rose] from $5,249 in 2003 and $5,885 in 2005 to $6,383 in 2006.” (www.privacyrights.com)
• “The U.S. Federal Trade Commission says that identity theft is its number one source of consumer complaints – 42% of all complaints, in 2001.” (Identity Theft Prevention & Victim Assistance Center)
• “Last year [2006] alone an estimated 9.9 million Americans were victims of identity theft. […] most identity theft involves the U.S. Mail […]” (U.S. Postal Inspection Service)
• Delores Barkl, Cle Elum Post Master in Washington State said “The best solution for everybody – not just people in rural and outlying areas – [is] to go to lock-box mailboxes.” (Daily Record Online Edition; Kittitas County, Washington)
• Sandy Klein, from the U.S. Attorney’s Office states that “One of the fastest growing crimes in America [is] identity theft [and] one of the most common ways that identity thieves get their information is by stealing mail.” (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central Distict of California; Identity Theft Transcript)
• The first piece of advice that Washington State’s Attorney General gave the public recently when addressing identity theft is “Consider purchasing a locking mailbox.” (Washington State Office of the Attorney General; Ask the AG, 10/24/2005)
• When the Federal Trade Commission wrote an article warning people about identity theft they advised citizens to “guard your mail from theft [by] installing a locking mailbox.” (Federal Trade Commission – Facts for Consumers: Identity Theft, Reduce Your Risk)