MAIL FRAUD - 18 U.S.C. 1341, makes it a Federal crime or offense for anyone to use the United States mails in carrying out a scheme to defraud.
A person can be found guilty of that offense only if all of the following facts are proved: First: That the person knowingly and willfully devised a scheme to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false pretenses, representations or promises; and Second: That the person used the United States Postal Service by mailing, or by causing to be mailed, some matter or thing for the purpose of executing the scheme to defraud.
How thieves steal mail?
The prime target is the residential curbside mail box, where thieves can simply follow the Postal truck through the neighborhood and retrieve what has been delivered. Thieves also steal outgoing mail, particularly personal checks made out to pay bills. Besides risking having your mail stolen with an unlocked box, passing children going to and from neighborhood schools often vandalize mail by just throwing it away or throwing it on the street.
Mail Theft Facts !!
1. Postal Inspectors report that Identity/Mail Theft has become the #1 white-collar crime in the country.
2. New reports indicate that mail theft is up 71% versus last year.
3. According U.S. Postal Inspectors, it takes a minimum of 44 months to recover from Identity Theft.
4. One in three cases involving identity theft occurs via the mail!
5. For the criminal, the mailbox is the gateway to financial fraud, and victims are left with empty bank accounts and shattered credit ratings.
6. Parcel Packages are at their most vulnerable when left unattended on your doorstep. With Internet shoppers increasing daily, more and more parcel packages never find their rightful owner due to thieves who follow these trucks and grab packages left unattended.
7. Police and the US Postal Service say that "deterring mail thieves is as easy as locking outside mailboxes and warns to never leave bills in mailboxes for postal workers to pick up. Postal Inspectors term this "Red Flagging" and recommend that you always take outgoing mail to a Postal drop box or US Post Office.
8. "The unlocked mailbox", according to one Postal Inspector, "comes from the days when you left your house unlocked."
9. According to local Police Chiefs, mail theft is one of the nonviolent ways drug users use to support their drug habits when they steal your bank checks and credit card statements from your mailbox.
10. DID YOU KNOW?? A mail thief can get up to $1,000 per box for a box of reissued and/or new checks you receive through the mail. Think about the fact that each time you move you have to get new checks.
11. Mail theft has become so common that some states are considering legislation for stiffer penalties since current laws consider it only a misdemeanor theft.
12. For the sophisticated criminals, mail can be extremely valuable. Stolen checks are chemically "washed" of their ink, so the thief can make out a new amount and a new payee.
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Community Mailboxes and SaveYourMail are part of the Zasde family of businesses. We have been conducting online business since 2003. We strive to provide the best products available on the market, along with great customer service at a competitive price. All of our products are drop shipped directly to you to avoid any extra charges for shipping.
We need more relevant information in this section.(How can we win the confidence of the customer so that they feel safe to buy from our website, and what are the products we offer which can save the customre mail form theft)
How to Protect Your Mail from Thieves
Never send cash or coins in the mail. Use checks or money orders.
Promptly remove mail from your mailbox after delivery, especially if you're expecting checks, credit cards, or other negotiable items. If you won't be home when the items are expected, ask a trusted friend or neighbor to pick up your mail.
Have your local post office hold your mail while you're on vacation, or absent from your home for a long period of time.
If you don't receive a check or other valuable mail you're expecting, contact the issuing agency immediately.
If you change your address, immediately notify your post office and anyone with whom you do business via the mail.
Always deposit your mail in a mail slot at your local post office, or hand it to your letter carrier.
Consider starting a neighborhood watch program. By exchanging work and vacation schedules with trusted friends and neighbors, you can watch each other's mailboxes (as well as homes). If you observe a mail thief at work, call the local police immediately, and then your nearest Postal Inspector.
If you believe your mail was stolen, report it immediately to your local postmaster or nearest Postal Inspector. You'll be asked to file a formal complaint using PS Form 2016, Mail Theft and Vandalism Complaint. By analyzing information collected from the form, Postal Inspectors may determine whether your problem is isolated or part of a larger mail theft problem in your neighborhood--and it may help Inspectors locate and apprehend the thieves.
Consult with your local postmaster for the most up-to-date regulations on mailboxes, including the availability of locked centralized or curbside mailboxes.
Protecting Yourself from Mailbox Vandalism
Rural area mailboxes are vulnerable to vandalism because they are usually isolated, located on public thoroughfares, and frequently not visible to the box owners from their homes. City residential mailboxes are vandalized to a lesser degree.
Mailboxes are considered federal property, and federal law (Title 18, United States Code, Section 1705), makes it a crime to vandalize them (or to injure, deface or destroy any mail deposited in them). Violators can be fined up to $250,000, or imprisoned for up to three years, for each act of vandalism.
Postal Inspectors recommend these actions to protect your mailbox and any mail that may be inside it:
Immediately report theft, tampering or destruction of mail or mailboxes to your postmaster. You’ll be asked to complete PS Form 1510, Mail Loss and Rifling Report, or PS Form 2016, Mail Theft and Vandalism Complaint. The forms help the Postal Inspection Service determine whether your problem is isolated, or one frequently experienced in your neighborhood.
Obtain Label 33 from the Postal Inspection Service and affix it to your mailbox. The sticker warns that willful damage to mailboxes and theft of mail are crimes.
Keep your mailbox in good repair, and make sure it’s properly installed. This may help prevent theft of the mailbox itself.
If you have information on mailbox vandalism, call the Postal Inspection Service to report it. Your cooperation helps apprehend violators. You may provide your information or complaints to your local postmaster or your nearest Postal Inspector.
