The United States Postal Service has seen a wave of “mailbox fishing,” the practice of thieves stealing letters from mailboxes, finding checks, then amending and cashing them.
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and crime won’t stop,” says US Postal Inspector Glen McKechnie. “They all use the dark. They go at night when the streets are empty and there’s no one outside, and that’s when we found out they’re going on their fishing expeditions.”
A New Yorker confronted a man who was allegedly mail fishing by apparently sliding his sticky covered belt through the narrow mailbox slot. As she videotaped him with her phone and yelled at him to stop what he was doing, the man continued and replied that he didn’t mind being on camera before he left on a moped.
The New York City Police Department posted signs on some blue mailboxes warning people about fishing in mailboxes.
The New York City Police Department posted signs on some blue mailboxes warning people about fishing in mailboxes.
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“Send a check or money in the mail? Watch out for fish in the mailbox!” the signs say, explaining that people should “leave mail containing checks directly at the post office.”
Earlier this year, a ring believed to be responsible for stealing more than $100,000 in checks was uncovered; another suspect in September was caught with $84,000 in checks. New Hampshire US Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s campaign pulled two checks worth $21,583 from a mailbox; and in August, Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, police arrested two teenagers for allegedly stealing and altering $250,000 worth of checks from mailboxes.
Isabel Vincent said two checks she once mailed were taken from a box, tampered with and cashed for more than $1,500.
“Are we going to see a world where mailboxes are gone? I mean, that would be really sad,” she says.
Vincent’s checks were tampered with, with someone laundering the payee and writing another name and then cashing the checks. Although his bank eventually reimbursed him for the loss, he says he now just mails checks to the post office or pays electronically.
Authorities say a mailbox outside a Pennsylvania post office was struck dozens of times by thieves seeking money and checks.
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“Don’t put a check in the box. Go to a post office in person,” he advises. “It’s a little bit of overtime, and you don’t have the comfort of doing it in front of work, which is where I used to do it, but at least you know you have a modicum of confidence that your check will pay.” Reach your destination”.
McKechnie advises people to post their mail close to box pickup time so letters don’t sit in a box overnight, when most of the fishing happens.
‘Each blue collection box on the street corner has an hour in it when the box is swept up. We ask customers to put mail in the mailbox before the pick-up time. If the mail stays in that mailbox overnight, it could be stolen.”
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Postal Service inspectors are cracking down on the practice and have taken steps to make it more difficult to fish for mailboxes. Thousands of mailboxes have been retrofitted to remove the old swing door and narrow the mail slot. While that has caused a decrease in thefts, they still continue. McKechnie says that if he believes that he has been a victim, he should contact the police.
“We work with police stations to collect that information,” he says. “We are the Postal Inspection Service. We have to instill confidence in the mail. Those boxes are secure and we want to get the message to the post before the last collection time.”
A mail carrier gets out of his truck to deliver mail, on October 2, 2021, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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Fishing has expanded to armed robbery. Last month, a Chicago mail carrier had his mailbox key stolen at gunpoint, giving thieves access to boxes containing bulk mail. In Santa Monica, California, thieves smashed mailboxes to steal their contents.
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“When you mail a check, look at your statements. Make sure the check has been deposited or the correct person has deposited the check,” McKechnie said, adding that victims should report any theft to the police and Postal Inspection. Service.
Jennifer Johnson contributed to this report.
