Community Chat

[millieshops]

There's no outdoor box at my PO -  I just can't remember when it was removed, but I feel as if it disappeared even before the pandemic began.

[Jasmine19]

I had a check stolen through the mail last summer. I found out when my debit car was denied due to lack of funds. I ran home and went online to check my bank account. Someone had intercepted a $100 check and changed the amount to $7000. My account was overdrawn by more than $6000! It's a long story but my take away is 1) always mail checks inside the bank, 2) only use pens with non washable ink (even gel pen ink can be erased by crooks), and 3) consider dropping overdraft protection. My bank refunded my money but it was an annoying process.

[sonson]

We were given a warning a couple months ago in my town that this was happening to the mailboxes in front of the Post Office, was advised if mailing anything with a check to go inside the Post Office to mail. Don't send checks out often, but there are times I need to. The lack of parking is why most people in town like to drive and drop off outside, but I do go in now, better safe than sorry. 

[Pezzie]

Whenever I have to mail a check, I take the envelope inside the post office.  Those days of random PO drop boxes being safe are over. 

[Spurt]

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@Isobel Archer wrote:

We sent a birthday card containing a check  - deposited in a mail box outside the post office - on Sun Apr 3.  On Monday Apr 4, the check was altered (different payee and with a significant increase in amount) and cashed.

We reported this to the bank, the Postal Investigative Service and to the local police.

I read an article where theft from mail boxes is increasing at an alarming rate.  Apparently, it is safer to mail inside the post office.

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@Isobel Archer @Buffalogal47 

And this is an issue that doesn't just happen at mailboxes outside the Post Office....back in the good ole days people had invidiual mailboxes in front of their homes, but then they started these banks of COMMUNITY MAILBOXES in subdivisions, condos, and apartments and they are always being broken into....The Police Department includes a notice in our Neighborhood Newsletter advising everyone to pick up their mail in a timely manner when there's been an incident of mail theft in the area.....and it seems to happen more and more frequently.....

Ours was broken into last year and we had to pick up our mail at the Post Office until the Community Mailbox was repaired and when I went to get my mail there was a long line of people from other subdivisions that had also experienced a break in.....its become a major problem...😫

[Buffalogal47]

@SeaMaiden Our post office doesn't even have a box outside. You have to go inside and use their slots. 

[proudlyfromNJ]

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@Spurt wrote:

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@Isobel Archer wrote:

We sent a birthday card containing a check  - deposited in a mail box outside the post office - on Sun Apr 3.  On Monday Apr 4, the check was altered (different payee and with a significant increase in amount) and cashed.

We reported this to the bank, the Postal Investigative Service and to the local police.

I read an article where theft from mail boxes is increasing at an alarming rate.  Apparently, it is safer to mail inside the post office.

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@Isobel Archer 

And this is an issue that doesn't just happen at mailboxes outside the Post Office....back in the good ole days people had invidiual mailboxes in front of their homes, but then they started these banks of COMMUNITY MAILBOXES in subdivisions, condos, and apartments and they are always being broken into....The Police Department includes a notice in our Neighborhood Newsletter advising everyone to pick up their mail in a timely manner when there's been an incident of mail theft in the area.....and it seems to happen more and more frequently.....

Ours was broken into last year and we had to pick up our mail at the Post Office until the Community Mailbox was repaired and when I went to get my mail there was a long line of people from other subdivisions that had also experienced a break in.....its become a major problem...😫

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@Spurt  Around here everyone has individual mailboxes at the bottom of their driveway. Mailman drives his truck and delivers the mail. If the flag is up he takes the mail with him back to the PO. I don't think I'll let my husband do that anymore though.

[Spurt]

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@proudlyfromNJ wrote:

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@Spurt wrote:

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@Isobel Archer wrote:

We sent a birthday card containing a check  - deposited in a mail box outside the post office - on Sun Apr 3.  On Monday Apr 4, the check was altered (different payee and with a significant increase in amount) and cashed.

We reported this to the bank, the Postal Investigative Service and to the local police.

I read an article where theft from mail boxes is increasing at an alarming rate.  Apparently, it is safer to mail inside the post office.

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@Isobel Archer 

And this is an issue that doesn't just happen at mailboxes outside the Post Office....back in the good ole days people had invidiual mailboxes in front of their homes, but then they started these banks of COMMUNITY MAILBOXES in subdivisions, condos, and apartments and they are always being broken into....The Police Department includes a notice in our Neighborhood Newsletter advising everyone to pick up their mail in a timely manner when there's been an incident of mail theft in the area.....and it seems to happen more and more frequently.....

Ours was broken into last year and we had to pick up our mail at the Post Office until the Community Mailbox was repaired and when I went to get my mail there was a long line of people from other subdivisions that had also experienced a break in.....its become a major problem...😫

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@Spurt  Around here everyone has individual mailboxes at the bottom of their driveway. Mailman drives his truck and delivers the mail. If the flag is up he takes the mail with him back to the PO. I don't think I'll let my husband do that anymore though.

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@proudlyfromNJ 

You are very lucky, I guess we have lazy mail personnel that must've come up with this bright idea of community mailboxes because it seems invidual mailboxes are a thing of the past here in the city limits...

[Linda0215]

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@Isobel Archer wrote:

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@Linda0215 wrote:

This is nothing new.  It's been going on for years. When thieves see an envelope that looks like it might be a birthday card, they assume there is cash in it and it is stolen.  It's even been an ongoing problem within the Postal Service itself.  What I don't understand is the brazen altering of the check.  Shame on the bank that cashed it.  I work for a bank and the tellers are thoroughly trained to look out for anything that looks slightly suspicious. Protocol is the teller should bring it to the attention of the branch manager for investigation.  That teller would have been fired if this happened at my bank.   No questions asked. I'm sorry you had to go through that.   Crooks work overtime trying to cheat the public.  They should just get a job.  

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The deposit was done online.  Not sure what kind of security they have for that.  Our bank is BOA.  It was deposited into a TD bank account.  BOA is investigating and expects to retrieve their (our) money.

The article I read said there are ways to remove the ink from the check and rewrite it.  The online check in our bank statement shows the original signature - but the date, payee and amount are all printed in a clearly different hand - but there is no other evidence that anything was altered.  You can't see any erasure or other indication of change.

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Ohh ok, use have missed that.  I wonder if their bank has questions for the owner of the account it was deposited into.   I wouldn't let this one go.  

[icezeus]

I pay the majority of my bills online, but there is always that one off where I need to mail a check. Today for instance I needed to mail my payment to the IRS, since the deadline is Monday. I went inside the post office because I wanted it to be date stamped with today's date.

I have occasionally used the boxes outside of the post office thinking that they were safe. I guess I have to rethink that. They would be disappointed if they grabbed brightly colored cards that I mail to my Niece and Nephew for their birthday. I use the Cash App to send their birthday money. 

@Spurt 

I also have the community mailbox in my subdivision. Surprisingly it has not happened to mine yet, being broken into that is, but I have the Ring APP and it was happening to boxes all around me starting in 2020. I was making myself check my mailbox every day which I hate. They finally caught them last year, it was some sort of organized theft ring. Ughhh