14 Alarming Mail Theft Statistics to Increase Awareness (2023)

FAQs

What are the stats on mail theft? ›

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) received 61,207 complaints about mail theft in 2020, compared to the 58,696 reported in 2019. This statistic is a telling indication of the growing prevalence of mail theft in the United States.

For instance, USPS claims that there are as many as 1.7 million cases of mail thefts daily.

Such post allows an identity thief to get your birth date, Social Security Number, phone, driver's license number, username, and passwords. Basically, identity thieves may target any direct mail that includes personal details.

The Fraud: A random few of the many, many examples of mail and wire fraud include things like sending fake invoices, running crooked online auctions, or even something as simple as stealing from a neighbor's mailbox to find checks or prescriptions or credit cards offers and the like.

Sometimes thieves are looking for bank statements, social security checks, or personally identifiable information they can use to steal your identity. Mail theft is a felony with serious consequences (five years in prison and fines of up to $250,000).

Yes, If the Mailboxes Belong to You

Make sure that you point the CCTV cameras to public areas like the driveway and sidewalk, but not at your neighbors' properties. Or else, you may intrude on others' privacy and get involved in legal issues.

Smart Parcel Lockers: the Best Tool for Package Theft Prevention. If you are wondering how to avoid package theft, apartment package lockers are the answer. Investing in a parcel locker with a smart lock is the best apartment solution for communities interested in preventing package theft.

Made of 12-Gauge and 14-Gauge powder-coated galvanized steel, the Mail Boss will not bend or break. With the revolutionary patented Fast Trak Mounting system, homeowners can install the Mail Boss in just minutes.

We found that about half (49%) of those who've had a package stolen live in the suburbs; not surprising since 54% of survey respondents live in the suburbs. However, those that live in a city are more likely to be a victim of package theft (39% – higher than the proportion of survey respondents: 29%).

Do people steal checks out of the mail? ›

In one common approach known as “check washing,” detailed in the FinCEN alert, criminals steal signed checks from postal boxes, then use common chemicals like nail polish remover to remove the dollar amount and the name of the “payee,” or recipient.

Nearly 4 in 10 shoppers have had a package stolen before it could be delivered, according to a study commissioned by ValuePenguin.

The three D's of identity theft are deter, detect, and defend. Answers will vary, but should be similar to the following:“Deter” is to prevent identity theft by protecting personal information from others.

Rent a P.O. Box

box is one of the most secure ways to receive mail and prevent mail tampering. P.O. boxes are mailboxes located at your local post office. The mail essentially goes from the post office to your box.

Mail Theft

Or call USPIS: 1-877-876-2455.

Yes, stealing mail is a federal crime. Anyone accused of mail theft must understand that the United States Postal Service (USPS) takes mail theft very seriously. Those who commit this offense can face serious penalties.

The United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) investigates: Mail Theft.

Mailbox fishing involves a thief tying a string to various items covered in a sticky substance into the mail collection box and pulling out mail. The crooks want checks, credit cards and account statements they can use for identity theft.

“Community mailboxes are a target for thieves because they can steal multiple pieces of mail at one location, and most of the time, those mailboxes are not monitored by any cameras,” explains the police department's Ty Wood.

What happens if mail man steals mail? ›

The Postal Service does its best to return stolen and recovered mail to mailers or recipients. USPS Office of the Inspector General public information officer Jeff Arney said, "If we recover mail, we make every attempt to work with the Postal Service to get the mail back to its intended recipient.

It's affordable and easy to install. The U.S Postal Service recommends getting a Label 33. You can get this label from your local post office. It's a sticker that warns thieves that mail theft and damage to a mailbox is a federal crime.

You can create Smart Mailboxes that automatically organize email messages into a single mailbox, based on criteria you specify. For example, a Smart Mailbox could display all the emails you receive about a specific project, regardless of which mailboxes they're stored in.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) permits mailbox decoration so long as your creative flights of fancy don't interfere with mail delivery or pick-up. That said, this only applies if you have a full-use mailbox with a flag that indicates when there's outgoing mail.

Porch pirates likely hope that small packages contain expensive items that can be resold, such as phones, video game systems, sound systems, or computers. Some people might simply have a compulsion towards theft that drives them to seek out the thrill of stealing.

When you leave your room or office, even for a moment, always keep your doors and windows locked. Do not prop open or disengage the locking system on the door or windows. Never leave your purse, wallet, book bag, laptop, cell phone, earbuds, or other property unattended even for a moment in a public setting.

Prying your mailbox door open is the fastest way to open your mailbox when you have lost your key. You may even be able to open a cheaper lock with your neighbor's key, manicure scissors, or a small thin knife. Prying requires little skill, and you only need a flathead screwdriver and claw hammer to get the job done.

A vandal proof mailbox should be securely placed in the ground with either an In-Ground or Surface Mount Steel Mounting Post, and then secured with concrete or heavy-duty mounting bolts.

An Abuse Mailbox is where employees reported email threats like business email compromise (BEC) and credential phishing attacks are sent for analysis. SOC analysts use the Abuse Mailbox to sort, analyze, and respond to user-reported suspicious emails.

Do police care about stolen packages? ›

If there have been package thefts in your neighborhood recently, there is a higher likelihood that the cops will investigate the situation. If you're planning on making an insurance claim regarding the missing delivery, a police report can be helpful documentation to have.

A 2022 survey conducted by the National Retail Federation found laundry detergent to be among the most stolen items in organized retail crime, which has contributed to a $94.5 billion inventory shrinkage issue for the retail industry. These crimes aren't as simple as a lone shoplifter pocketing a product.

Often, it's up to the seller or retailer to ensure that you receive your package. Thus, anything that happens in transit is the responsibility of the seller; they are responsible if the package is lost or damaged during transit, and usually must replace it or give a reimbursement.

If writing a check cannot be avoided, it should be done using a black gel pen. The gel seeps into the fibers of a check and will ruin an attempt of washing. Any valuable mail should be taken directly inside a USPS Postal Office and handed to an employee.

Check forgery is when someone forges their name on a check. They may take someone else's check and forge their signature. Then, they may deposit the check in their own account or use it to buy goods or services at a business. In other cases, thieves may forge the endorsement.

What can someone do with a stolen check? Once they've intercepted your check, thieves might find a way to cash it for the amount written or change it to a larger amount. In some cases, they may use chemicals to alter the name of the payee, or the amount.

The amount of money that Amazon lost on shipping — a.k.a. the net cost of landing all those brown boxes on your doorstep in record time — reached an all-time high of nearly $7.2 billion in 2016, according to GeekWire's analysis of the e-commerce giant's financial results.

And that's just one case. According to the 2022 Package Theft Report from SafeWise [*]: “260 million packages worth over $19 billion dollars were stolen by porch pirates over the last 12 months.”

You can track the status of your claim through your Amazon Pay account. Once Amazon has reviewed the claim, they'll either refund your payment or refuse to do so if the seller provides proof of delivery.

appear to be forged or altered; Personal identifying information (i.e., photograph, physical description) on the identification does not match the individual presenting the information; Address or name does not match the information on the identification and/or insurance card(s), credit card(s), etc.

What is the most extreme case of identity theft? ›

The credit check fraudster who stole 33,000 identities

In 2004, Philip Cummings pleaded guilty to one of the largest identity theft cases in the United States. Cummings worked a desk job at Teledata Communications, Inc. in Long Island, New York, where he helped companies run routine credit checks.

If anyone, including a spouse, family member, or intimate partner, uses your personal information to open up an account in your name without your permission, this could be considered identify theft.

This person may be the actual fraudster or someone the criminal has manipulated into acting as a front for the fraud. The accounts are then used to either launder money or commit future fraud. Criminals use stolen credentials and personal data to open accounts in the names of individuals without their knowledge.

The short answer is “yes.” Opening or destroying mail that is addressed to someone else is a crime called “Obstruction of Correspondence.” It is a serious felony that could lead to prison time. It is remarkably easy to find yourself charged with this crime, even if you didn't mean to do anything wrong.

To start, choose a sturdy box or padded envelope to ship with. When shipping one or two cell phones, a padded envelope is a great option. If shipping more than a couple cell phones, a rigid box should be used. If you do not have access to a box, USPS provides Flat Rate Priority Mail boxes free or charge.

According to the USPS, approximately 1 out of every 20,000 pieces of mail they handle becomes lost. That comes out to a 0. 005% chance that your mail will be lost.

According a survey at Finder.com in 2020:

17% of men say they've had a package stolen versus 11% of women. Over 25% of those making over 100K per year were victims. Only 12% of those making under 60K had a package stolen. Millennials made up 49% of the victims.

How common is package theft? ›

Package Theft Victims

Most (67%) have had one package stolen, 22% have had two, and 11% have had three or more stolen. Over one-third (34%) of Americans know someone who had a package stolen this year, and almost one in five (19%) know a neighbor who had a package stolen.

Although the U.S. mail system seems to be a sinking ship, don't expect it to go away any time soon. With its rich history and nostalgia, plus government red tape, we'll likely see the growth of private competitors before we actually see the end of U.S. mail.

The Postal Service™ will attempt to find and return your lost item(s), but submitting a search does not guarantee a successful outcome. We will return any mail piece from which we can locate a good address or match with an official search request.

Whether you're shipping a package or standard mail, you should know that not all USPS services come with a tracking feature. However, to have USPS tracking, you can pay for additional services for your packages, such as USPS marketing mail and First Class Mail.

Maybe they just think of your average home invasion where someone's television is taken while they're at work. But none of these things come anywhere close to the biggest type of theft in the United States: wage theft. Every year, corporations steal billions of dollars in wages from their own workers.

Enforcing Federal Statutes

Our Postal Inspectors are federal law enforcement officers who carry firearms, make arrests, execute federal search warrants, and serve subpoenas. Over 1200 Inspectors enforce roughly 200 federal laws covering crimes that include fraudulent use of the U.S. Mail^® and the postal system.

Alaska and Rhode Island topped the list for both package theft rates and median value of stolen shipments, followed closely by Oklahoma. Arizona thieves ended up stealing the lowest-value packages, followed closely by Illinois, Louisiana, and New Jersey.