Peekskill
The Peekskill Police Department believes someone is stealing mail containing checks from a drop off point outside the post office at 738 South Street.
The department received multiple reports of stolen checks from this location being used for identity theft or financial fraud.
Residents are asked to bring their mail inside the South Street Post Office or use a different location to send any mail containing checks or other financial documents.
Elena Matheson, a Peekskill resident, said several thousand dollars evaporated from her bank account in August after she and her husband paid two bills and mailed them.
“What happens is I guess they get the check and with the ink they can ‘wash’ the amount and the ‘payable’ and that’s how it goes into their account,” Matheson said.
Matheson’s bank reimbursed his account and launched his own investigation, but the interruption of his life became a big deal.
“Every time I pay a bill now, I have to change the routing number and I have to change the account number on our accounts,” he said. “And we’ve had to contact people we make direct payments with.”
Peekskill residents aren’t the only ones under attack.
Several Westchester County police departments have received similar reports of mailbox theft involving checks and other financial documents.
According to the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, sidewalk post office boxes have been broken into by force or with a stolen key.
There have also been reports of mailboxes being stolen from the street and thieves using fishing techniques to get mail out of mailboxes.
If you think your mail has been stolen, call the police and then call Postal Inspectors at 1-877-876-2455.
Recommendations
The United States Postal Inspection Service offers the following tips to protect your mail from thieves:
-Use the letter slots inside your post office for your mail, or give it to a mail carrier.
-Collect your mail immediately after delivery. Don’t leave it in your mailbox overnight. If you’re expecting checks, credit cards, or other negotiable items, ask a trusted friend or neighbor to pick up your mail.
-If you do not receive a check or other valuable mail that you expected, contact the issuing agency immediately.
-If you change your address, immediately notify your post office and anyone you do business with by mail.
-Do not send cash through the mail.
-Tell your post office when you will be out of town, so they can hold your mail until you return.
-Report all suspected mail theft to a Postal Inspector.
-Consider starting a neighborhood watch program. By exchanging work and vacation schedules with trusted friends and neighbors, they can keep an eye on each other’s mailboxes (as well as homes).
-Check with your local postmaster for the most up-to-date regulations on mailboxes, including the availability of locked curbside or centralized mailboxes.
-Sign up for Informed Delivery at USPS.com. This service provides daily email notifications of incoming mail and packages.
If you see a mail thief at work, or if you think your mail has been stolen, call the police right away and then call postal inspectors at 1-877-876-2455.
Posted on September 16, 2022
