USPS Issues New Warning About Mailing Checks After Victims Lose Thousands
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While it’s easier than ever to make payments digitally, many of us still find ourselves using the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to send out money—whether that’s mailing out a rent check, or getting square with the IRS. No matter the reason, there are countless checks being sent through the postal system every single day. You may want to exercise some caution before dropping one in the mailbox, however, as the USPS has issued a new warning about mailing checks. Read on to discover what the agency is advising customers to do now.
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“The check was for $113 and I see a withdraw out of my checking account in the amount of $2,560 and I said what is this,” Castiglione told the news outlet. “I started to think it through a little bit, put two and two together, and I said maybe somebody stole something from my check.”
Just a week prior, WPTV had spoken to another victim named Lorna Swartz , who said that a $50,000 check she had mailed to the IRS had also been swiped from the same facility.
“I called the police. I called the bank and indeed it was confirmed that it was a fraudulent check, that someone else other than the IRS had cashed it,” she told the news outlet.
RELATED: USPS Just Issued a New Warning About Mailing Cash .
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This type of incident is hardly isolated to one community in Florida.
In Feb. 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) sent out an alert warning people across the country about a “nationwide surge in mail-theft related check fraud schemes.” According to the agency, reports of check fraud filed by banks nearly doubled to 680,000 in 2022 from just 350,000 in 2021.
One of the most common tactics thieves use to commit this fraud is check washing.
“After stealing checks from the U.S. Mail, fraudsters and organized criminal groups may alter or ‘wash’ the checks, replacing the payee information with their own or fraudulent identities or with business accounts that the criminals control,” FinCEN explained in its alert. “During check washing, these illicit actors also often increase the dollar amount on the check, sometimes by hundreds or thousands of dollars.”
RELATED: See a Sticker on Your Mailbox? Don’t Touch It, USPS Says .
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In light of the recent incidents in Boynton Beach and a nationwide rise in check fraud, the Postal Service is urging customers to be more vigilant when mailing checks. In a statement to WPTV, a USPS spokesperson said that the most important way people can protect themselves is by paying attention to when they are mailing their checks out.
“We ask customers to observe the pickup times on collection boxes and if after the last scheduled pickup to come inside the building to deposit their mail if at a post office,” the spokesperson said. “If at another location, observe the pickup time and do not deposit if after scheduled time.”
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One of the reasons check fraud is surging right now is because “the mail system isn’t as secure as everyone thought it was,” Paul Benda , senior vice president of operational risk and cybersecurity at the American Bankers Association, told The New York Times . As a result, he said he advises people against mailing checks at all.
“We really recommend that if you can, use electronic payment methods,” Benda said.
But some victims say this isn’t a solution for everyone, and instead are calling on the USPS to do more to prevent mail theft and check-washing.
“You know, something should be done about this,” Castiglione told WPTV. “You know, you have a lot of older people living in South Florida who I imagine still write checks manually. They’re gonna get hit.”
See a Sticker on Your Mailbox? Don’t Touch It, USPS Says
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Your mailbox serves a very simple purpose: receiving mail and leaving outgoing mail for a carrier to pick up. Still, some of us enjoy sprucing up our mailboxes, adding personal flair, color, or even decals to help an otherwise standard mailbox stand out. But if you notice a paw print sticker on your mailbox that you didn’t add, don’t start peeling it off just yet—it’s likely part of a program run by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to help keep carriers safe. Read on to find out what these stickers mean and why you shouldn’t remove them.
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In 2023, more than 5,800 Postal Service workers were attacked by dogs while delivering mail, up from 5,300 in 2022, according to a USPS press release.
Larger cities had the highest numbers of attacks, with Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, St. Louis, and Cleveland claiming the top five spots.
“Even though a customer’s dog is friendly to most people, it can always have a bad day,” said letter carrier Tara Snyder . “I know, from experience, even when a dog is in the house, customers need to make sure their door is secure so their dog can’t push it open and bite the letter carrier.”
To her point, the USPS writes that “all dogs can bite, even those perceived as nonaggressive.” In fact, many of the attacks that letter carriers report are by dogs whose owners told them, “My dog won’t bite.”
Such an attack can result in consequences for the homeowner, too. According to data from the Insurance Information Institute, the average cost per insurance claim for a dog bite is $64,555, the USPS states.
“When a postal employee suffers an injury, the owner could be responsible for medical bills, lost wages, uniform replacement costs, and pain and suffering for the employee,” they explain.
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To combat dog bites, the Postal Service shared tips on how pet owners can “support safe mail delivery.” These include keeping dogs inside the house or behind a fence, away from the door or in another room, or on a leash.
“Pet owners also should remind children not to take mail directly from a letter carrier as the dog may view the carrier as a threat to the child,” they state.
Mail carriers also follow protocol to keep them aware of areas where dogs might be present, and they’re equipped with scanners to remind them of possible dog hazards, as well as dog warning cards that are added during mail sorting.
In 2020, the USPS added another preventive measure: the PAWS Program . First introduced in Pennsylvania, the program uses mailbox stickers to keep carriers safe.
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The PAWS Program uses color-coded stickers affixed to mailboxes to inform mail carriers about dogs in the area. An orange sticker with a black paw print tells carriers that there is a dog at this home, while a yellow sticker with a black paw print tells them there is a dog at the next house.
Citizens are informed ahead of time that the stickers may appear on their mailboxes. In a notice sent to Lakewood, Ohio, residents, the Postal Service wrote, “Carriers will soon be placing a paw sticker on mailboxes to indicate that a dog or dogs live in the area —yellow indicates dog nearby/orange indicates dog at residence. The sticker will act as a reminder to the carrier that they should proceed with caution, especially when delivering packages to the door.”
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Removing these stickers may do more harm than good, as your mail service can be halted if your carrier feels unsafe. Not only does this affect the home of the dog owner, but it also applies to the entire neighborhood, the USPS said in a previous press release . Service isn’t restored in these instances “until the aggressive dog is properly restrained.”
At the end of the day, these stickers are put in place to “reduce the risk of dog bites and attacks that occur while delivering mail,” which is just another reason you should leave the sticker on your mailbox.
“We all love our dogs,” Kimberly Tilley , acting postmaster for Winston-Salem, told WGHP. “We love our animals, but we … have to take responsibility to protect the carrier and the people around us as well from our animals.”
Tilley added that dog bites are more common than you think, and they can be traumatic for carriers. “Once a carrier has been bit, it sets some fear in them long term for the rest of their life,” she told the outlet.
However, although these stickers are strongly recommended, if you object to having a sticker placed on your mailbox, you can opt out , Kyle Stevens , Southwest Carrier Annex station manager in South Dakota, told KELO in 2021. To do so, the first step would be to contact your local post office.
This story has been updated to include additional entries, fact-checking, and copy-editing.
