A mail theft epidemic? Stolen checks are only the beginning, researcher says.

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NORWOOD, Ohio ‒ He was on break, eating lunch inside a vehicle that has seemingly become a target for criminals across the country. That’s when the door started to shake, and he looked in his mirror. The mail carrier saw a young man in a dark hoodie and a mask.

Soon, he saw a gun.

The young man walked around the truck, pointing the gun at the carrier and screaming for his keys. He didn't want the vehicle, he wanted the keys to other collection boxes. Soon, the gun touched the mail carrier’s head. He gave up his keys and dropped his phone. The masked man took his phone, keys and left.

A short time later, the postal worker put his hands on his head and apologized to a police officer for not remembering more details about the suspect. He removed his hat and talked to the officer using his hands.

He had no words.

Nationwide spike in mail theft

This incident happened in January, and it would not be the last. It’s part of a worrying trend of mail theft that experts say the U.S. Postal Service is not equipped to handle.

In March, officials with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, whose jurisdiction covers Cincinnati and surrounding areas, said they were investigating more than $200,000 stolen from local residents in the mail.

"Try to avoid all blue mailboxes inside Hamilton County," a detective warned.

Earlier in October, a mail carrier was robbed at 11 a.m. in Green Township, Ohio. Recently, detectives in Hamilton County said they’ve investigated more than 130 cases of mail theft this year. An investigator told the NBC affiliate in Cincinnati that more than $2 million was stolen from these victims.

Officials with the sheriff’s office declined an interview request from The Enquirer, a part of the Paste BN Network, deferring questions to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The inspection service also declined an interview request, emailing a prepared statement instead.

The statement said the inspection service has open investigations into these robberies and other mail thefts in Greater Cincinnati. It said officials are working with law enforcement and regularly provide tips for how employees can protect themselves on duty.

“The U.S. Mail remains one of the most secure means of transmitting personal information,” said Nicole Lutz, a public information officer for the inspection service in Cincinnati.

Postal workers union president question what's being done

The mail hasn’t gotten a lot of good press lately.

Police discovered one case involving a large car-theft ring because one of the suspects allegedly robbed a postal worker. A search of that suspect’s home in Cleveland uncovered more than just mail. It also showed these robberies are not being carried out by lone wolfs. They're part of larger criminal organizations.

The president of a national union for the postal police force has called it a “mail theft epidemic.” And U.S. Sen Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, wrote a letter to top postal officials last month, urging them to do something to keep mail and mail carriers safer. The senator blamed the Postal Inspection Service for no longer allowing postal police officers to patrol mail carrier routes.

Brown cited an internal USPS memo saying there’s been a 400% increase in postal robberies since 2019. That's an increase of more than 7,000 reported violent crimes against postal employees, Brown said in his letter.

The Ohio senator isn't the only member of Congress asking what's going on at the Postal Service. A subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform went to Philadelphia to ask local leaders about recent increases in postal mail theft and crime ‒ and whether the Postal Service was prepared to effectively receive and deliver mail-in ballots nationally during the upcoming midterm elections.

Why are mail carriers being targeted?

This is what’s happening: Criminals are targeting mail carriers specifically for what’s called arrow keys. These keys typically unlock multiple blue drop boxes and other collection boxes throughout a community. Around 3 or 4 a.m., someone will open those boxes and take the mail. Sometimes, they leave enough mail behind to avoid tipping off the post office.

Once the criminals get the mail, it’s often taken to cheap hotels to sort through. Those involved will pay people addicted to drugs to search through the mail for checks and credit cards, according to a researcher who studies mail theft. The checks are then washed so new amounts of money and new recipients can be written on them. Those checks are then sold online.

And that might only be the beginning.

David Maimon is a professor at Georgia State University. He researches cybercrimes and has been studying mail theft for several years. As he spoke to The Enquirer, a newly stolen mail key from Ohio was posted for sale on one of the websites Maimon monitors. These keys can go for anywhere from $1,000 to $7,000, depending on how many boxes they open. Maimon said when his team first started researching mail theft they saw about 100 checks a week sold online.

Now, they see 2,000 a week.

“Whatever USPS is doing, it isn’t working,” Maimon said.

Stolen checks are only the beginning, he said. In some places, criminals are using checks and informants from banks to access information used to steal identities. The post office has also begun investigating employees who may have accepted money to sell or loan their mail keys.

At first, Maimon believed the rise in mail thefts came from kids and young adults who were bored during the pandemic. His research revealed much more complex criminal organizations than you might realize.

“People don’t understand the magnitude of what we’re seeing,” Maimon said. “It’s a nightmare.”

Brown said more than 500 checks were stolen from Ohioans and posted for sale online in January. Frank Albergo, national president of the Postal Police Officers Association, told a Cincinnati ABC affiliate that USPS has no postal police officers based in the area.

It all points to a problem that doesn't seem easy to fix. It's something that Maimon said he thinks about all the time.

“Every morning, I wake up and I think there won’t be any checks online,” he said. “But there always is.”

What you can do to protect yourself

• Place outgoing mail in USPS collection boxes before the day’s last pick-up time, labeled on the front of the boxes. That way the mail won’t sit there overnight.
• Go inside a post office and place your mail inside a receptacle or hand it to a clerk. There are many post offices with 24-hour lobby access. Customers can find lobby hours on USPS.com.
• Those who believe they may have been a victim of mail theft should contact the Postal Inspection Service at 877-876-2455. That phone number may also be used if anyone has information about recent robberies of mail carriers.

What can I do if my check was stolen or cashed?

• Contact your bank or credit union right away. Call the police and file a report. The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency says, generally, the bank will require you to complete an affidavit stating that you did not authorize the check. The bank may also request that you file a police report.
• If your bank is a national bank or federal savings association, and you are unable to resolve the issue with the bank, file a written complaint with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's Customer Assistance Group.
• According to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, you are not responsible for a check if someone forged the signature of the intended recipient of the check.
• Explain the situation to your bank and request that the money be restored to your account.
• If the check was processed as an electronic transfer, you have additional protections under federal law, according to the consumer financial bureau.