BEWARE OF PAYING BILLS BY CHECK AND THEN LEAVING YOUR MAILBOX FLAG UP
We are receiving reports of individuals cruising through neighborhoods looking for mailbox flags that are up that indicate to your postal carrier that you have mail that needs to be picked up. The elderly seem to be a particularly attractive target for this type of activity.
Thieves are opening mailboxes with the flags up and taking out mail that appears to contain a check for things such as utility bills, or credit card payments. Thieves then "wash" the check and insert new information in the "Pay To The Order Of" section and insert new numbers in the amount of the check and in the spelled out portion of the check amount, and then cash the check.
You think you've paid your utility bill and the utility company never receives your payment, and you have a check cashed for an amount you were unaware of. It turns out to be a big mess.
If you can, monitor your mailbox until your carrier comes to pick it up, or maybe a neighbor can do it for you, or if you know the approximate time your carrier is in your neighborhood, hand it to them personally. Or drop envelopes with checks in them off at your local post office.
Just another way folks are trying to exploit others. Tampering with the mail is a federal violation and may be reported through your local Postmaster. If you are a Forrest County resident the Forrest County Sheriff's Office will also take a report and if we can gather enough evidence to present for prosecution of a state law, we will.
Original source can be found here.
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