The Chattanooga Police Department (CPD) says residents should be on high alert as mail theft in the city increases.
“Due to an increase in mail theft, we suggest that if you are mailing important documents or currency, please refrain from using mail drop boxes,” said a weekend message from CPD. “Go inside the post office instead.”
The department did not elaborate further, and did not return a Monday comment request seeking further clarification.
As The Star News Network has reported at length, mail theft is on the rise in the United States.
According to the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), more than 2,000 people were the victims of mail fraud in the 2019 fiscal year.
In Cleveland, post offices were taping shut USPS’s ubiquitous blue boxes in an attempt to prevent fraud after the entire state of Ohio experienced in uptick in mail theft.
In early 2021, Representative Ken Calvert (R-CA-42) introduced federal legislation that would harshen penalties for mail theft, making them a crime punishable by 10 years in prison instead of five.
“According to the Postal Inspection Service, mail theft has increased by 600 percent over the past three years,” he said at the time. “It’s clear we must send a stronger message and have a more effective deterrent for would-be mail thieves. That’s why I have introduced the Ensuring the Safety of Our Mail Act, which would double the jail time for anyone convicted of mail theft. Americans deserve to rely on the safe and secure delivery of their mail.”
Just last week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the arrests of 56 people in a massive mail theft scheme that netted the criminals nearly $5 million.
“The suspects — who operated out of multiple counties across California, including Los Angeles County and San Bernardino County — allegedly altered stolen checks, deposited them into bank accounts, then quickly withdrew money from ATMs before the banks discovered the checks were forged,” according to a release from Bonta’s office. “The California Department of Justice (DOJ) charged the suspects with felony grand theft, money laundering, and conspiracy.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Mailboxes” by Christopher Finklea.
