Is mailing checks safe? The U.S. Postal Service is seeing a rise in mail theft

Tim Hrenchir, Topeka Capital-Journal
·3 min read
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Amid the hustle and bustle of last year's holiday season, Kansas postal employee Paula Kendall stole two Walmart gift cards and a Visa gift card from U.S. mail that was entrusted to her, federal prosecutors say.

A federal grand jury filed three charges of mail theft in an indictment last March against Kendall, 39, a resident of Haysville in Sedgwick County. The case is pending.

Federal court records identify four other Kansas postal employees — one each from Salina, Fort Scott, Wichita and Kansas City, Kansas — as having been convicted of mail theft over the past five years.

Another, from Herkimer in Marshall County, was put on diversion after facing that charge.

Mail carrier Edward Medley, of Groveport, Ohio, loads his delivery truck with mail and packages earlier this year. The postal service is seeking to slow down an increase it has seen in mail theft and robberies of mail carriers.
Mail carrier Edward Medley, of Groveport, Ohio, loads his delivery truck with mail and packages earlier this year. The postal service is seeking to slow down an increase it has seen in mail theft and robberies of mail carriers.

How much is mail theft increasing?

Kendall's prosecution comes at a time when the U.S. Postal Service is cracking down on mail theft and robberies of mail carriers, which it says are both on the rise.

The nation's number of robberies of mail carriers rose from 412 in fiscal year 2022 — which ended Sept. 30, 2022 — to 305 in the first half of fiscal year 2023, which ended March 31, the Postal Service announced in May.

It said the nation's number of high-volume thefts of mail, including from blue collection boxes, rose from 38,500 in all of fiscal year 2022 to 25,000 during the first half of fiscal year 2023.

Is it safe to send checks through the mail?

Though the Postal Service hasn't discouraged customers from mailing checks, some experts urge consumers to be careful about doing that.

It may be more secure to pay online, an official with Consumer Reports told USA Today.

"I mean there's problems with that as well, but you would avoid the risk of having the check intercepted and cashed by someone else," said Chuck Bell, advocacy programs director for that nonprofit consumer group.

What can I do to prevent mail theft?

The Postal Service provided these tips for preventing mail theft:

• Keep an out eye for your mail carrier. If something looks suspicious, or your mail carrier is being followed, call 911.

• Remove your mail from your mailbox every day. By letting incoming or outgoing mail sit there, you increase your chance of being victimized.

• Spread awareness and share information by getting involved and engaged in your neighborhood through neighborhood watches and local social media groups.

• Send out your mail in ways that are secure, including at your place of business or local post office, or by handing it to a mail carrier.

• Sign up for the free Informed Delivery service to receive daily emails that preview your mail and packages scheduled to arrive soon.

What steps are the Postal Service taking to fight mail theft?

The Postal Service announced in May that it was taking specific steps to prevent mail theft and increase protection for its employees and facilities, including the following:

• Installing 12,000 high-security blue collection boxes, which are more difficult for criminals to break into.

• Using electronic locks to replacing 49,000 antiquated "arrow" locks to post office receptacles. The Postal Service said criminals are increasingly robbing mail carriers of their arrow and modified arrow lock keys, which can then be used to steal mail from secure receptacles.

• Taking various steps to fight the use of counterfeit postage.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: USPS sees rising mail thefts, including several cases in Kansas