Home > Duluth.Talk > Archives > 2006 > April > 25 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USMail theft hits too close to home in Duluth
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I live in a beautiful townhome community in Duluth. It is a storybook community that is a melting pot for the different ethnic groups that give Gwinnett its unique flavoring.
We have a walking trail, our own lake, and two sets of grand gates that stand as fortresses at the north and south sides of our pristine community. And until a few weeks ago, some of us who live here were deluded enough to believe that those gates and the amenities behind them separated us from the ugliness and inconvenience that affect everyone outside.
In February, a woman in our community called me (I work with the homeowners’ board) to report that she had seen two young women foraging inside community mailboxes. The neighbor did not call 911, but she did make a report to the postman. He said he would not be surprised if it was theft, since there had been several reports of mail theft in Gwinnett over the first few days of the month.
The next morning on the news, I heard that two women had been arrested for foraging in mailboxes in Doraville and Norcross, but there was no mention that they had been going into mailboxes in Duluth.
However, I thought it was too coincidental and called the police to report that I believed that the two women in custody for the alleged mailbox thefts in those two cities may also have been involved in mailbox thefts in my community.
Local police referred me to a United States Postal Service inspector in charge of the case. To my chagrin, I fell personally and deeper into this story than I could have imagined.
I had left bills to be paid in my mailbox with the red handle in an upward position to alert the postal courier to pick up letters. Instead, the handle became a red flag to the mail thieves that there was a good chance that checks were in the mailbox — and the women had stolen the checks from those bills.
I felt a mixture of anger and relief when the postal inspector told me that they had my checks in their possession and that they were now federal evidence against the duo. Luckily, the checks had not been altered or negotiated, so all that I had to do was to reissue checks to my creditors.
What a wake-up call this scenario was for me.
I would like hear from others who have gone around in a naive fog thinking that crime happens everywhere — except in their beautiful Gwinnett suburban community. What is your story? And what can be done to prevent mail theft?
Permalink | Comments (20) | Categories: Beni Dakar
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By CHRISTY
April 25, 2006 09:15 AM | Link to this
I have experienced YEARS of mail related problems.Theft on a few occassions, including items I had ordered & had “tracking” that proved it was delivered to my post box, YET I never rec’ved! The U.S. Postal service and its workers are wholey responsible for the problems I’ve experienced however-NOT theives on the street. Last week I had to drive over 2 hrs. roundtrip to pick up an insurance check, because the initial check issued, over 2 months earlier never made it to my P.O. BOX!
By Allen
April 25, 2006 09:22 AM | Link to this
I had mail stolen internally from the post office. It was coins that I ordered thru the mail. I live in a safe and secure townhome community and my mail box is locked. When I reported this to the Sandy Springs Post Office, I was handed a business card and told by the PO worker that “They are not customer service and I need to call this number”! The post office does not care.
By Fred
April 25, 2006 09:39 AM | Link to this
I used to live in a very nice neighborhood of approximately 350 homes in Peachtree Corners. Over the course of ten years there, I believe that there were nearly 50 cases of homes being broken into and robbed. Many of these cases happened during daylight hours. My home was one of them.
When I told the police that the problem was serious in our neighborhood, he told me that he hadn’t heard of any problems there. It is my belief that the Gwinnett County Police department either has a very poor tracking and information system or they are so overloaded with worse crimes that they don’t have much time to investigate home intrusions.
By Jennifer
April 25, 2006 09:55 AM | Link to this
I actually had to report my postal carrier as he was the one I traced to my missing child support checks.
Over the course of six weeks there were six checks missing and I called the Circuit Clerk to verify that they had in fact been sent to me and they had. I asked the carrier about it and his manerisms screamed “I’m lying through my teeth.” I called the Postal Inspector and reported what I thought was happening and low and behold the very next day my carrier “found” the six checks in his mail truck. He said they were on the floor but obviously I don’t believe that they would go unnoticed for six weeks. I ended up renting a mail box from Mail Boxes Etc. because I was so concerned. After that I had a new carrier but I’m not sure what happened to the new one.
By Rod
April 25, 2006 09:56 AM | Link to this
I’ve heard horror stories of mail in mail boxes before, so a couple of years ago I stopped putting mail in my mailbox to go out. Even those without checks, as thieves will go box to box just taking whatever’s in there. I do have an option, as my wife works in an office where there is a collection for outgoing mail (it’s secure). We’ve never had a problem with that.
If you absolutely have to mail something from home, at least put it in the box in the morning on your way out. Lots of people put things in their boxes at night and stick the flag up. Just think about it - if you’re a mailbox thief, would you rather drive around a neighbor hood stealing mail at 10:00 AM when people could be watching, or at 3:00 AM when people are asleep and don’t see you. At least make it a little harder on the thieves.
By Rosa
April 25, 2006 10:01 AM | Link to this
I’ve been aware of identify theft well over 15 yrs. NEVER put mail into mailbox for pickup, have blank checks go to your bank or office or use UPS with signature required.
As postage rates go higher, the care and accuracy go lower. My mail is constantly delived to neighbors and one always reads my mail and wants me to order things from my catalogs. The neighbors usually wait 3 wks before alerting me. Why can’t they just put it back into the mailbox, as I do, with “Delivered to wrong address” on it?
By mt
April 25, 2006 11:24 AM | Link to this
i have a question is it ok for your supervisor to open your mail?I have a supervisor that open our mail that customer writes our names on it and she opens it before she gives it to us.Is this illegal should I tell someone?Please let me know///
By RWH
April 25, 2006 11:24 AM | Link to this
One of the gravest thing we do not want to hear about is….crime, killings, mail fraud, etc. The heartaches is…it right in the community where you live, work and play! I come to know that these situations do not come into a community; rather, its already there. Mr. No is the kindest man or Ms. Sink is a Chritian woman..when the truth is…they both are criminals living in your same gated-community, a picture perfect place to live so we think! A true and guarded community comes when we all look out for one and other; this cannot be a onetime thing, rather, it must be a prolong efforts and it can help a community more than it will hurt it. Know who move or live next to you, do your homework and do it well. People watch and case your community more than you will every know; never drop your guard and never put your personal information out into the public; no matter how safe you think your community is. Lock your car, even in your driveway; never leave your garage door open; wheather you home or not. When people case your community; they also case your house to see the weakness within and what tools you have that is of value. Dayligh hours; you are mostly likely think noone will enter your home or come on your property. In fact, they do and will steal from you even when you are in your home. Burn your mail or have it cut into small peices. Never let anyone into your home who claim they are representatives of a certian charity. They are actually casing your home to see what they can come back and get! Take precaution as well on your mail and never mail anything from your mailbox; no matter how safe you think your community is! Most crimes take place in communities where we think we are gated and safe…it where crime take place because we lease exspected it to be right under our nose!
By MDD
April 25, 2006 11:47 AM | Link to this
First and foremost, you can never let your guard down in this society. I too, have learned a valuable lesson about mailbox theft, because I was a victim of mailbox theft several months ago. Although not physically assaulted, it is a form of assault, I felt violated that someone would have the coconuts to go into my mailbox and take my mail, “For Shame.” When I immediately learned that I had been taken, I went out and rented a post-office box at the local UPS store. I now rest with a sigh of relief these days that I won’t be a victim again.
By ruth
April 25, 2006 11:55 AM | Link to this
A few of my own self-protection rules: 1. Never send mail from your home box. 2. Use bill-pay through your bank to pay bills securely, don’t have auto withdrawals set up through individual companies - that gives each company your banking information. 3. Have packages delivered to your work - if it’s secure- or to an attended address.
By Jennifer
April 25, 2006 11:55 AM | Link to this
mt, my guess would be if the mail is addressed to you then your supervisor is not within her rights to read it, but you may want to double check that with her boss because you don’t want to go around making false accusations as she may deem it ok since it’s ‘office mail.’ I am an office assistant and I never, under any circumstances, open someone else’s mail if it has their name on it. If it has the company name then I open it and deliver it to whom it belongs.
I think you bring up a valid point and I think you should definitely question it. Let us know the answer.
By gman
April 25, 2006 12:01 PM | Link to this
Last summer, I had a problem in sending back my movies from NetFlix. It was rare, but I also had trouble with movies getting delivered to me. Never had the problem before so I chalked it up to kids on summer break taking my movies. Only time I’ve really had mail trouble.
By Patrice
April 25, 2006 12:35 PM | Link to this
I was the victim of mailbox theft more than 10 years ago. I live in Duluth, in a neighborhood next to Berkeley Lake. We are not gated, and have outside mailboxes that are (unfortunately) easily accessible to anyone.
In my case, the stolen mail contained a paycheck from a temp agency. It was the first check I had ever received from the agency, and so my direct deposit was not yet activated. When my check never arrived, I simply got a replacement from the agency. I would never have known that the original one had been stolen out of my mailbox if it had not been for a phone call from the Duluth Police Dept. to tell me that they had caught someone in a van that was filled with stolen mail from Duluth residents, and that they had some of my mail in their possession. I have to admit that I was very surprised that mail theft had happened in my community!
I agree with those who mentioned using online bill pay instead of writing checks. I pay everything on line unless the option is not available. And if I do have to pay the old-fashioned way, I never EVER put a check into my own mailbox for the mailman to pick up. I take it to my office to mail. I also stopped nearly all of my paper bills and now receive nearly everything on line. I am much less worried about my personal information being on a secure website than I am having it sitting all day in my unguarded mailbox!
As for Netflix, I recommend going straight to the post office or mailing them from work. I’ve had quite a few movies go missing for a week or more for no reason I can think of. Our Duluth post office is the same one Netflix uses, so it’s not like they have to truck them across town. I have even had movies returned to Netflix that I never received. Hmmm. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it??
By Fluffy
April 25, 2006 02:50 PM | Link to this
Never put outgoing mail in your box…take it to a postal box (one on every corner). Only have stuff delivered to you at work if it’s valuable. Also give friends and family your work address and tell them to mail stuff there if needed (my work has a locked box and the bossman doesn’t care). The only thing I get at the house is bills and I doubt thieves would be interested (although they’re more than welcome to pay them!). When setting up accounts I never give my SS# (last four digits okay) and NO ONE gets through when telemarketing me. They often get very rude responses. Haven’t had any trouble with identity theft and hopefully never will. Always be vigilent!
By Stefan
April 25, 2006 03:28 PM | Link to this
I was a victim of identity theft in 2003. Apparently somebody had raided my mailbox and gotten their holds on enough of my personal information to open four credit card accounts in my name and max out every single one of them (lots of shopping sprees in south Fulton and Clayton counties). Thankfully I was not liable for a cent of it (the merchant is responsible, as they are SUPPOSED to check identification), but explaining to each of these credit card companies what had transpired and contacting the credit bureaus were certainly no pleasure. These days I pay all my bills online.
The latest scam that has surfaced: people pretending to work for the court system and calling to ask why you “failed” to report for jury duty. They will tell you a warrant has been issued and bully you into giving out your SSN over the phone. DON’T FALL FOR IT!!!!
By Buzz Brockway
April 27, 2006 09:43 AM | Link to this
Just a few weeks ago, while looking at our bank account online, I noticed two checks I did not write. We immediately contacted our bank, changed accounts etc…
We then noticed that a check we wrote had not cleared and it turned out to be one of the check numbers the thief used steal from our account. Clearly it was stolen out of our mailbox.
We won’t be putting mail in our mailbox again!
By Benin Dakar
April 28, 2006 02:46 AM | Link to this
Hello Benin, It’s evident that idenity theft is on the rise. It’s been for a while now.The AJC has witten about it for a couple of months. It’s been in the headlines.There’s many ways you can protect yourself from it ever causing you any hardship or loss of time from work.With the cost of gas and everything else on the rise, why not make the decision to guard your good name. Try looking into Identy Theft protection plans. It’s a good feeling to know that you can go to a restaurant, department store and yes even your mailbox in Duluth and feel protected,and have peace of mind in the event of your being victimized.That’s a value in itself. Thanks for the information. Spankie of Duluth
By Susan W.
May 1, 2006 11:22 AM | Link to this
My daughter, who lives in Kennesaw, had her checks stolen, also. They were “special” checks that she never used, from a credit company. She started getting warnings from companies saying the checks were no good, and that she owed money to several people. She provided proof that she never had an account (checking) with them, and never used the checks and that their apt. mailboxes had been ransacked in her area. They even threatened her with an arrest warrant, until she finally got it straightened out with them. I told her from now on to have them sent certified mail so she would have a receipt that SHE was the one receiving them. Luckily, where I live in Norcross (condo), our community boxes have, so far, escaped being hit, but I think it has a lot to do with the location of our boxes (near the rear behind fences with no quick escape route), and our diligent community watch.
By Susan W.
May 1, 2006 11:27 AM | Link to this
P.S. The best way to keep crooks from taking checks (written to creditors) from your mailbox is to post them in the USPS mailboxes located everywhere. Even our condo has a USPS drop box which cannot be broken into by crooks easily.
By FedUp
May 1, 2006 11:35 AM | Link to this
Crooks are looking for easy prey and fast getaways. Making it more difficult for them to get to your personal information is the best deterrent. Use a LOCKED mailbox (yes, they are available) or use the post office. It’s a shame that we can’t be the way we were when I was a kid. All of our mailboxes for the entire street were lined up on a post at the end of the street, and no one ever bothered them. Crooks are everywhere…even where you least expect them. Don’t even trust your neighbors who you think you know. I had one pick up my mail while I was on vacation…found out she stole my credit card information and went on a charge spree, having things delivered to my house while I was gone for a month overseas. I couldn’t prove I didn’t get the items since they were delivered to my home, and I was held responsible for them. And it was impossible to prove that she was the one that did it.