In the wake of a rash of mail thefts and check frauds, the Princeton Police Department is advising residents and businesses to post outgoing mail at a U.S. Postal Service office – not in a U.S. Postal Service mailbox on the street.
Since May, the Princeton Police Department has received reports of a dozen instances of mail being fished out of U.S. Postal Service mailboxes on the street. The thieves open the mail, look for checks and then alter the payee and the amount of the check.
Once victim’s check for $92 was changed to $5,000 and then cashed. Another victim wrote a check for $111.96 and discovered that the amount was changed to $940 and cashed.
Another victim reported that a check for $1,400 was changed to $15,000, but the check bounced when the thief attempted to cash it.
To stem mail theft and check fraud, the Princeton Police Department also is advising residents or businesses to drop mail containing checks directly at a post office, or hand it directly to the mail carrier.
If residents prefer to use a mailbox on the street, the mail should be deposited as close to the scheduled pick-up time as possible.
When writing a check, use a pen with pigmented ink that cannot be erased.
Residents and businesses also may want to consider making payments or transferring money by other methods, police said.