BLYTHEWOOD – At least three individuals have reported to the Blythewood post office that checks they dropped in the two outside blue postal collection boxes last week for mailing had mysteriously fallen into the wrong hands – hands that had subsequently tried to cash them.
Blythewood resident Kim Graber told The Voice that she dropped mail, including a check and a Valentine’s Day card with cash, in one of the two blue drop boxes outside the Blythewood post office around 6 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 11. The next day, around 1 p.m., she received a call from a Wells Fargo bank in Charlotte stating that someone had brought the check in to the bank and tried to cash it.
“The person on the phone said the check had been washed and the amount had been changed from $100 to $5,600,” Graber said. “Fortunately, the bank refused to cash it.”
Employees at the post office told The Voice that in addition to Graber, two other individuals reported similar experiences with mail they had dropped into the outside drop boxes.
“I was notified by Blythewood Post Master Cedric Jackson about the incidents and sent him a notice to be posted on the boxes as we investigate what happened,” said Postal Inspector Mike Rogers.
The notice stated that mail was stolen from one or both of the blue collection boxes between Tuesday, Feb. 11, at approximately 4:30 p.m., and Wednesday, Feb. 12, at approximately 4:30 p.m., which is the time the collection box is emptied each weekday.
“In cases like this, there are usually no leads until someone whose check is stolen realizes that their check didn’t reach its destination or they check their bank account, or a bank contacts them, then they notify the post office and the postmaster notifies me,” Rogers said. “We don’t know about these crimes unless someone calls us.”
Rogers also suggested that victims of mail theft should file incident reports with the Sheriff’s department.
“Investigating these cases, the only thing I can hang my hat on is evidence, witnesses and confessions,” Rogers said. “We have at least three victims confirmed that their mail was stolen. The link is that they all dropped it in the blue collection boxes at the post office.”
The notice on the blue collection boxes cautions postal customers who placed checks in the boxes between 4:30 p.m., Feb. 11 and 4:30 p.m., Feb. 12, to check with their financial institutions to determine whether there has been any fraudulent activity on their accounts. The notice also encouraged individuals whose mail is stolen to file an incident report with the local law enforcement as soon as possible.
A secure 24-hour postal drop is also located on the wall inside the post office lobby.
“Please let law enforcement know that the US Postal Inspection Service is aware of the incident and have them reference the USPIS case number (#3848889-MT),” the notice states.
The United States Postal Inspection Service phone number is (877) 876-2455.
