Bath Police offer tips for preventing mail and identity theft

Following reports of mail theft from external United States Post Office collection boxes in Bath Township, residents and business owners are urged to exercise caution when depositing checks and other correspondence that include personal information. Victims of these incidents learned through bank notification that checks deposited in collection boxes may have been stolen, and payee and check amount information altered and subsequently deposited. The victims are working with their lending institutions to obtain credit adjustments for the losses incurred.

The Bath Police Department is working closely with the U.S. Postal Inspector’s Office to investigate the subject cases. During the pendency of the investigation, it is recommended outgoing mail be taken directly to the interior of the U.S. Post Office for deposit. Home mailboxes and external USPS collection boxes should be avoided for outgoing mail.  Additionally, the following precautionary measures are recommended to minimize exposure to identity theft and loss of funds from altered checks:

  • Don’t use shared computers on public wireless networks for banking or online shopping.
  • Install virus and spyware detection software on computers and other electronic devices.
  • Don’t click on links in emails that are from unknown publishers. Copy and paste links after verifying the sender is legitimate. When in doubt on the authenticity of an email, contact the sender by phone to verify the legitimacy of the correspondence.
  • When drafting physical checks, use gel pens or those recommended by your local lending institution to avoid chemical bleaching of the negotiable instrument.
  • Set up payee amount alerts with your lending institution to receive notification when a check is processed beyond a certain approved amount.
  • Contact your lending institution immediately when discovering possible fraud involving checks or other negotiable instruments.  Policies on credit adjustments vary between lending institutions regarding altered and forged negotiable instruments.
  • Contact the Bath Township Police Department if you’ve been the victim of identity theft, or a crime involving theft and alteration of a negotiable instrument.  ∞