The postal service took a 3.9 billion dollar net loss in 2018. While the postal service may be losing money, scammers are still making money from it.
Mail fraud has always been an issue and if you think that you are a victim there is something you can do about it. Postal fraud can involve one scheme or several schemes rolled into one.
It doesn’t matter how many schemes have been intertwined or how it started as long as the postal service was used at some point to perpetuate the scheme then mail fraud occurred.
Once you feel you have been a victim you need to report it. If you have never reported mail fraud you may not know what to do. Here is your guide.
1. Save the Evidence
Since the beginning of the postal service and the humble days of the pony express one of the best ways to catch fraudsters has been to save any information that was sent to you.
This means you should save any boxes or envelopes that the mail may have come in. You can still file a report if you have discarded these items. However, this extra evidence may contain clues that can help the authorities to find the fraudsters.
2. Filing Your Report
You can do a quick search online and find the contact form for reporting mail fraud. Once you have found the form you should make sure that you have the relevant information available to fill it out.
Make sure you have the name of the person or organization you think is committing mail fraud. You will be asked to give all the information you have about the fraudulent activities so write down all the key points if you are afraid you won’t remember them.
3. What’s Next
If you haven’t lost any money then there is nothing else to do but to let the authorities investigate. However, if you have fallen victim in some way to the scam and have sent a cheque or given out your credit card information then you need to take further action.
Call the bank and find out if the cheque has been cashed. If it wasn’t a stop order can be put on it. If you have given out your credit card information your bank or credit card company can also take measures to block payment.
If you cannot block payments and have sufficient information you can go ahead and contact an attorney because you may be able to file a lawsuit.
Final Thoughts on Postal Fraud
If you suspect that postal fraud occurred against you then you should take action to catch the perpetrators. Fortunately, there are systems in place that will help you report the fraud.
If you have lost money contact the financial institutions involved and see how best they can help you. If you are not satisfied then you should go ahead and get legal advice from a lawyer.
If you would like to know more about mail security please check out our security upgrades page.
