Bethesda residents are reporting that valuable checks are still being fished out of the mailbox in front of the U.S. Post Office at 6900 Wisconsin Avenue. A resident wrote on a local listserv that a check mailed in that box to pay a gas bill was stolen, altered, and cashed for $5000 from that checking account. Four other checks mailed to pay bills at the same time never arrived at their destinations.
Another resident replied that the same thing happened to her. A third resident noted that a friend had a similar experience after placing a hefty check in a Chevy Chase Village mailbox.
Postal customers reported a similar rash of thefts from Bethesda and Chevy Chase area mailboxes in January. How does it happen? In other cities, it was found that thieves either robbed mail carriers of the master key that opens all mailboxes in a particular area, or corrupt USPS employees had sold those "arrow keys" to thieves for profit.
If you experience a similar theft, call Montgomery County police at 301-279-8000. Secondly, file a complaint with the United States Postal Inspection Service.
21 comments:
I always put any envelopes with checks enclosed in the slot in the vestibule inside the Bethesda Post Office. But last month one of those checks failed to be delivered (to a West coast address), and I had to cancel the check (for a hefty charge). Yesterday I saw another USPS customer put her mail in a slot located inside the area where the postal clerks help customers, and I followed her example. She told me she thought that was safer. But who knows -- if the problem is corrupt mail carriers, there is no safe option.
And please, no obnoxious comments from SocialNorm or some similar lefty about using snail mail versus online payment systems. In the age of cyberattacks, hacking and network outages (which the Bethesda PO was experiencing yesterday, and not for the first time), it is not clear that the online option is less risky.
Postal mail seemed like the safer option. But with theft of checks and slow mail service, the online paperless option seems more secure now.
I'm amazed that anyone could cash a bad $5000 check. I have to jump through hoops to cash a $500 check at my bank.
Who would have thought that the USPS mailbox would be the one public place in downtown Bethesda where you could walk without being seen on any cameras.
I haven't written a paper check in 3 1/2 years, and I only wrote 2 checks in the 3 years before that.
@7:37 AM Hey Gee thanks for the shout out and opportunity to blast your pre-Y2K, bassackward, mentality in money handling. Perhaps you should think first about your Pigeon minded USPS leader DeJoy, who single-handedly screwed up the mail system last year, by removing mail processing equipment, and reducing manpower in his failed attempted to disrupt the election process. HE is your right-wing nutjobs fly in the ointment that now has been caught altering the time sheets of mail carriers, to save budget money. This may windup being an inside job perpetrated by fed up workers, getting back at your saintly leader. But your dumbass can continue to live in the dark ages, not knowing how to securely transmit payments. Enjoy your bankruptcy, you've earned. Dems are dumb as demented elephants.
I had mail go missing also. Based on your report, I think my new strategy will be to use lesser-known mailboxes in residential neighborhoods. Even though those are not well-monitored since they are on quiet streets, I think criminals may not be aware of them or assume no one really uses them, so unlikely to target them.
It's amazing mailboxes still have master keys. Can't they use some kind of digital lock like realtors use for lockboxes? You need a special card to open it and it'll deny you if your card is revoked.
To think the USPS which aided and abetted in stealing an election could be fraudulent
@8:50 You give USPS way too much credit. They are too incompetent to pull off any such heist. Heck, they can't even deliver granny's prescriptions on time!
Narcissists like 3:29 pm, who are in all likelihood are neither Social or Normal, feel this constant desire for attention fueled by their "look in the mirror" verification that theirs is the only correct opinion and any others must be hammered into submission. The problem is one of tact in that ad-hominem name calling not only reduces the validity of the argument but reveals who they are.
Need we remind 3:29 pm how badly their arguments went in the past:
https://robertdyer.blogspot.com/2021/07/former-kensington-mayor-named-director.html
https://robertdyer.blogspot.com/2021/05/car-stolen-from-bethesda-apartment.html
Sometimes less is more...
@7:24 PM Excellent idea to use smart tech devices, but we're talking about the USPS. This agency is not too smart to begin with.
Awhile back, I had a $30,000 check sent to me at a Bethesda address via CERTIFIED MAIL disappear enroute. I called, emailed, and contacted online multiple USPS offices, and filed a complaint with USPS. All to no avail. I had to cancel and have the check resent differently. The disappearance was traced to the larger Bethesda Post Office out by Montgomery Mall where I was told the mail is sorted before being sent out, but I don't think they ever discovered what happened to it. I now use USPS Informed delivery to help track my mail and know what to expect. On Monday, I was informed to expect an important piece of mail my son was expecting from the Social Security Administration. When it didn't arrive on time, I contacted our mailman who is great and was very helpful in tracking down the missing piece of mail. While he was very careful not to implicate superiors, I gleaned that procedures put in place by Postmaster Louis DeJoy were at least partly responsible for this and a continuing decline in postal services generally. I'm happy to blame DeJoy who I think is also corrupt, unethical and immoral for other reasons. Before I'm accused of being an "obnoxious lefty", let me say I originally bought some of DeJoy's rhetoric about modernizing modernizing and making the USPS more competitive. However, since then, my observation is that he has exacerbated rather than reduced problems at USPS. Furthermore, he has overseen the USPS while huge amounts of taxpayer's money has been directed to his former employer where he and/or relatives retain stakes. And then of course, there is the issue of him acting as a political advocate rather than a government employee and attempting to restrict voting to favor the candidate who appointed him. I'm one who believes that protecting everyone's right to vote should be a conservative, liberal, non-partisan priority that was been politicized and made partisan by the BIG LIE and those who don't think they can win if people who don't agree with them have access to voting. Signed, Former Montgomery & DC Republican Voter.
I once inserted a letter into a mailbox in front of a Silver Spring post office. As I inserted my letter, 3 letters fell out. I picked them all up and went inside the post office and deposited all the letters. This happened on a Monday morning. The mail box collection hours indicated that the mail box had last been serviced on Saturday, so in 1-1/2 days from Saturday afternoon to Monday late morning the mailbox had become stuffed full.
Atleast they're not letting folks sleep on the floor of the post office since the pandemic started. Right before then, there was a regular 3 or 4 people sleeping there and the number was growing.
Imagine stepping over a guy laying on the ground when trying to access your po box.
These folks need help, but the post office doesn't have facilities.
"Dems are dumb as demented elephants."
Mr. Dyer - I'm surprised you allow this level of disrespect on your blog.
12:16: I thought he was a Democrat - he mentioned "right-wing nutjobs" and Trump's USPS guy, as well. I didn't see the last sentence, though it seems like he was being an equal-opportunity offender.
@6:59 Narcissism is in the eye of the beholder, even those with a myopic view on society. It's a shame that those blinded by reality become triggered by "normal" people who point out their "social" misgivings, especially when they resort to whataboutisms. Enjoy!
@12:16 No disrespect, just a jab at the sensitive RWNJs. Happy 5th!
@6:59 - A little return mud for you to swallow; https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2021/09/03/hogan-beltway-toll-lanes/
@9:44 am - If you have to tell everyone you're normal than perhaps it time to see someone. But then again self-actualization is never a strong suit with narcissistic liberals.
@4:58 PM Your interpretation of my screen name is incorrect, and more of an indication of your myopic view of the world. I suggest you see an ophthalmologist for your visual acuity. It may also help in your view of society and its norms. Hint. Hint.
@7:45 AM - No interpretation necessary as your words are on full display. Thanks for confirming what we can all observe.
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