The United States Postal Service remains unable to stop the ongoing problem of mail being stolen out of its iconic blue mailboxes across Bethesda this year. Among the latest victims are residents who mailed checks in mailboxes in Kenwood Park and Glen Echo. Checks destined for government tax offices were stolen, altered, and then cashed by criminals.
USPS officials have placed stickers on at least some mailboxes in Bethesda advising customers to drop mail into them as close to the collection time as possible. They have not commented on how thieves have managed to retrieve letters from the Bethesda mailboxes. Based on incidents in other cities, thieves obtain the "arrow key" master keys that open all USPS boxes in a particular area either through accomplices who work at USPS, or by robbing postal carriers of them. USPS mailboxes also remain vulnerable to "fishing" tactics, despite attempts to alter the box designs to foil envelope anglers.
3 comments:
MCPD posted a video today of a person stealing from a blue mailbox in Kensington. I wonder if they are related.
So what's a person to do if they want to mail a letter for example on Sunday when there are no mailbox pickups. Just wait until Monday? That's annoying.
@10:24 AM: Go to the "Friendship" Post Office Location at: 4005 Wisconsin Avenue NW Washington, DC 20016
(NOTE: This is not the "Friendship Heights" Post Office Location at 5530 Wisconsin Avenue NW Chevy Chase, MD 20815)
It's open on Sunday and has a collection:
Retail Hours
Mon-Fri 8:00 am-6:00 pm
Sat 8:00 am-4:00 pm
Sun 10:00 am-4:00 pm
Lobby Hours
Mon-Fri 12:01 am-11:59 pm
Sat 12:01 am-11:59 pm
Sun 12:01 am-11:59 pm
Last Collection Hours
Mon-Fri 6:00 pm
Sat 4:00 pm
Sun 4:00 pm
Someone stole a check I had mailed last month from a U.S. postal service mailbox in Woodacres (Bethesda). They altered the amount to $13,500 and tried to deposit it in their bank. My bank's fraud department warned of other checks being stolen from mailboxes in Bethesda.
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