Mail fraud addressed by post office

On March 6, the United States Post Office in Fallbrook addressed the ongoing multilevel emergence of fraud.

Inside the office, a mélange of prevention handouts were available and DVDs played to educating those waiting in line for service.

“The post office and postal inspection service are doing a National Consumer Protection Week outreach program,” said Hilary Smith, postal inspector and public information officer. “We are providing prevention material, postal inspectors and postal employees at selected post offices to talk about mail fraud and some of these counterfeit schemes that consumers are falling victim to.”

Fraudulent checks and money orders are increasing rapidly and are being used in a variety of ways, said Smith. “The main theme of this year’s National Consumer Protection Week is fake checks.”

Although fraud comes in different shapes and forms, the fraudulent drill remains relatively common.

“The way most fraud schemes work is that you are getting a product that has no intrinsic value and you are paying money out of pocket,” explained Smith. “A person committing the fraud will ask a victim to give them a product, make a business offer or work at home; the fraudulent act happens when they pay you with a counterfeit financial instrument.”

These counterfeit financial instruments may come in the form of a personal check, American Express Travelers Cheques, Postal Money Order, Western Union Money Order and more.

However, counterfeit schemes don’t stop there.

“The victim will be provided with instructions to go to their bank and deposit it into their own personal account,” said Smith. “Then, [the perpetrator] will ask the victim to wire a portion of that money back to them.”

An individual is responsible for whatever they deposit into their personal account.

“The Federal Reserve eventually gets hold of that counterfeit check and will hold you responsible when they determine that the check is counterfeit or that there is no bank to draw it against on the other side,” said Smith.

eBay, explained Smith, is a haven for auction schemes.

Here is a fraudulent example: a television is sold for $100. The buyer sends the seller a $200 fraudulent money order. The seller discovers the overpayment and is told it was a mistake. The fraudulent buyer requests that $100 gets wired to their account.

Much of the fraudulent activity is occurring overseas and a great deal is percolating in Nigeria.

“We have a group of postal inspectors working in Nigeria,” said Smith. “Last year,

seized over $2 billion in counterfeit financial instruments.”

The mail fraud statute is the oldest consumer protection law, said Smith. However, with the advent of the Internet, it has been added onto the wire fraud statute.

As far as mail fraud is concerned, Smith suggests never using your personal mailbox for out-mail. “Bring your outgoing mail to your post office and deposit it in a collection box before the last pickup time; if it sits in a box overnight it could be vulnerable.”

The optimum way to deposit outgoing mail is to physically bring it to the post office. Utilizing the collection box that is built into the post office building is recommended.

They also advise consumers to never leave personal mail sitting in their mailbox. If a getaway is on the horizon, request a vacation hold at the post office.

For more detailed information on counterfeit financial instruments, log on to http://www.fakechecks.org or call 1-800-372-8347.