I find it hilarious that Creepy Joe says it is safe to mail ballots in to vote for the President of the United States, but the mail is no good now for personal checks.

The host, lawyer Steve Lehto, located here in Michigan, says the theft of checks sent by mail has doubled since 2021, when Biden got in.

Interesting ocmments:
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garymemetoo2238
2 days ago
This happened to me January of this year. Mail deposited in the box inside the post office so I’m guessing is was an inside job. But during this months-long odyssey, I did learn a few things: The check was “washed,” probably in acetone, which removes most common types of ink without damaging the paper. A completely new payee was added, a new and much larger amount written, and my signature forged. The detective I talked to about this theorized the checked was deposited into a “flash bank account,” one open for a few days with a bunch of forged checked deposited and then cash withdrawn. Now, deposited how? Well, during the recent lockdowns, it became popular to deposit checks by taking a picture of the check with a smart phone and using a banking app. No muss, no fuss, and no handing over a check to a teller or showing ID. The detective also stated that this was an organized crime, not just some guy stealing the random check or two. He was getting tired filling out police reports, lots and lots of police reports.

Something else I learned – the internet is a wonderful thing – is that there are inks that are almost impervious to the “washing” technique, specifically a gel-type ink such as used in the Uni-ball 207 models of pens.

There are YouTube videos I found dating back more than ten years that detail this type of check fraud and what inks to use. Better late than never I guess. Seems gels actually stain the paper fibers rather than just coating the surface.

My banker immediately closed my account and opened a new account. While I was made whole for the amount stolen right away, that was only the very edge of the rabbit hole I fell down. It’s amazing just how things are interconnected and the number of hoops that need to be found before they can be jumped through. And if you can’f find them, a whole new set of headaches starts. I did ask the banker who pays for the money lost and was assured that a third party, probably the clearing agency, would take the hit. I feel this is a zero sum game and I’m waiting for some fee or another to increase. And the detective, while not actually saying it, appeared to hold no hope of solving the case. Or cases. . .

My bank has this interesting system whereby I can list who I want to pay and the bank takes care of the check writing and sending (no doubt electronically). I now wright very few physical checks and if I do, I mail them in a plain, hand-addressed envelope. Oh, and I now have a bunch of the 207 pens. Just in case.

@arobotarmy9878
1 day ago
It’s hard to trust to USPS with any mail at all, let alone checks. I check my PO Box once a week and it’s always got misdelivered mail in it. Sometimes it’s not even a different PO Box number but even regular street addresses. The incompetence is staggering.

@agenttexx

12 hours ago

I’d say its more likely the mail carriers losing and stealing mail. We’ve had instances where registered mail was shoved into a desk drawer at the local post office along with several others for several day after they were supposed to be delivered. The carrier said he didn’t have time to deliver them. This carrier was also fraudulently signing for these letters and marking them as “delivered” in his system. This took an investigation by the USPS to figure out. And rather than firing him, they just told him no to do it again and he kept his job. After it died down, we were [punished by packages being dropped out by the street rather than even bring them tot he door. When my wife threatened an ADA Lawsuit, he was reassigned. WE were given a mail carrier that actually did her job. This same mail carrier was killed in the Midland Mass Shootings a few years ago.

@pamela5568

2 days ago

Steve, you will find that most post office’s have removed their outside mailboxes and many don’t have a slot for mail inside either. In my small town you either put mail in your home mailbox, or go inside to the post office counter. This story tells me the problem is mostly inside the U.S. Postal Service.

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@hrlsswndr3938

2 days ago

I’ve been the victim of postal employee fraud before. Packages would arrive at our local post office, and then the postal carrier would mark it as attempted 3 times to deliver and then “returned to sender” on the same day, but with the items just disappearing. After no response from the post office’s report postal theft system for multiple events, I went into the post office and demanded they fix the situation. I think the manager of the post office might have worried I’d do something to the postal carrier if it continued so they finally switched carriers and surprisingly I never had a problem with things not being delivered again.

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….Black Bills Matter: Black postal worker Ebony Lavonne Smith steals 6,000 Christmas and birthday cards sent by Whites and containing money

I can find no photos of this Ebony Lavonne Smith, a high-yellow, like Obama, who hates whites. The search engines Google and Bing and the MSM online website seem to avoid showing a photo of this thief. But this photo is attached on Google images to an article about this specific case.

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A postal worker has been caught stealing thousands of dollars from inside more than 6000 greeting cards after secretly opening them and removing the cash inside.

[source: https://au.news.yahoo.com/postal-worker-caught-stealing-thousands-dollars-greeting-cards-011524064.html]

Ebony Lavonne Smith, 20, of Milwaukee in the US admitted to the crime after concerned residents spoke out after their mail wasn’t being delivered, USA Today reported.

Wauwatosa residents [90% white: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wauwatosa,_Wisconsin] contacted the US Postal Service saying that a number of graduation, wedding, birthday and sympathy cards had all gone missing.

Smith was identified as the employee responsible for delivering those letters to recipients and began working in that area in March 2017.

Ebony Lavonne Smith was responsible for stealing thousands of letters over a period of nine months. Source: WISN

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On January 25 a test letter with $20 inside was sent, containing a transmitter which signalled when it opened.

Smith was observed by a supervisor searching through other worker’s mail and pulling out letters. She added those letters as well as the test letter to her area’s mail and placed them in her postal vehicle.

Under surveillance, she drove to the test letter’s address where the transmitter was activated.

Postal agents approached Smith before noticing the letter no longer contained the $20 note.

She returned to her vehicle, where she retrieved her purse and produced her purse. Inside her vehicle, agents discovered 54 greeting cards inside as well as a Starbucks gift card.

Discovery at scrap yard reveals extent of theft

In July, a salvage yard contacted US Postal Service saying a vehicle which was to be scrapped after being towed away contained 6625 First Class greeting card envelopes, 540 personal cheques and 45 unopened greeting cards.

A scrapyard discovered thousands of letters inside a car which had been towed away. Source: WISNPos

Court records say Smith revealed she stole money up to two times a week to help pay bills and look after her four children.

Smith predicted she would initially steal around $40 a week before upping it to $100 a week.

Smith pleaded guilty to theft or receipt of stolen mail on September 12 and is due to be sentenced at a later date.

Followup:

Ebony Smith sentenced to 4 years probation for taking cash, gift cards from residents’ mail

Published March 27, 2019

FOX 6 Now Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE — Ebony Smith, a United States Postal Service worker, was sentenced in federal court on Wednesday, March 20 to four years probation. This, after pleading guilty to a charge of theft by postal employee. Smith was accused of taking thousands in cash, gift cards and checks from Wauwatosa residents’ mail.

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@davidmlong63

15 hours ago

Many years ago I mailed a Birthday card with a twenty in to a friends son, their house was about a mile from me, I mailed it at the Main Post Office in town, long story short, he never got it. When I called the Post Office and talk to the Post Master. I was told in very annoyed way that “The Post Office is not responsible for the safety and security of your mail.” Gee, I thought that was one of their core tenets.