FREDERICK, Md. — Thieves are targeting envelopes addressed to the IRS, Comptroller's Office, and utility companies in Frederick County. The Sheriff's Office said they're investigating approximately 100 cases of mail theft since the beginning of this year.
"Total, it's about $180,000," said one Frederick County man who asked that we not identify him while he tries to recover his quarterly estimated tax payments that were never delivered.
He sent two checks in May to the IRS and Maryland Comptroller. Instead, four checks were deposited for four different individuals.
"They took the same check, they changed the payee, and it went through twice," he said.
"How could the bank allow the same check to go through twice?" asked WMAR-2 News Mallory Sofastaii.
"Well, they caught the 13,000 [dollar check]" but not the $84,000 one, he explained.
He reported the theft to the U.S. Postal Service, the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Frederick County Sheriff's Office.
"They're telling me that just in the last three weeks, in my neighborhood alone, there's like four different cases and it's all the same. I grew up with one of the victims and his wife, same thing. Estimated tax payments. Hers was $40,000, they did the same thing," he said.
And he cautions others to review the image of the check before approving any bank alerts.
Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins confirmed the scope of the problem.
"This is really unprecedented. We're seeing a string of theft of checks probably upwards of 100 cases right now and probably totaling several hundreds of thousands of dollars," Jenkins said.
Jenkins said his detectives believe thieves are using stolen universal keys — called arrow keys — to open community mailboxes, but the theft is also happening at individuals' homes.
"There's another case, he's a personal friend of mine and he's a farmer actually, and he's out about $30,000," Jenkins said.
The Frederick County resident suspects the theft is happening further down the mail processing chain.
"In Frederick County, they don't process the mail, it all goes to Baltimore and it gets sorted and sent out from Baltimore. And apparently, your reporting, that's why I reached out to you, there's been talk about a lot of that happening in Baltimore out of that processing center," he told Sofastaii.
WMAR-2 News has reported extensively on stolen checks and money orders in the Baltimore area. Multiple victims reported checks being stolen, altered, and cashed after being dropped off at local post offices.
U.S. Representative Johnny Olszewski wrote to the Acting Baltimore Postmaster about this rise in thefts. And Maryland Congressman Kweisi Mfume is also focused on efforts to better secure mail, but WMAR-2 News has yet to hear from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, USPS, or the USPS Office of the Inspector General about their immediate plans to address theft in the Baltimore region. And while Baltimore Police said they refer victims to postal police, Sheriff Jenkins is taking a different approach.
"We look at every individual case. We take it seriously. Every victim deserves that best effort we can give them, so we do it," Jenkins said. "I think we'll get to the bottom of it, I think we'll be able to identify who is responsible, and if we can, we will charge and prosecute."
Recently in Michigan, two U.S. Postal Service clerks were charged for their role in a $63 million check stealing scheme. They're accused of taking tax refund checks out of the mail at USPS distribution centers, selling them to their co-conspirators who then marketed them for sale via Telegram Messenger.
In response to our inquiry, postal authorities confirmed: "There is an active investigation underway in coordination with the Frederick County Sheriff's Office, Frederick County Police Department, and the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General. Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, we are unable to provide further details currently. Ensuring the security and integrity of the U.S. mail stream remains one of our highest priorities, and we are committed to taking all necessary steps to protect it."
Related reports
- Persistent mail theft in Baltimore area leads to federal investigation request
- Congressman questions USPS after reports of stolen checks and money orders
- Baltimore-area mail theft: Altered checks and stolen money orders plague multiple post offices
- Checks and money orders stolen, altered and cashed quickly after being mailed at local post offices
How to File Complaints with Postal and Law Enforcement Agencies
United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS): Report mail theft/fraud at uspis.gov/report or call 1-877-876-2455; investigates crimes involving mail, postal employees, or postal property.
USPS Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG): Report internal postal misconduct at uspsoig.gov/hotline or call 1-888-USPS-OIG; handles employee misconduct and postal contractor fraud.
FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (FBI IC3): Report internet-enabled crimes at ic3.gov; handles online fraud, phishing scams, and refers cases to appropriate agencies.
Contact Congressman Kweisi Mfume's Office: mfume.house.gov/contact
Contact Congressman Johnny Olszewski's Office: https://olszewski.house.gov/contact
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