SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — It’s tax season and although mail theft happens throughout the year, police and the United States Postal Service (USPS) say they see a major uptick in theft around this time of year.
“It's tax season and almost every day, there are pieces of mail with personal identifying information on it delivered to your mailbox," said Folsom Police. “And every year around this time, we begin to see an uptick in mail theft.”
USPS says they get most reports of mail theft happening late at night. Many people report their tax refund checks being stolen from their mailboxes.
Here are key tips from USPS and Folsom police to protect your personal identifying information:
- Pick up your mail daily: Residents should not leave mail in their mailboxes overnight. This includes depositing mail in a blue collection box after the last scheduled collection time.
- Put mail on vacation hold: If you plan to be out of town, USPS makes it easy to put your mail on vacation hold even if it’s just a couple days.
- Trusted family/friend: Another option for when you are away from home for a few days is to have a trusted family member, friend or neighbor to pick up your mail.
- USPS Informed Delivery: Residents can sign up for USPS Informed Delivery to receive an email daily with images of what is scheduled to be delivered to you each day. USPS also provides tracking numbers for residents to keep up with their mail.
- Monitor your front door: Residents with a home security camera system must ensure it captures activity at the front door and mailbox. If there is any suspicious activity happening save the video and alert your local Postal Inspectors. All mail and packages should not be left uncollected in mailboxes or on front porches for any length of time
If you are a victim of mail theft, contact Postal Inspectors at 877-876-2455 or visit uspis.gov/report and provide any information to help locate thieves.
USPS encourages residents to also contact Postal Inspectors if they discover their tax refund checks or any other financial documents were misused.
Watch more from ABC10: Tax Season 2023: Why your tax refund may be lower this year
