This morning I heard on my local news that around 700 pieces of mail were stolen by a couple of teen boys this Wednesday from a mail delivery truck while the mail carrier was walking his route. They left the sledgehammer in the truck that they used to break in.
The local USPS postal inspecter notified the residents and is warning them of the potential of identity theft that could result from the credit cards, checks and other types of sensitive financial information letters that were stolen.
When people think of privacy breaches they often think of high tech crimes and hackers. This is an example of how a physical theft crime, that is also a privacy breach, is committed using the centuries old method of basic thievery.
The USPS is advising the individuals whose mail was stolen to "call their bank and ask them to place them on a Fraud Watch List" and also cancel their credit cards if they were expecting statements or new cards.
They said nothing about the USPS providing credit alerts for them, but I wonder if that is being considered? Since the truck was locked and a sledgehammer was used for breaking and entering it is doubtful…don’t you think?
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