IDENTITY THEFT

Congressional Letters

June 14, 2004

Mr. John E. Potter
Postmaster General/COO
United States Post Office


Dear Postmaster General Potter:

Thank you for your efforts in delivering and securing America's mail. As you may know, identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America. The USPS advises the shredding of personal documents, however many personal items are stolen simply because the average person is not aware of the dangers associated with unlocked mail.

I am writing to you to encourage the USPS to advise postal customers that a locking mailbox is an important measure to prevent fraud and identity theft. The United States Postal Service recommends depositing outgoing mail to the postal service but does not mention locking mailboxes as a prevention to mail theft.

I urge you to consider, as President Bush and other political figures have done to take a consumer advocate approach to the identity theft issue in America. As you may know, President Bush signed a new Identity Theft Enhancement Act on July 15, 2004 raising the penalty for ID theft. In a recent survey of over 500 people, 85% of those surveyed said they are expecting to become victims of Identity Theft and 64% of them are expecting to have it happen as a result of an unlocked mailbox. It is imperative that we offer as many preventive measures as possible, by working together we can help reduce identity theft crimes. The USPS could take action by listing secure mail vaults as an option for consumers to use when protecting their mail on the following web page and other information bulletins:

I want to thank you for your current efforts in helping secure Americans identity. I appreciate your attention to this request and would like to be briefed regarding the USPS' position on locking mailboxes and protecting against identity theft. Please feel free to contact me to coordinate a meeting.

Sincerely,

Martin Frost
Member of Congress



June 8, 2004

Mr. John E. Potter
Postmaster General/COO
United States Post Office


Dear Postmaster General Potter,

I appreciate the efforts of the United States Postal Service to secure the delivery of mail to customers, and to protect them against identity and financial theft. The USPS advises customers to shred unwanted financial documents and solicitations, however, there are many incidents in which a customer never actually receives their correspondence to be able to shred the documents.

I am writing to you to encourage the USPS to advise postal customers that a locking mailbox is an important measure to prevent fraud and identity theft. With over 10 million people last year falling victim to Identity Theft and with Mail Theft being one of the main ways in which it happens, it is imperative that we offer as many preventive measures as possible. It is important that we work together to reduce the amount of stolen mail that leads to additional crimes.

Specifically, I am requesting that the US Postal Inspections Service list locking mailboxes/secure mail vaults as an option for consumers to use when protecting their mail on the following web page and other informational bulletins:

I thank you for your continued service to the USPS, and I appreciate your attention to this request. I would appreciate being briefed regarding the USPS' position on locking mailboxes and protecting against identity theft.

Sincerely,

Pete Sessions
Member of Congress