Victim deposits outgoing mail in a blue community mailbox
Thief fishes out envelopes from the mailbox using something like a piece of gum on a string
Thief takes the mail home
Thief uses whiteout or whatever to change payees and amounts on the check, then uses electronic deposit into their account
Victim realizes they're a victim when bills don't get paid and/or their account is lower on funds than expected
The key takeaway for me is don't deposit mail into those community boxes. If you're in an urban area, bring it inside the post office. If you're in a rural or suburban area, I wouldn't worry about it too much. It's too much effort for thieves to drive around and check each mailbox.
I doubt letter carriers are tampering with the mail. It's drilled into them that that's a federal crime and not only will they get fired, but they'll get prosecuted. There's probably a few bad apples there, but regular mail thieves in urban areas are more likely.
Here's how the scam works:
The key takeaway for me is don't deposit mail into those community boxes. If you're in an urban area, bring it inside the post office. If you're in a rural or suburban area, I wouldn't worry about it too much. It's too much effort for thieves to drive around and check each mailbox.
I doubt letter carriers are tampering with the mail. It's drilled into them that that's a federal crime and not only will they get fired, but they'll get prosecuted. There's probably a few bad apples there, but regular mail thieves in urban areas are more likely.