Are SF Landlords Protecting Tenants From Identity Theft The Way They Should?
As part of the monthly bill-paying ordeal, I open my dreaded credit card statement, sigh, fold it back up, and proceed to recycle it. Immediately,...
These are the comments for Are SF Landlords Protecting Tenants From Identity Theft The Way They Should?
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Greg Dewar said:
June 1, 2010 9:38 AM
Reply
Having gone through this myself, here's a few other recommendations: Do NOT mail any rent checks, bills, etc. via a standard mailbox on the street. No matter what kind of neighborhood you're in, these things are vulnerable. Mail at a Post Office instead if you can.
another thing to do is if you are the victim of ID theft due to something being stolen out of your mailbox at your apartment is to contact the US Postal Inspector. Stealing mail is a federal crime, and the US Postal Inspector Office has resources the local PD may not have, especially if your area has been targeted by thieves. This is also good for documenting after you've been id thefted.
Finally if you can afford it, and your apartment has crappy mailboxes, get at USPS PO Box (NOT a private mail box). These tend to be more secure, as they are in an actual post office, and if you ever move you can have your mail forwarded with the standard mail forwarding form. You cannot do that with a private mail box.
Burgos said:
June 1, 2010 11:03 AM
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On a Friday evening of December, 2009, I was rushing out the door to meet a friend for supper. I opened my mailbox, which is in the lobby of my building and found a letter from the Rent Board. I tore it open, read the contents, and placed it back in the box. I didn't take it with me because, well, what would be the point?
I got home full of joy and sangria, so I forgot the letter in the locked mailbox. The next day, Saturday, I noticed the mail carrier's truck pulling up to my building so I ran downstairs to retrieve the letter - GONE! I went out and found the carrier, a substitute - not the regular guy, I asked him if he had delivered mail to my building already and whether he had taken any mail out of my mailbox; he tensed up and with his very limited english said he didn't know anything about it. I know what I do and when I do it, so something wasn't right. I asked him for his supervisor's phone number and I called. The supervisor was cagey, and went on to claim that sometimes carriers return accumulated mail. ??????? I've been here for almost twenty years, and I'm the sole occupant of this apartment. I gave him an exact accounting of what happened and he claimed he was going to check with the regular carrier. He called back and said that they didn't know anything about the letter.
My point is, if you think that you're going to get help from the people inside USPS, you may be in for a let-down.
To this day I have no clue from them as to what happened to that letter.