When protecting your information, there is a greater emphasis on digital spaces. Indeed, the Internet and cyberspaces are becoming more widespread, so it is important to remain vigilant within digital landscapes.

However, physical security is equally important. Do you remember the last time you encountered mail theft?

While mail robberies might seem like the stuff of Wild West flicks, they are still very common. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you understand how mail theft works and what you can do to minimize your risks of falling victim to it.

Why Mail Theft Is a Security Risk

Even as technology has streamlined our abilities to conduct business and communicate, conventional mail remains an effective tool in our daily lives.

Local and federal governments still use the postal service to deliver official messages, like tax information, voter registration, and jury duty summons. Beyond that, nothing compares to receiving written birthday and seasonal greetings from loved ones.

At the same time, mail theft poses a significant risk to your privacy. For starters, it’s a deceptively simple form of information theft. All a bad actor has to do is know when deliveries in your area are made and take the mail shortly after your carrier has made their rounds. You could be at work or running errands and come home to an empty mailbox with little warning.

Think about what you get in the mail regularly. You could have a variety of items, including:

• Weekly ads and coupon inserts
• Credit card or insurance solicitations
• Account statements
• Recurring bills
• Magazine or newspaper subscriptions
  

All of these items can be used for future scams. To understand how that can be possible, think about a similar form of identity theft: smishing. In a smishing scam, a criminal might scout your social media profile by finding the materials you frequently engage with, and then they’ll try to trick you by crafting messages that are most likely to get your attention.

Mail theft can be used to support cybercrime, only this time a thief has access to more sensitive information. Beyond just getting your name and address, mail thieves can also glean more sensitive data.

Take printed bank and credit card statements, for example. These documents are treasure troves of information because they contain account numbers and transaction histories. Thieves can use these items to craft scams related to your interests—or they might use your information to initiate fraudulent transactions outright.

One of the most significant risks associated with mail theft is check washing, which is stealing a check and doctoring the information to commit a fraudulent transaction. A thief with your checking information can also pave the way for continued abuse.

Reducing the Risk of Mail Theft With Paperless Delivery

Mail theft can leave you vulnerable to many different types of identity theft. As such, it is necessary to find ways to minimize the chances that it can happen to you.

First, let’s talk about the practicality of reducing mail theft. How your community or apartment complex handles mail may be beyond your control, and setting up a surveillance system or other deterrent to stop thieves might not be feasible—especially for a daily thing like the mail. Therefore, monitoring the variables you know you can control makes sense. In other words, control the flow of potentially sensitive documents in the first place.

Always deposit your items as close to the pickup times as possible when sending out mail. Contact your local post office to learn more about your route and the general window for when mail is delivered and picked up in your area.

Avoid leaving checks in your mailbox. Always send parcels with financial documents or sensitive information through your local post office.

Consider the items you get regularly that contain information you don’t want readily available, like bank statements and bills. Many companies and service providers may offer a paperless option to deliver your statements electronically. After all, what doesn’t end up in the mail can’t be taken.

Contact your service providers and ask if you can switch to electronic document delivery. Paperless delivery has many advantages, like:

• Eliminating a physical document to steal
• The ability to back up documents electronically
• Reducing clutter and the risk of losing a document
  

Of course, it is also important to set your expectations. Not every organization offers electronic delivery. In a similar vein, it might not be possible to stop receiving mail completely. The point is to limit access to the information most important to you. Your financial information is a great starting point.

Make the Switch to E-Statements

Many financial institutions, including banks and credit unions, are switching to a predominantly digital platform. They offer mobile apps and digital banking tools that provide access to account statements.

Electronic statements, or e-statements, are an excellent alternative to receiving financial information through the mail. They can be accessed at any time through a computer or mobile device.

You can also back up these downloads on a secure drive. This gives you more control over your data while keeping it further out of reach from thieves (at the same time, it is always a good idea to brush up on your Internet security knowledge and adjust your habits accordingly).

Receiving mail is part of daily life. By choosing alternative delivery methods for sensitive information, you are protecting your identity and minimizing the risk of falling victim to a scam.

First Florida Credit Union gives members the option to switch to paperless e-statements. Visit our Scam and Fraud Education page to learn more about what you can do to protect your personal information and finances.