LENEXA, Kan. — The Lenexa Police Department is dealing with a mail theft scheme the department has never seen before.
It started with the seemingly mundane task of dropping off mail at the post office and ended up with more than $2 million in fraudulent, forged checks.
"When you put something in the mailbox, you forget about it," said Ofc. Danny Chavez, public information officer with the Lenexa Police Department. "You think your mortgage is getting paid, your taxes are getting paid."
That was not the case for about 40 Lenexa residents who dropped off checks at the outdoor post office mailbox on Monrovia and later found out they were stolen.
"It's actually a large investigation, so we're talking not only Lenexa but 10 agencies in Johnson County who have seen similar crimes," Chavez said.
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Chavez said thieves are taking checks, washing them, writing in new amounts and cashing them. He suspects multiple people are involved.
"No one's any the wiser until they hear from their mortgage company and say, 'You're two months behind,'" Chavez said.
KSHB 41 News obtained some of the Lenexa theft reports, which gave us more insight into how the suspects are carrying out the crimes.
One report from Jan. 16 stated the victim put her check in the outdoor mailbox and discovered someone intercepted it and cashed it at another bank for $5,000. Another woman's name was written on the check.
A report on Jan. 17 said the victim was notified that an unknown person was attempting to cash an IRS check that he'd previously dropped off at the mailbox.
Another report from January said a woman mailed out a $4,200 check to the county to pay her taxes, but a thief cashed it instead.
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In February, another woman mailed four checks, which were stolen and "used to forge fraudulent checks to steal money from the victim's bank accounts." That victim suffered a $15,000 loss.
Some of the victims include businesses, too.
In total, Chavez said Lenexa victims are out $500,000.
"I can't say I've seen this particular trend come and go in my 20-plus years here," Chavez said. "Of course, we've seen checks get stolen, checks get washed, but to see specifically an outside U.S. post office mailbox be targeted, I can't say that we've seen it to this scope."
Chavez said Lenexa police haven't heard of any thefts in the last month since they put extra patrols around the post office.
He said detectives are working with other police departments, like Overland Park, to check surveillance and compare patterns.
One of Overland Park's post offices covered its outdoor mailbox in tape and posted a sign telling customers to use the indoor box.
Police are working in conjunction with the United States Postal Service and the FBI, too.
A USPS regional representative told KSHB 41 they've determined the suspects are using stolen keys and counterfeit keys to get into the mailboxes. USPS is in the middle of a nationwide effort to replace locks and mailboxes.
The police offer these tips to help safeguard your money:
- Use the indoor drop-off slot, which is usually open 24/7.
- If you use the outdoor mailbox, make sure it's not at night or over the weekend so your check isn't sitting there for an extended amount of time before it's collected.
- Consider online payments.
- If you need to write out a check, use a gel pen because gel pens are difficult to wash.
- Regularly monitor your bank transactions so you can get ahead of any fraudulent activity.
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