‘It’s overwhelming’, cries the couple who lost US$22,000 just trying to pay taxes – authorities warn of widespread ‘violations’

A COUPLE lost $22,000 after their checks were stolen from US Post Office mailboxes.

The shocked owners had no idea that the theft of the boxes was a possibility as they were on post office property.

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“We’ve been visiting that set of boxes at the Federal Center for 40 years,” said Linda Chisholm. CBS News.

Chisholm and her husband, Jay, used the boxes to pay their property taxes, thinking they were a safe option.

“I don’t know what we assumed; I think we thought someone was watching, but they weren’t,” she said.

All three checks were stolen, but one was washed and reused by the thieves.

“It was US$22 thousand; they deducted it and took it out of our account,” Jay said.

Jefferson County, Colorado, Treasurer Jerry DiTullio said there are many cases like the Chisholms’ and he fears that as another pay period approaches, thieves could strike again.

“My fear is that people won’t listen to this report and leave the payment in the box,” DiTullio said.

“The best way to do this is to bring it in person or go in and pay and give it to the clerk,” he advised.

‘IT IS STRESSFUL’

The Chisholms are working with their bank to recover the money.

“It’s overwhelming and very stressful,” Chisholm said.

This type of scam is new, and in response, the United Postal Service has updated 10,000 to better address the security risk.

DiTullio is also surprised by the increase in reports that say, “We haven’t had this problem in the past, it seems like there is an increase in issues with USPS boxes being tampered with.”

MORE SCAMS

While this particular check theft is new, check laundering is not.

A woman wrote a check for $525 but ended up losing $18,000 when her check was stolen and reused.

Afreida Wade wrote a check for maintenance of her condo board association account in the amount of $525 in 2022.

However, the check was cashed in New York, not metro Detroit, and was worth more than $18,000.

Wade has filed a complaint with Citizens Bank and the Van Burden Police Department, but it is “in progress.”

“It’s been continuous. The issue has been escalated to the president of Citizens Bank, and all we’ve been getting is a lot of responses like, ‘Okay, we’ll get back to you right away, come back in a week, come back in two weeks.’ “Wade told local NBC affiliate WDIV.

“As an organization, I think our concern is that we put our money in the bank to stay safe. If Citizens Bank can’t keep our money safe, then we might as well keep it under a mattress.”

Due to the unforeseen loss of money, the association was unable to carry out the planned repairs.