There’s lots of holiday cards being sent through the mail this time of year. They are easy to spot since they’re usually a very distinct shape and size. Many times these cards will have checks or cash in them, making them really easy targets for mail theft.
It’s clearly easy to track who cashed a stolen check, but not so much with cash.
If your mail is arriving opened and things are missing, report it. There is a special postal inspection service specifically for this type of thing. You can report online or over the phone.
Here is the link to their site. I called them today to report this exact issue and was routed to a real, live person very quickly AND they were courteous and very helpful. Took all pertinent information and confirmed it and let me know I would be contacted in the next 2-3 business days. It was all very efficient and easy.
Suggest to family members and people that might send cash in a card to, instead, send a check (since they’re easier to track, can do stop payments if necessary). If they must send cash, have them send in a standard sized security envelope (the kind that have some type of pattern on the inside to make them less transparent), or in a standard sized not security envelope, but wrapped in a piece of lined paper or two so it isn’t readily apparent what’s inside.
