Is it illegal to raise somebody else's mailbox flag in MA?

L

Leukos

New Member
Jurisdiction
Massachusetts
Basically just the title. If somebody in Massachusetts were to raise the mailbox flag of a stranger, would it be illegal?
 
Leukos said:
Basically just the title. If somebody in Massachusetts were to raise the mailbox flag of a stranger, would it be illegal?
Click to expand...


Raise the Mailbox flag and Watch Your Wallet!!!


You have participated in the same daily ritual your entire adult life…and now it is no longer safe to raise the flag on your mailbox. Really? It's true, nothing seems to be safe or routine any more. The scheme is called "check washing" and the scammers are called "mail snatchers."

But, how likely is it that this scam will impact you? Likely, if you have an old fashioned mailbox. According to the postal people, check washing is an 815 million dollar problem in the United States every year. Here is what the mail snatchers do. They drive into neighborhoods with traditional mail boxes and they become familiar with the time of day the mail carrier delivers the mail. They then frequent the neighborhood at the beginning and the end of a month, the time frame most persons snail mail their bills, and look for the red flags.

Mail snatchers then drive up to a mailbox with a raised red flag, the national sign for "I've got mail to be picked up," and they remove the pieces of mail which look like outgoing bills. The thieves then head back to their hideout and proceed to wash the outgoing checks. They erase the ink on a check with chemicals and then re-write the check to themselves.

Let's say you write a check to the local cable or phone company for $150.00 to pay your monthly bill. The check washer leaves your signature untouched but erases the "payable to" information from the utility to their name or the name of a company they have formed for this scheme. While they are at it, they may re-write the amount of the numbers and words, say from One Hundred Fifty ($150.00) to One Thousand Five Hundred ($1,500.00.) Even if they don't increase the amount, their profit is 100% minus their time and gas money into the neighborhood and to the bank to cash your check.

But wait a minute, you may be thinking, doesn't the bank have to eat that loss? Not necessarily. According to the UCC Code 4-406, the government requires you to report the check fraud within 30 days of getting your bank statement or the bank doesn't have to reimburse you. So, if you are not vigilant and looking closely at your bank statement every month, you may miss out on getting reimbursed. Thirty days is not a lengthy period of time.

Strategies for protecting your mail:

1. Get a locked mailbox or encourage your neighborhood to invest in locked cluster mailboxes.

2. Don't leave your out-going mail in your box to be snatched.

3. If you must, put your mail in the box at the last minute, if you know approximately when your mail carrier usually gets to your house.

4. Give your mail to the mail carrier personally ,or take your mail to the post office.

5. Don't let your bank mail your new checks, ask them to let you pick them up at the branch.

6. Shred your void and cancelled checks.

7. Make sure your checks contain all of the watermarks and security features, don't use ancient checks.

8. Use pens which have ink which is difficult to erase like the Uniball 207 black ink gel pens.

Let's be alert and thwart the criminals out there. You have worked too hard for your money to have it snatched from your front yard.


Raise the Mailbox flag and Watch Your Wallet. – Tricord Publishing
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Mailbox Vandalism Laws
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Leukos said:
Basically just the title. If somebody in Massachusetts were to raise the mailbox flag of a stranger, would it be illegal?
Click to expand...

Federal laws cover mailboxes.

Other than the annoyance of an empty mailbox with the flag up, it is unclear what the harm would be.
 
Leukos said:
Basically just the title. If somebody in Massachusetts were to raise the mailbox flag of a stranger, would it be illegal?
Click to expand...

Doing that is technically a trespass to property. If you're thinking this is a good prank to pull on others and your an adult, then your maturity hasn't yet caught up to your age.
 
The flag is known as the carrier flag. It is to alert the mail carrier that there is outgoing mail in the box. A raised flag doesn't mean you have a mail delivery.

So the one who should be ticked off should be your mail carrier.
 

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