Identity theft protection tips always include steps for protecting your mail. It’s simple. It’s inexpensive. And, it’s a lesson many residents of the Spokane area learned the hard way this year.
Jacquelyn Crawford and Charlene Haggard have been arrested and indicted for stealing checks out of mailboxes and drivers licenses from cars. According to the indictment, the women made bogus checks printed with the account numbers from the stolen checks. They allegedly forged the signatures on the checks and, providing the stolen driver’s licenses as identification, passed more than 100 checks valued at more than $40,000 at 35 area businesses.
Crawford, 40, was actually relieved when the three-month-long spree came to an end, said Spokane County sheriff’s Detective Dean Meyer. “She just began injecting methamphetamine, so in a way she was thankful she was caught.”
Haggard, 42, who has eight felony convictions related to forgery, already faces several counts of forgery and identity theft in Thurston County. Haggard has not yet appeared in U.S. District Court on the federal charges.
Crawford, who has 11 felony convictions, including theft and forgery, pleaded innocent to the indictment last week and remains in Spokane County Jail.
Detectives say the case highlights the need for extra precaution when paying bills through the mail.
“You need to either spend the money for a locking mailbox or use a (post office) box,” Meyer said.
ID theft protection at the mailbox
• Pay bills online or drop your outgoing mail in a U.S. Postal Service mailbox.
• Replace your mailbox with one that locks to protect incoming mail.
• Never leave incoming mail sitting in the mailbox for very long. Cancel mail delivery when you go out of town.
• If you do not have a locking mailbox, consider renting a mailbox at the post office. Fees vary depending on location and box size, but box rental for ordinary household mail costs approximately $25 every six months.
Tags: ID theft prevention, ID theft protection, Identity Theft
