Major Shake Ups at the USPS — What This Means for Stolen Checks
- The USPS is a source for stolen checks
- Postmaster DeJoy recently resigned
- The new administration has indicated an executive order is pending
Over the past few years, the USPS has been a major source for stolen checks -- fueling the surge in check fraud. As we've covered in the past, criminals are robbing mailboxes and mail carriers to steal these checks, which end up on both the dark web and other platforms like Telegram.
The issue caught the attention of many government officials. Congress addressed these issues on Sept. 7, 2022; a letter was sent to the US Postal Service Board of Governors on Nov. 6, 2022 by U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and; the introduction of the USPS Subpoena Authority Act, which seeks to give the U.S. Postal Service the ability to crack down on postal crime.
Most recently, we've seen the USPS collaborate with the American Bankers Association to create three infographics to help banks, consumers, and businesses keep an eye out for check fraud.
We are now witnessing additional news that will shake up the USPS.
Big Changes for the USPS
Recently, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced that he will be resigning from the USPS. During his five-year tenure, DeJoy noted that the USPS was faltering due to a lack of investments into the agency.
According to AP News:
DeJoy has disputed that and told a U.S. House subcommittee during a contentious September hearing that the Postal Service had embarked on long-overdue investments in “ratty” facilities and making other changes to create "a Postal Service for the future” that delivered mail more quickly.
On the heels of the news of Mr. DeJoy's resignation, there are reports that President Trump is considering merging the USPS into the Department of Commerce -- citing revenue losses from the agency as a key reason.
According to the Washington Post, President Trump is preparing an executive order that would "dissolve the leadership of the U.S. Postal Service and absorb the independent mail agency into his administration."
What This Means for Check Security
It remains to be seen if President Trump will indeed move forward with the executive order. However, if he does, we can expect major changes for the USPS -- with possible added protections across the board to protect consumers and businesses.
If the USPS is no longer run as an independent agency, it's reasonable to believe that it would gain additional resources to update security. This includes internally -- with new policies and procedures to protect from insider fraud -- and externally, where postal mailboxes and carriers will most likely see added protections. Unfortunately, this would not happen overnight -- thus, financial institutions cannot simply rely on the government to protect their customers.
FIs need to continue their investments in new technologies that protect themselves and their customers from check fraud. This includes behavioral/transaction analytics, image forensic AI, payee positive pay for corporate clients, consortium data, and dark web monitoring.
While major changes might be around the corner, FIs will still hold the strongest defense against check fraud.