Identify Theft is fraud, so is the "Overland Alert"

In Friday's Post dispatch Norm Parish had an article about the latest letter to hit Overland Residents Mailboxes. You can read that article here.

The Overland Police Department, as well as the Postal Inspectors, have received complaints about this letter. Sources say that both are investigating.

The return address on this letter states that it came from a company called "PrimeWATCH Publications". This company does not exist in Missouri according to a search of the Secretary of State's records. Furthermore, we have been told that the P.O. Box number does not exist in that zip code.

So, who sent this letter? That is still a mystery. Residents quickly recognized the postal permit number as it has appeared on numerous mailings supporting Mayor Purzner and others on the Council, both before and after the election. When it was discovered that this mailing was sent by Economical Mailing Services at 10426 Lackland in Overland I contacted them.

I spoke to Doug Carr. He stated that the bulk rate permit number was his, and that he has done numerous mailings for political candidates, as well as mailings for both sides of the same races throughout the area in the past. Mr. Carr stated that this particular mailing was subcontracted to him by another company, and that he did not know who the originator might have been.

When asked, he said his lawyer advised not to reveal who his client was without a subpoena to avoid potential privacy issues and lawsuits. He said that he had no political interest in Overland, and is just a small business person who makes his living doing mailings for others.

"I do a lot of wholesale mailings, where another company subcontracts my services because I'm local." Stated Mr. Carr. He explained that he often only knows who the company is that hired him, not the customer who hired that company.

Mr. Carr also explained to me that there is no industry standard when it comes to confirming return addresses, though after this incident he may change that in his own business.

Mr. Carr said it is great to see so many people involved in their local government and thinks this could lead to more people voting in future elections.

Who is the source of this mailing? Well, we will have to wait and see if the Overland Police Department's, the Postal Inspector's or various local journalist's investigations develop that information.

A discussion with a postal employee suggested that having a fraudulent company name, and/or an invalid P.O. Box on mail could possibly constitute mail fraud and recommended that the Postal Inspectors be contacted. The Postal Inspectors office had not returned my call at the time of this writing.

If you would like to contact the Postal Inspectors with your concerns they can be reached at:

POSTAL INSPECTION SERVICE

1106 WALNUT ST

SAINT LOUIS MO 63199-2201

Phone : 314-539-9300 - option 4 (to speak to a representative)

Fax : 314-539-9306
Online here

There may be legal issues here, but the real issue for me is the ethical issue. This letter is dishonest at best.

The letter is designed to appear as an alert to the residents. Including the Overland Police Department name and number makes it appear to have official support. According to the Post-Dispatch article listed above:

"We believe the flier is misleading," [Chief] Herron said. "Some people might believe that the Overland Police Department put it out, and we did not. We don't know of any identity theft or any other illegal activity connected with this recall. As far as we know, this recall is a legitimate exercise in citizens' rights."

The letter claims that residents should be wary of signing a petition because they could become victims of identity theft. When you consider the facts, this claim falls flat.

If you own your home, your name and address are public information. If you have a listed phone number, your name and address are public information, if you are a register voter your name and address are public information. If you have ever subscribed to a magazine, your information is bought and sold by marking companies regularly. Why would a dishonest person, seeking to commit identity theft, let all of their potential victims see their face and go though the work of going door to door (criminals tend to be criminals because they are lazy), when they can simply get the registered voters list from the Election Board, or the home owners list available from a ton of sources, etc.

Of course the Registered Voter lists, the Homeowners lists and others are useless to them. None of them contain social security numbers, birth dates, bank account numbers and other personal information which are key information needed for identity theft. The Recall petition does not require this information either.

The Recall Petition requires that you sign your name, write your address, and print your name. All of which they already have on the Register Voter's list that brought them to your front door to seek your signature.

The real risk most homeowners take when it comes to identity theft is in what they throw away. Old bills, bank statements, even credit card offers can all be taken from your trash and potentially used against you. To protect against this, we need to destroy those documents before throwing them away. The easiest solution to the problem is a "cross cut" shredder.

The claims of this letter are ridiculous. I believe the writer(s) knew this, and that is why they did not attach their real name(s) or contact information to it. Their choice hide their identity speaks volumes about the credibility of these mystery writers.

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