Public Service Announcement - Stolen checks
Check Stolen at the Palos Verdes Peninsula Post Office?
This is a public service announcement by PVP Watch.
Bill, a longtime resident of the Palos Verdes peninsula requested that we summarize his experience and share it with peninsula residents. Below is Bill's account.
Bill had his $43,000 tax return check "stolen" at the Palos Verdes Peninsula Post Office. Since July 2024, Bill worked through frustrating and time-consuming processes for a replacement check. The replacement check was issued in October. As of this time, the replacement check is also “missing” and presumed stolen.
Bill requested that PVP Watch summarize his experience to:
Create awareness to Palos Verdes residents, especially seniors, of such fraud,
Get in contact with others who may have similar experience of having checks stolen, and
Together, further raise these concerns to relevant government agencies and banks to prevent such fraud from repeating.
What Happened
After filing his 2024 tax return, Bill tracked his refund on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website. The website showed that his refund check was mailed to his Post Office Box in the Palos Verdes Peninsula Post Office. But in July, when the refund check was not received, he enquired with the IRS and US Treasury. About the same time, Bill received a call from a Credit Union that someone attempted to cash his tax return check. The Credit Union did not pay out the amount on the check.
When Bill met with Credit Union, the representative showed Bill a stack of 40 plus checks that were fraudulent. A number of those 40 plus checks were US Treasury checks similar to tax refund checks. The 40 plus checks were just one-month’s worth and from one “bank”. One can conclude that check fraud is an extensive problem.
What Came Next
To request a replacement check, Bill wrote many emails, filled out forms, forwarded relevant documents to the IRS and the US Treasury. To talk to someone live, he called these agencies multiple times and was put on-hold, sometimes for up to two hours.
After much frustration, a replacement check was issued in October. Since Bill’s IRS address was the Post Office Box in the Palos Verdes Peninsula Post Office, the replacement check was sent to the same Post Office Box… and was lost (stolen), AGAIN. Six months later as of April 2025, Bill has not received the replacement check.
Agencies Involved
In the last 10 months, Bill worked with the following organizations on this issue:
IRS
US Treasury
US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Credit Union
Bill had to repeat his account multiple times and worked through complicated and often convoluted processes.
Why This Matters
With check frauds, the government agencies and financial institutions often “write-off” the losses and not investigate the perpetrators. To these organizations, it means less work. But the taxpayers and consumers are the victims who eventually pay for such crime.
How You Can Help
If you or someone you know had similar experience losing checks in the Post Office, contact Bill at bill@stolenmail.com. Bill is committed to gather facts and data, and raise the issue to the government agencies. Bill’s goal is to help develop an effective solution instead of each of us fighting the battle alone. An individual complaint is not a “Big Case” as investigators have told Bill. But if this is happening to multiple residents, as Bill suspects, we have a better chance of getting attention as a group to correct the problem.
Be aware that sending checks through the mail posts some risks. Consider electronic deposit and transfer to reduce such risks.
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