U.S. Postal Service mail carrier steals identities

Consumers are right to be concerned about identity theft when shopping online with credit cards, but it appears as though there should be a new worry - mail deliveries.

According to eSecurityPlanet, a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier in Montgomery, Ala., was recently convicted of identity theft, when he was found guilty of conspiring to file false claims, mail fraud and embezzlement from the U.S. mail.

"We trust our mail carriers to deliver, not steal our mail," said U.S. Attorney George L. Beck. "Harrison abused that trust. Harrison and his criminal organization not only stole innocent people's identities, filed fraudulent tax returns and received tax refunds not owed to them, but they used Harrison's position as a mail carrier to steal these debit cards from the mail."

When this type of crime occurs, short term lenders need to be one of the first lines of defense, as thieves typically attempt to open lines of credit using stolen identities. For this reason, ID verification procedures are essential at these financial institutions.

Short term lenders can also provide financial assistance to those who have seen significant damage done to their consumer credit scores, as alternative credit solutions are often used to approve applications.