Letter to Louis DeJoy, Postmaster General and CEO United States Postal Service - Norton Writes Postal Service About Increase in Mail Theft, Particularly of Checks, With Universal Keys

Statement

Dear Postmaster General DeJoy:

I write to express my concern regarding the increase in mail theft nationally, particularly of checks, through the use of stolen universal keys, formally known as arrow keys. A constituent recently contacted my office after checks they put in a blue collection box were stolen. Thieves changed the payees and dollar amounts on the checks, and tens of thousands of dollars were stolen from my constituent's account. The Washington Post recently covered the increase in such thefts: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/05/01/chevy-chase-mailbox-stolen-checks/. The United States Postal Service (USPS) Inspector General issued a report about the lack of controls over universal keys in 2020 (https://www.uspsoig.gov/document/arrow-key-management-controls).

As I have written to you before, District of Columbia residents have suffered through a significant increase in delayed and undelivered mail over the last few years and may now be suffering through a significant increase in theft of checks, which could be financially devastating.

I ask that you respond in writing by May 30, 2022, regarding what steps USPS is taking to address this problem.

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