Identify Theft: Your Mailbox Contains Everything Crooks Need to Know

What was in your mailbox today? Odds are there was a ton of junk, interspersed with valuable gold nuggets in the form of credit card offers, utility bills, and items that paint a shockingly accurate portrait of you, your credit history, your income, and personal information about your family. All of this information can be leveraged against you in the form of identity theft.

We recently used surveillance services to bust a group of mail thieves involved in identity theft and scams using surveillance services.

Los Angeles Private Investigator Leads Successful Identity Theft Investigation

Our client was a successful business person who lives in a nice neighborhood. He contacted us because he was suspicious about missing mail. In addition to receiving a lower volume of mail than usual, he also noticed that there was a pattern - the bulk of the missing mail was related to creditors and financial institutions, among others.

Here are some shocking facts:

• Criminals were using his credit accounts to their advantage
• Some of the charges were used to obtain complete background checks on our client and his wife to learn more about them - on our client's dime.
• The identity thieves had already ordered a credit card in his name with a high credit limit.

Although he installed a high-quality security system, including surveillance cameras that monitored the front entrance and mailbox area, he was never able to get a good read on the license plate numbers of the suspicious vehicles, or the faces of the drivers.

As a result, he contacted us to schedule surveillance services.

Identity Theft Investigation Halts Illegal Activity and Yields two felony Arrests

Within the first night of our identity theft investigation surveillance, criminals arrived on the scene and removed mail from our client's mailbox. We took video footage, as well as a description of the male suspects and their license plate number. The suspects were cautious and possibly becoming aware they were being followed, so we turned our information over to local law enforcement officials.

During our second scheduled surveillance, we caught additional criminals in the act. This time we were able to pursue two female suspects as they fled the scene. They were arrested and charged with multiple felony counts. It was very obvious these people were part of an organized crime ring.

This goes to show how powerful surveillance services can be when they are executed by an experienced investigator who knows just what to do to get the information and evidence required to catch and prosecute the criminals.

Protect Yourself From Identity Theft

What can you do to protect yourself from identity theft? Plenty.

1. Get a P.O. Box. Post office boxes are cheap. Have all credit and financial information sent to a P.O. box where it is less susceptible to identity thieves.
2. Shred your mail. Make sure you shred mail with any identifying information on it to prevent it being used from thieves who go through garbage and recycling bins to get the same information available through your mailbox.
3. Notify creditors at the first sign of illegal activity. If you suspect your credit accounts have been compromised, or you fear you are the victim of identity theft, contact your creditors and banks immediately to let them know what is going on. Also, contact the three major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion so they can post a note on your account and begin mitigating any damage that has occurred.
4. Hire a private investigator! Because, like we mentioned above - we can provide the surveillance that nabs crooks in the act, complete with pictures, videos and a professional written report. As noted in the real case above, private investigative services can nip criminal activity in the bud, saving you thousands of dollars and preventing you from reversing the damage from full-blown identity theft.

Suspect mail theft is a problem in your area? Are you worried about the fallout from suspected identity theft? Contact Linked Investigations to hire an experienced Private Investigator who can assist you in getting the information you need to catch criminals in the act. 877-464-5374877-464-5374