Basic mail fraud

[Rocklin]

I saved this piece i wrote for &T2 so here goes.

Basic Mail Fraud

By Rocklin

Written for "Totse2.com"

WARNING: This textfile contains written material on how to commit fraud against the postal system and if you are caught in the act of commiting mail fraud you may face a fine and/or jail time depending on your situation (Out on bail, probation etc.)




I have been wanting to write a textfile for a while now and today is the day.  The first and last one i wrote was in 2007 on the first Totse,  that textfile is long gone....floundering in the great big sea we call the internet.



Q: why do i want to commit this very basic and easy form of mail fraud

A: Because you can mail letters and small CD/DVD mailers for free,  and every totsean loves to learn more ways to do stuff and get stuff for free right?.
whether it be free services like hacking your neighbors wifi, cable tv or learning the in's and out's of the mail system.


Lets get to it then shall we?.


You wake up one day,  you pour yourself a coffee / smoke a J whatever you do to wake up and you notice a bill you forgot to pay,  you dont have any stamps and the stores are closed so you are SOL.

you can now fix this problem by following this two step guide.

1: Take an envelope and your bill/letter to your mother..whatever and put them inside the envelope like normal,  seal everything up neat.

2: You dont have any stamps so normaly you would stop now and wait till you found some but not today,  you are going to write Your address in the To: area on the envelope and your destinations address in the return to sender area  on the envelope.

This is how you will mail away for free,   the postal service usualy puts a sticker on the front of the envelope that says shit like "The post office does not mail letters without postage paid".
By putting your desinations address in the return to sender corner you force the post office to "Return" your letter for postage not paid and at the same time they will be transporting your letter to your intended recipient all the while not knowing that they are infact assisting you to commit fraud against them.

 
So simple you could have thought of it yourself right?

I tested this out about a month ago,  i mailed a letter and a DVD mailer to a friend of mine that lives in another province.....the distance being about 150 miles.

For mailing a DVD mailer it has to be the letter size bubble wrap ones that can fit in a post office drop box,  these are emptied every morning to be taken to the main mail distribution center for your area.



So go out and conduct some tests,  and see if you can mail DVD size packages for free like i did.


Written by Rocklin for Totse2.com 
07/02/12

[Arnox]

Hm. I've been thinking this over and so far, I can't see any real way you could get caught doing this. Could be wrong though.

[KillerBusiness]

Only thing I can think of going wrong is this:
When the mailman originally picks up your package, it's already going to be at its "destination" (your address) so he might notice something weird. But its not like the mail man individually inspects the addresses on ever piece of mail he picks up. So I think it'd work.

[terrorist]

i know this works. Some celebrity got arrested for doing it. 

[tupac]

pretty obvious anyone who works in the post office for 2 weeks knows this trick. If it is evident you are trying to scam the item will arrive to the destination (the return address) postage due. If the person doesn't pay it goes to the dead mail room with undeliverable mail they can't legally open.
TL;DR they patched it

[tupac]

Only thing I can think of going wrong is this:
When the mailman originally picks up your package, it's already going to be at its "destination" (your address) so he might notice something weird. But its not like the mail man individually inspects the addresses on ever piece of mail he picks up. So I think it'd work.

why would you even bother putting your own address on it if the point is to send it to the return address you could write any address as the destination

[Umbrella Corp]

The idea is to slip your mail into a public mail box, not have it picked up from your house.. thus nobody could tell it came from your house. 

Anyway this is a pretty lame attempt at defrauding the government.  You save like 50 cents on a postage stamp? 

Not worth the risk that "mail fraud" could possibly be punished by.

[tupac]

The idea is to slip your mail into a public mail box, not have it picked up from your house.. thus nobody could tell it came from your house. 

Anyway this is a pretty lame attempt at defrauding the government.  You save like 50 cents on a postage stamp? 

Not worth the risk that "mail fraud" could possibly be punished by.

I thought it was obvious someone would use a public mail box and NOT write their address on the damn envelope I mean... 

I mean this would be worth trying if you are sending a package that cost more than the cost to mail a letter with a forever stamp. But again the package would end up being postage due.

This used to work but... now everything ends up postage due or undeliverable mail. I'm not an expert on this subject so I would love to be corrected by someone who is more experienced



I also read this from the Anarchist cookbook, it may be helpful info:

"The increasing cost of postage to mail letters and packages is bringing down our standard of living. To remedy this deplorable situation, some
counter control measures can be applied. For example, if the stamps on a letter are coated with Elmer's Glue by the sender, the cancellation
mark will not destroy the stamp: the Elmer's drives to form an almost invisible coating that protects the stamps from the cancellation ink. Later,
the receiver of the letter can remove the cancellation mark with water and reuse the stamps. Furthermore, ecological saving will also result
from recycling the stamps. Help save a tree. The glue is most efficiently applied with a brush with stiff, short bristles. Just dip the brush directly
into the glue and spread it on evenly, covering the entire surface of the stamp. It will dry in about 15 minutes. For mailing packages, just follow
the same procedure as outlined above; however, the package should be weighed and checked to make sure that it has the correct amount of
postage on it before it is taken to the Post Office. Removing the cancellation and the glue from the stamps can be easily accomplished by
soaking the stamps in warm water until they float free from the paper. The stamps can then be put onto a paper towel to dry. Processing
stamps in large batches saves time too. Also, it may be helpful to write the word 'Elmer' at the top of the letter (not on the envelope) to cue the
receiving party in that the stamps have been protected with the glue. We all know that mailing packages can be expensive. And we also know
that the handicapped are sometimes discriminated against in jobs. The Government, being the generous people they are, have given the blind
free postal service. Simply address you envelope as usual, and make one modification. In the corner where the stamp would go, write in (or
stamp) the words 'FREE MATTER FOR THE BLIND". Then drop you package or letter in one of the blue federal mailboxes. DO NOT TAKE THE
LETTER TO THE POST OFFICE, OR LEAVE IT IN YOUR MAILBOX. Sounds very nice of the government to do this, right? Well, they aren't that
nice. The parcel is sent library rate, that is below third class. It may take four to five days to send a letter to just the next town. This too is quite
simple, but less effective. Put the address that you are sending the letter to as the return address. If you were sending a $20 donation to the
pirate's Chest, you would put our address (PO box 644, Lincoln MA 01773) as the return address. Then you would have to be careless and
forget to put the stamp on the envelope. A nice touch is to put a bullshit address in the center of the envelope. Again, you MUST drop the letter
in a FEDERAL mailbox. If the post office doesn't send the letter to the return address for having no stamp, they will send it back for the reason
of "No such address".
"

[Suicidal Fish]

Here in the UK the letter just carries on to its destination and the person has to pay a fee (postage plus charge) If they refuse the letter gets destroyed