The United States Postal Service has a bit of a phishing scam on its hands in Fort Worth, Texas — or really, it’s almost an actual fishing scam. Scammers are apparently coating the blue standalone USPS mailboxes with adhesive, in order to catch outgoing mail and go through it to get money or personal information.

Residents notified the USPS on Thursday, reports CBS 11, after people noticed the inside of the box’s opening was coated with some kind of adhesive. The local postal inspector says that kind of scam has already resulted in 30 arrests since last October.

A man who lives nearby says he called the USPS when he noticed the sticky stuff.

“I thought it was one of my bills, going out,” he said. “I thought, oh no sticky, and pulled out somebody else’s mail.”

This kind of crime has been popping up across the region, along with another fishing/phishing tactic: Actually shoving something sticky inside the mailbox to try and grab mail and pull it out. The USPS has warned mail carriers of the adhesive, and told them to report it if they find it.

Your niece living in Indianapolis will be disappointed if that $20 doesn’t arrive in time for her birthday, after all, so keep your eyes peeled.

*Thanks for the tip, N.C.!

Local Mailbox Target Of Thieves ‘Phishing” Scam [CBS 11]

 

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