Contact 6: Con men stealing identities from mailboxes

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- FOX6's Contact 6 says you could be making yourself a target simply by paying bills and placing them in the mailbox!

"First you can`t believe it. Then you feel violated because people are taking things that don`t belong to them," fraud victim Barbara Antrim said.

Antrim says con artists stole her identity and went on a shopping spree.

"We got a call from Macy`s, and Macy`s wanted to know if we had been making big purchases over the Internet. We had not," Antrim said.

Macy's said red flags went up when Antrim's credit card was used to buy items online for the first time, but the thieves didn't stop there.

"I got to thinking maybe I should go to the bank and check out our accounts and that`s when I found that several purchases had been made," Antrim said.

Postal inspectors say Antrim was one of 30 people whose identities were stolen by an ID theft ring. Total losses were $100,000.

"Very nice, very kind and never suspected putting her mail in the box would lead to this ordeal," U.S. Postal Inspector J.J. De St. Jean said.

Postal inspectors say the con men were taking mail out of mailboxes and then stealing credit card information and check routing numbers.

Inspectors eventually turned their sights to Robert Daniels.

"He was the head of the scheme but it was very difficult for many years to catch him," De St. Jean said.

Photos show a search of Daniels' home, which helped inspectors discover his role in the crime ring.

"Mr. Daniels would accompany several young women along to cash checks at various check cashing places and stores to buy goods," De St. Jean said.

Daniels was convicted on two accounts of forgery and sentenced to four years in prison. Postal inspectors say a very small percentage of ID theft cases actually come from items stolen from a mailbox.

However, it is important not to leave mail in the mailbox -- especially overnight.