Customers warned about email scammers using USPS name
Postal Service customers take note — usps.com recently posted a warning about email scammers using the Postal Service’s name to access valuable personal information.
Customers being targeted receive bogus emails with subject lines containing the text: “USPS Delivery Failure Notification.” The emails claim to be from the Postal Service and contain fraudulent information about an attempted or intercepted package delivery. The emails instruct customers to click on a link to find out when they can expect delivery.
Clicking on the link activates a virus, which can steal personal information — such as user names, passwords or financial account information — stored on the computer.
Customers should simply delete the message and take no further action unless they choose to report the email as spam by contacting abuse@usps.gov.
The email scam is similar to a telemarketing scam uncovered by the Postal Inspection Service in which fraudsters masquerading as USPS employees were phoning residents and requesting birth dates and Social Security numbers as requirements for package delivery (Link, 10/31).
Corporate Information Security Officer Chuck McGann offers these tips on spotting bogus emails:
- The text contains poor grammar or spelling errors.
- The text states immediate action must be taken or customer could face dire consequences.
- The email requests personal information under the guise of re-confirming information.
- The text from an “automated message system” states “Click on this link for details.”
Customers with questions about a delivery by the Postal Service should call 800-ASK-USPS.
source: USPS News Link – Nov. 18, 2011.
Tell Your Legislator: Vote No on H.R. 2309
A bill that would destroy the Postal Service as we know it was approved by a key congressional committee on Oct. 13, and could come up for a vote in the full House at any time. It is urgent that APWU members ask their legislators to vote no on H.R. 2309.
To help APWU members send the message to Congress, the union will be mailing a brochure to every union member’s home in the coming days. President Cliff Guffey is asking union members to sign the postcard included in the brochure and mail it to their legislators. Read more
House Committee Releases Very Misleading Video On Who Supports Issa-Ross Postal Reform Bill
Filed under: politics, postal, postal finances, postal news, postal reform, press releases, scams, usps, videos
This news release and video suggests that the entire House Committee On Oversight and Government Reform and all Senators support the Issa-Ross-McCain Postal Reform Bill as well as the views on the USPS overpayment. However, only one member of the Committee has signed on as a co-sponsor for HR 2309. Very misleading on all fronts. Read more
USPS Board of Governor’s Member resigns amid real estate scandal
Filed under: board of governors, postal, postal news, scams, usps
From the Federal Times:
Former U.S. Postal Service Governor Alan Kessler pressured postal executives to scuttle a planned property purchase that would have cost a friend millions of dollars, according to a report from the Office of Inspector General. The IG also found that the Postal Service general counsel, Mary Anne Gibbons, failed to act as she should have to halt Kessler’s actions and report them to the IG.
USPS General Counsel was also cited in the Robert Bernstock scandal
This is not the first IG report that concluded Gibbons failed to report ongoing improper actions by an executive. Another IG report issued last year, into questionable sole-source contracts issued by former Postal Service marketing executive Robert Bernstock, also found that Gibbons did not report her knowledge that Bernstock was using postal staff for his personal business.
That report said Gibbons physically covered her ears and said she didn’t want to talk about it when she found out Bernstock was improperly using postal staff.
archive: The report also raises questions about Postal Service general counsel Mary Anne Gibbons’ apparent failure to report Bernstock’s improper use of postal staff. download the entire report by clicking here.
USPS President Under Fire For Directing Postal Contracts To Former Associates Resigns
Owner Of Houston Pre-sort Company Gets 14 Years For Stealing Millions From USPS
HOUSTON – Neal Lim, former owner of one of the largest mail presort operations in the Houston area has been sentenced to prison for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and possessing and using counterfeit postage meter machines to affix counterfeit postage in his mass mailing businesses, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno and United States Postal Inspection Service Inspector-in-Charge Gary Barksdale announced today. Read more
Postal Mail Handler President Accused of Defrauding Postal Workers
A Fort Worth federal grand jury indicted a former postal worker and union leader who allegedly defrauded postal employees of more than $225,000.
John P. Woods Jr., 68, of Arlington was a U.S. Postal Service employee and elected president of the Fort Worth branch of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union before he was charged with 25 counts of wire fraud, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The union was located at the Jack D. Watson Processing and Distribution Center in Fort Worth where managers resorted to using other Postal Service employees to handle mail when the center was overcome with a high volume of mail, the release said.
The is in an apparent violation of a national agreement between the two entities, according to the release.
Woods helped to file class-action lawsuits against the Postal Service, which in turn agreed to compensate mail handlers, the release said.
Woods is accused of creating and operating a scheme in which more than $225,000 of the settlements would be paid to him and his chief stewards between January 2006 and February 2007, according to the indictment.
Read more: Star Telegram
Press Release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District Of Texas
FORT WORTH, Texas —A federal grand jury in Fort Worth returned an indictment this week against John P. Woods, Jr., 68, of Arlington, Texas, charging him with 25 counts of wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. It is expected that Woods will self surrender within the week.
According to the indictment, Woods was a U S. Postal Service employee and elected branch president of the Fort Worth branch of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, located at the Jack D. Watson Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC). Woods received a salary from the Postal Service but performed only union business. As union branch president, Woods represented more than 300 mail handlers who worked at the P&DC
Postal Service managers at the P&DC experienced a high mail volume and resorted to using other Postal Service employees on a continuing basis to perform mail handler work, in apparent violation of the national agreement between the Postal Service and the union. Woods caused numerous grievances to be filed against the Postal Service, who agreed to compensate mail handlers.
Between January 2006 and February 2007, Woods devised and operated a scheme to defraud mail handlers at the P&DC, and to obtain for himself and his chief shop stewards more than $225,000, by causing most of the grievance settlements to be paid to Woods and his chief stewards.
An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury, and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. If convicted, however, Woods faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, per count. In addition, restitution could be ordered.
The case is being investigated by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General. Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys William A. Keefer and Katherine H. Reilly are in charge of the prosecution.
USPS: Beware Of Spam – Bogus Delivery E-Mails Sent To Customers
Filed under: postal, postal news, scams, usps, USPS News Link
Postal Inspectors say customers should not click on the link. Like most viruses sent by e-mail, clicking on the link will activate a virus that can steal information — such as user names, passwords and financial account information.
The e-mails, which claim to be from the Postal Service, contain fraudulent information about an attempted or intercepted package delivery. Customers receiving the e-mail are instructed to click on the link to learn when they can expect delivery.
What to do? Simply delete the message without taking any further action. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and IT are working to shut down the malicious program.
USPS is instructing customers who have delivery problems or questions about this e-mail to call 800-ASK-USPS.
source: USPS News Link
Owners of Three Mailing Companies Indicted In Postage Meter Scam Resulting In More Than $14 Million Lost To USPS
(HOUSTON) – The owners of three third-party mailing and presort companies and several of their employees have been charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit mail fraud by possessing and using counterfeit postage meter machines to affix counterfeit postage in large mailings resulting in lost revenue of more than $14 million to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) over a four-year period, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno and Chief Postal Inspector William R. Gilligan Jr. announced today. The seven-count indictment was returned under seal by a Houston grand jury on Thursday, June 17, 2010, and unsealed today.
Accused of conspiracy, two counts of mail fraud and four counts of postage meter fraud arising from a counterfeit metered postage scheme are Neal Lim, 49, the owner of Gulf Coast Presort Inc. (GCP) and Mail Processing Center Inc. (MPC), David Herrera, 44, the owner of Professional Mail Services Inc. (PMS), Robert Kamau Mungai, 41, the manager of GCP and MPC, Ricardo Garciduenas, 57, a supervisor of the GCP location, Ariel Puyo Alban, 46, a supervisor of the MPC location, and Nicole Garciduenas, 30, a postage meter operator at MPC. Lim, Mungai and Ricardo Garciduenas were arrested last night by investigating agents. Each of these three defendants has appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge John Froeschner and each ordered released on a $50,000 unsecured bond pending trial of this case. Each is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, June 24, 2010, for counsel determination. A summons or court order to appear was served yesterday on Herrera, Alban and Nicole Garciduenas directing each to make their appearance in federal court on June 28, 2010.
According to the indictment, MPC, GCP and PMS are third-party mailers and presort companies which operated as mailing agents engaged in the business of preparing, presorting and presenting mail to the USPS for delivery on behalf of other customers. As a presort bureau, GCP was also engaged in the business of pre-sorting and/or automating mail for a larger number of mailers serviced as the bureau’s customers. All six defendants are accused of conspiring to possess and use counterfeit postage meter machines to apply postage in excess of amounts actually paid to the USPS. The indictment alleges that over the four-year period beginning in January 2004 to July 2007, the USPS incurred in excess of $14 million in lost revenue as a result of this alleged scheme.
“The health and success of the Postal Service depends upon strong and aggressive revenue protection,” said Gilligan Jr. “The Postal Inspection Service will continue to identify and pursue dishonest mailers who deliberately avoid proper payment of postage.”
USPS allows mailers to use postage meter machines, leased by the mailer from a USPS approved and authorized provider, to affix postage meter strips/indicia to mail. All metered mail must be pre-paid by the mailer. Per a licensing agreement with the USPS, an approved meter provider maintains customer information to ensure the proper payment of postage and is responsible for setting and resetting meters with postage and maintaining an inventory.
Third-party mailers are mailing agents in business of preparing and presenting mail on behalf of others. A presort bureau is a company that presorts or automates mail for mailers who are their customers. USPS also offers varying discounts for postage on large mailings that have been presorted. If presorting activities lower the required postage to an amount below the amount affixed to the mail, the presort bureau may claim a “Value Added Refund” from the USPS.
The discovery of discrepancies between projected revenue and the actual amount of pre-paid postage to the USPS by MPC, GCP and PMS lead to an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The defendants face a maximum penalty of 20 years on the conspiracy to commit mail fraud, 20 years on the substantive mail fraud counts and five years on the postage meter fraud counts.
Special Assistant United States Attorney Tammie Y. Moore is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until convicted through due process of law
source: US Attorney’s Office
Surgeon Tried to Get Easy Money in the Big Easy
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has investigated many fraudulent workers’ compensation claim cases. Most of these investigations involve postal employees scamming the system. But, employees aren’t the only ones who abuse the system. Sometimes, medical providers used by postal employees injured on the job, defraud and abuse the system. A few seek to take advantage of this program by submitting false bills, colluding with claimants to extend benefits, or falsifying claim documents. But OIG Special Agents, along with the Department of Labor OIG, found an orthopedic surgeon in New Orleans with a scam of his own.
The surgeon, who operated a medical practice in New Orleans, claimed to have performed health care services after Hurricane Katrina when his office was not even open! Forty-seven of the claims involved names of postal employees. The surgeon pled guilty in federal court to fraud and has agreed to pay $750,000.00 in restitution. He also faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 at his sentencing in May. – USPS OIG
Press Release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana
PHYSICIAN PLEADS GUILTY TO HEALTH CARE FRAUD OFFENSE
DR. WINDSOR DENNIS, age 78, and a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, pled guilty in federal court today before U. S. District Judge Ivan L. R. Lemelle to one count of health care fraud, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten.
According to court documents, DR. DENNIS, an orthopaedic surgeon who operated a medical practice in New Orleans, billed the U. S. Department of Labor, Office of Worker’s Compensation, for health care services he claimed to have performed after Hurricane Katrina when his office was not open. He has agreed to pay $750,000.00 in restitution to the U. S. Department of Labor.
DR. DENNIS faces a possible maximum sentence of ten (10) years, a fine of $250,000 and three (3) years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment. Sentencing has been scheduled for May 26, 2010.
Daniel R. Petrole, Acting Inspector General, United States Department of Labor, stated:
“This plea is the result of collaboration by several Federal agencies working together to root out workers’ compensation fraud and bring those responsible to justice. We will continue to detect and quickly respond to fraud schemes perpetrated against the Department of Labor programs.”
David C. Williams, Inspector General for the U.S. Postal Service, added”
“Today’s plea and restitution agreement by Dr. Windsor Dennis is a significant victory in the ongoing battle against fraudulent workers’ compensation claims. The workers’ compensation program benefits thousands of postal employees who have received legitimate on-the-job injuries. But false claims, particularly by health care providers, undermine the system.”
The case was investigated by the Offices of Inspector General for the United States Postal Service and the United States Department of Labor. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Patrice Harris Sullivan.
APWU: Is The OIG Workers' Comp Fraud Campaign Scamming USPS?
Who’s scamming who?
The USPS Office of Inspector General recently launched a “Workers’ Compensation Fraud Campaign.” In typical OIG fashion, one of its strategies involves demonizing injured workers by having an actor posing as a postal employee cheerfully brag about cheating the Workers’ Comp program.
No one, of course, should be permitted to cheat the injury-compensation system. The system exists to provide benefits to employees who have sustained legitimate injuries while on duty. But OIG ignores the fact that less than 0.3 percent of the tens of thousands of Postal Service employees who get hurt while on the job are ever found guilty of defrauding the system. In fact, OIG’s most recent semi-annual report acknowledges that they had arrested only 18 people for claimant fraud. It’s simply unwarranted and unacceptable for the OIG to create a national campaign that smears injured workers by implying that so many are trying to scam the system.
One has to wonder whether it’s the OIG itself that is guilty of scamming the USPS . In Fiscal Year 2009, the OIG was appropriated $239.3 million in Postal Service funds from which, at its own admission, OIG “commits significant resources toward identifying claimants who defraud the system.”With well over 99 percent of the injured workforce proving to be honest and lawful regarding Workers’ Comp, how can OIG — an agency that is also responsible for combating waste and abuse — be exonerated from the very obligations it is commissioned to uphold?
Protect Yourself
Workers’ compensation fraud is a serious crime. Admission of guilt and actually being found guilty are one and the same: Offenders are branded as criminals.
Upon conviction, offenders are subject to repayment of benefits, fines, jail time in a federal facility, and removal. All too often, it is a simple lack of understanding as to what constitutes fraud that can place an employee in peril. So, as the OIG presses on in its campaign against injured workers, it is important to remember that the medical restrictions that apply at work also apply during personal life, i.e., at home, while shopping, driving, taking care of personal and family matters, and during recreational activities. The rule of thumb is that if you can’t do it at work, you can’t do it anywhere.
It is also important to remind employees to work within their restrictions. If physical capabilities have improved or worsened, employees should get their doctors to document the change in restrictions. Additionally, doctors who permit activities for therapeutic reasons should also include this information — along with the treatment rationale — in the employee’s medical record.
Disclosure and Your Rights
Treating physicians should be made aware that they are not required to disclose any information regarding a medical condition to OIG agents unless there is a court order requiring such disclosure.
If confronted by OIG agents, it is important for employees to know their rights. Many agents are on a mission to prove their worth, and they can be conniving. Employees are entitled to have a representative present and should remain silent until they have consulted with their steward or legal counsel — even when they are certain they aren’t guilty of any wrongdoing.
During investigatory interviews, union representatives may attempt to clarify facts and information, ask the purpose of an interview, or help an employee articulate a response or explanation.
When there are legal issues that need to be addressed, and/or an employee is the subject of a criminal investigation, it is absolutely appropriate for the employee to remain silent and to decline to sign any statements or fill out any forms until after legal counsel has been consulted.
APWU Industrial Relations Director Greg Bell has written two very informative articles detailing the rights of employees when they are confronted by Postal Inspectors or OIG agents. The articles first appeared in the Nov./Dec.2005 and May/June 2006 issues of this magazine and can be found in their entirety on the Industrial Relations Web pages.