In recent years, thieves have used arrow keys to split up checks and other sensitive materials into clustered mailboxes and steal emails.
AUSTIN, Texas — On Wednesday, Texas Senators passed a bill to combat mail theft.
Senate Bill 1281 expands the definition of the Postal Theft Act to include checks, creates specific criminal offences for stealing master keys, and strengthens penalties for postal theft, which are part of an organized scheme.
According to a 2023 audit, US postal services lose millions of arrow keys each year. In recent years, thieves have used them to split them into clustered mailboxes, including checks and other sensitive materials, and steal emails.
Supporters of the bill say the expansion will give law enforcement more tools to crack down on growing issues.
“With unprecedented interests, tens of millions of dollars at risk per year, it’s essential to give law enforcement additional tools to stop these scammers.”
Last year, an investigation by KVUE advocates revealed that people who committed crimes were not always charged to the fullest extent of the law. It is a federal crime for someone to have an arrow key if they are not a mail employee, but Texas currently has no particular law on using arrow keys.
Currently, state claims don’t take as much time as federal charges. Texas law indicates that the crime can be a misdemeanor, depending on the number of addresses that are hit.
A crime automatically places a state felony charge not until you receive mail from at least 10 different addresses, but can only be punished for up to two years unless investigators and prosecutors are able to prove other crimes related to the case. A state crime is a three-degree felony if mail is stolen from more than 30 addresses.
As the Senate passes the bill, it heads to the House.
