Count the US Postal Inspection Service as the latest law enforcement agency to get impersonated by an increasingly brazen group of scammers who are looking to shake down victims with threats of crippling fines and jail time.
The law enforcement arm of the US Postal Service — which in addition to federal mail fraud cases has taken on high-profile criminals including “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski — has lately received upward of 30 complaints about scammers claiming to be a top inspector at the agency, The Post has learned.
Indeed, one of the scammers cold-called a reporter at The Post on Jan. 24, claiming the USPIS had intercepted a package from Mexico addressed to the reporter that contained drugs, asking whether the reporter had traveled to Mexico recently and knew someone named “Maria Sanchez.”
With the US Postal Inspection Service, the scammers threaten victims with arrest and ask them to send money — whether it’s gift cards, checks or cash — to avoid law enforcement action, according to Michael Martel, national public information officer for the USPIS.
