Question about Mail Tampering (rental DVDs)
10-24-06, 05:51 PM
#1
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: NorCal
Posts: 2,927
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Question about Mail Tampering (rental DVDs)
sorry if this is the wrong forum, not sure where it goes.
I rent discs online from 4 different places (DVDEmpire, Gamefly, Gameznflix, and one of those adult DVD places) . recently I've been getting "empty" envelopes in my mailbox. (my mailbox is one of those locked boxes where there are ~10 others on the corner of the street). At first I thought well maybe they screwed up as the first 2 were from the same company but today my gamefly envelope AND 2 of my 3 DVDE envelopes wer empty. The seals have been broken/missing everytime too. This will be the 4th and 5th DVD I will need to report to DVDE and I'm scared they're going to either charge me or cancel me (or maybe both).
I tried contacting them the last 2 times this happened but all they said is someone is tampering with your mailbox. They didnt even ask for my account info or anything to try to track it (I assumed that's what all the barcodes on the envelopes were for).
ANyone else ever have this problem? If so, what did you do? The first batch of empty envelopes were stamped in red ink "contents missing" so it's obvious something happened before it even got to my house. The ones today were not like this.
I rent discs online from 4 different places (DVDEmpire, Gamefly, Gameznflix, and one of those adult DVD places) . recently I've been getting "empty" envelopes in my mailbox. (my mailbox is one of those locked boxes where there are ~10 others on the corner of the street). At first I thought well maybe they screwed up as the first 2 were from the same company but today my gamefly envelope AND 2 of my 3 DVDE envelopes wer empty. The seals have been broken/missing everytime too. This will be the 4th and 5th DVD I will need to report to DVDE and I'm scared they're going to either charge me or cancel me (or maybe both).
I tried contacting them the last 2 times this happened but all they said is someone is tampering with your mailbox. They didnt even ask for my account info or anything to try to track it (I assumed that's what all the barcodes on the envelopes were for).
ANyone else ever have this problem? If so, what did you do? The first batch of empty envelopes were stamped in red ink "contents missing" so it's obvious something happened before it even got to my house. The ones today were not like this.
Last edited by DVDKrayzie; 10-24-06 at 06:03 PM.
10-24-06, 06:30 PM
#2
Banned
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,087
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sorry to hear your problems. It has been in the news the last year or so regarding Netflix dvds being stolen in the mail. I know they arrested some people, it sounds like it might be happening again. IMO it sounds like a USPS problem meaning a postal worker is swiping the disks. Are you sure no one can get to your post box?
10-24-06, 06:34 PM
#3
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: NorCal
Posts: 2,927
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
yea it's one of those post office lock boxes not those cheap ones like in apartments. plus since it was machine-stamped "contents missing" that kinda tells me someone at the USPS sorting/pickup area is swiping these
10-25-06, 05:17 PM
#4
Needs to contact an admin about multiple accounts
Your mailman would have them stamped up "missing contents" if he received them like that, otherwise he could get in trouble. So either someone is getting into your mailbox, or you mailman is an idiot. Contact the post office and let them know.
10-25-06, 06:22 PM
#5
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: NorCal
Posts: 2,927
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
wow another one today, this is insane. i know no one is getting into my box because i watched the mail"woman" come and go today and went right after he left to get my mail. again this one wasnt stamped missing contents. so it's either my mailwoman or someone at the PO. im going to call the PO tomorrow this is just getting ridiculous
10-26-06, 07:57 AM
#8
DVD Talk Hero
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Hail to the Redskins!
Posts: 25,295
Likes: 0
Received 49 Likes
on
38 Posts
Do you live in Denver?
Postal worker pleads guilty to Netflix thefts
By Trevor Hughes
The Daily Times-Call
DENVER — A Loveland woman convicted of stealing more than 1,200 DVDs from her job as a postal worker in Lyons must report to federal prison later this month to serve five months behind bars.
Karen Durante has also been ordered to pay $464.72 in restitution and serve three years on supervised release, according to federal court records. Durante pleaded guilty June 26, according to records, and must report to prison before noon July 24.
Durante, 24, was accused by the federal government of taking 1,256 DVDs mailed to customers of the movie-rental companies Netflix and Blockbuster. Durante worked as a contract delivery driver for the Lyons-area post office, according to federal prosecutors.
“The Department of Justice remains committed to protecting the integrity of the mail delivery system. Those who steal the mail, whether they be postal employees or members of the public, will face prosecution and incarceration,” said Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Denver.
Dorschner said prosecutors appreciated the help given by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in launching the
investigation.
According to court documents, postal inspectors followed Durante from the post office to a nearby gas station, where she threw away empty DVD envelopes. A search of her home found stolen DVDs worth $20,937, according to court records.
The investigation was launched because Netflix was seeing more losses in the Lyons area than anywhere else the mail-order DVD subscription service operates.
Durante’s court-appointed federal public defender did not return a phone message on Thursday seeking comment.
Trevor Hughes can be reached at 303-684-5220, or by e-mail at [email protected].
Postal worker pleads guilty to Netflix thefts
By Trevor Hughes
The Daily Times-Call
DENVER — A Loveland woman convicted of stealing more than 1,200 DVDs from her job as a postal worker in Lyons must report to federal prison later this month to serve five months behind bars.
Karen Durante has also been ordered to pay $464.72 in restitution and serve three years on supervised release, according to federal court records. Durante pleaded guilty June 26, according to records, and must report to prison before noon July 24.
Durante, 24, was accused by the federal government of taking 1,256 DVDs mailed to customers of the movie-rental companies Netflix and Blockbuster. Durante worked as a contract delivery driver for the Lyons-area post office, according to federal prosecutors.
“The Department of Justice remains committed to protecting the integrity of the mail delivery system. Those who steal the mail, whether they be postal employees or members of the public, will face prosecution and incarceration,” said Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Denver.
Dorschner said prosecutors appreciated the help given by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in launching the
investigation.
According to court documents, postal inspectors followed Durante from the post office to a nearby gas station, where she threw away empty DVD envelopes. A search of her home found stolen DVDs worth $20,937, according to court records.
The investigation was launched because Netflix was seeing more losses in the Lyons area than anywhere else the mail-order DVD subscription service operates.
Durante’s court-appointed federal public defender did not return a phone message on Thursday seeking comment.
Trevor Hughes can be reached at 303-684-5220, or by e-mail at [email protected].
10-26-06, 08:13 AM
#9
Banned
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,087
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
After reading the OP's replies there is some serious crime being committed at his local PO. It is obvious a postal worker is swiping the disks. If the PO get's involved it should not be too difficult to catch the crook in the act. Since it has happened numerous times it is definitely the same person stealing the dvds. I hope they nail the thief good...
