What is the United States Postal Inspection Service?

The United States Postal Inspection Service (or “USPIS” for short) is the law enforcement branch of the US Postal Service. USPIS enforces over 200 federal statutes related to crimes that involve the postal system, its employees, and its customers.

Table of Contents

• What the United States Postal Inspection Service Does
• What Kind of Crimes Does the USPIS Prevent and Investigate?
• Need to Report a Crime to the USPIS?

What the United States Postal Inspection Service Does

The USPIS investigates and enforces crimes in areas such as mail and package theft, mail fraud, identity theft, money laundering, cybercrime, and much more. All in all, the organization dedicates itself to protecting USPS, its employees, and all of its customers (which basically includes every American citizen).

According to the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum, each year postal inspectors:

• Arrest 1,500 people for mail fraud
• Educate 123 million customers about fraud prevention
• Handle nearly 115,000 reports of suspected fraud each year
• Arrest 3,000 people for mail theft
• Help nearly 50,000 crime victims
• Arrest 2,500 suspects for drug trafficking and money laundering through the mail
• Investigate 200 robberies and burglaries of post offices
• Arrest 300 people for assaults and threats to postal employees

What Kind of Crimes Does the USPIS Prevent and Investigate?

The following is a full list of categories that fall under the United States Postal Inspection Service’s jurisdiction:

• Mail and Package Theft
• Fraud Prevention and Education
• Mail Fraud
• Identity Theft
• Prohibited Mail
• Money Laundering
• Suspicious Mail
• Cybercrime
• Global Mail Security
• Child Exploitation
• Disaster Response

Need to Report a Crime to the United States Postal Inspection Service?

Are you a victim of identity theft? Mail fraud? Maybe you’ve come across a piece of mail that looks kind of suspicious. However big or small, the United States Postal Inspection Service takes pride in investigating and responding to reports. If you have witnessed or fallen victim to a crime, it’s easy to file a report online. Start by visiting this page, and then fill out the correct form for the crime you intend to report.