POST OFFICE FRAUDS

Manawatu Times, Volume LIII, Issue 6631, 9 June 1928, Page 2 (Supplement)

POST OFFICE FRAUDS

A VERY DARING SCHEME. SUM OF £BOOO INVOLVED. SYDNEY, May 31. Daring and extensive post office frauds, involving £BOOO, which have baffled the post office officials for two years, have been checked with the arrest in Sydney of two men who, it is said, had incriminating ■ evidence in their possession reports the correspondent of the New Zealand Herald, Though the fraud's had been detected from time to time the officials and the detectives were unable to make much headway with their investigations- - until a fortnight ago. It was discovered then that a man had attempted to bribe a telegraph messenger at the Sydney post office to secure for him a bundle of official envelopes. The police secured a description of the man and located him after a few days’ search. Then they visited a house in one of the suburbs and arrested a second man, whom the police declare had in his possession a number of official envelopes, original and duplicate money-order forms and other postal matter. The police allege that the two men would choose some small suburban post office, preferably a part-time office, and one of them would enter and buv v a money order. At the smo time hewatched and noticed where the postmaster kept the book and the official stamp. An hour or two afterwards the two men would enter the post office and while one engaged the post-master in conversation the other would manage to secure the money oruer nook nd stamp and leave the office. While outside this man would make out a number of original and duplicate money order forms, stamp them, taking care to leave enough forms in the money order issuing book to allay any suspicions. They would visit the post office again an hour afterwards and the book and the stamp would be replaced. In many cases the bool would not be used again by the post master for two or three days, by whicl time the men had, it is alleged, filled in original forms payable to themselves in some other State. The duplicate forms, as used by tho postal authorities, would also be filled in and in tho official envelopes, would be sent to the paying office. It is the practice to pay out on money orders up to £2O without identification, and evidently this fact was known to the two men, who invariably made tho amounts out for £l9 and a few odd shillings. These daring methods have been practiced in four States at least and tho amount of the frauds is estimated at £BOOO.