Legal Definitions - decoy letter

A decoy letter is a piece of mail intentionally prepared and sent by law enforcement or regulatory agencies to detect individuals who are violating postal regulations or revenue laws. Its purpose is to create a controlled situation where a suspected criminal might reveal their illegal activities by interacting with the letter.

• Example 1: Investigating Mail Theft

  Scenario: Postal inspectors suspect that a mail carrier on a specific route has been tampering with mail and stealing gift cards. To investigate, they decide to set up a sting operation.

  Application: The inspectors prepare a decoy letter containing a traceable, unmarked gift card with a small balance and address it to a fictitious recipient on the suspected carrier's route. They carefully track the letter's journey. If the letter arrives at its destination with the gift card missing, or if the gift card is later activated and used by the suspect, it provides strong evidence of mail theft. This illustrates a decoy letter being used to detect a violation of postal laws.

• Example 2: Uncovering Tax Fraud

  Scenario: A government agency investigating tax fraud suspects a network of individuals is filing fraudulent tax refund claims using stolen identities and having the refunds mailed to various temporary addresses to avoid detection.

  Application: The agency might send a decoy letter, designed to look like an official tax refund check or a notice requiring further action, to one of the suspected drop addresses. They monitor who attempts to retrieve or respond to the letter. If a suspect attempts to cash the decoy check or responds to the notice, it can provide crucial evidence linking them to the fraudulent scheme, demonstrating the use of a decoy letter to detect violations of revenue laws.