Every day, one in four Americans falls victim to mail theft — even though the United States Postal Service has been promising a crackdown. Many are repeat victims, like Denver resident Karen Hagans, who told CBS Colorado that her mail disappears almost daily (1). “If you didn’t go get your mail the minute it was delivered, you couldn’t trust that it was there,” she said. Hagans' mail is delivered to a cluster mailbox, easily accessed with a master key — or copy of one. That's one of the challenges the ...

Jody and Paul Glaser of Los Altos did what millions of Americans still do every year: they wrote a check for their property taxes and dropped it in a blue USPS mailbox outside the post office. Three months later, a delinquency notice arrived from Santa Clara County. Paul said he knew he'd paid — he'd seen the check clear. So they pulled up the check image online and saw someone else's name where the county tax collector's should have been. "Clearly, the check had been altered, and cashed by somebody els ...

Core Insights - Corporate finance leaders are in consensus that changes are necessary in response to the current economic environment, with 98% of surveyed financial leaders indicating plans to alter their business strategies [1] Group 1: Economic Adjustments - 57% of middle-market financial leaders anticipate making significant changes due to the economic landscape [2] - Companies are reevaluating budgets and cutting discretionary spending (55%), implementing hiring freezes or slowing recruitment (38%), and building cash reserves (31%) [2] Group 2: Workload and Pressure on Finance Teams - 96% of finance leaders reported being asked to "do more with less," with 28% feeling this pressure "to a great extent" and 52% "to a moderate extent" [3] - Approximately 20% of companies are reducing investment in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and capital investments [3] Group 3: Workforce Management - 29% of CFOs plan to reduce their workforce through layoffs or attrition by 2026 [4] - Companies are addressing labor pressures by cross-training employees (55%) and implementing new technology/automation tools (49%) [4] Group 4: Technology Investment - Half of the surveyed finance leaders plan to increase investment in AI and machine learning next year, while 39% will invest more in non-AI technology and automation [5] Group 5: Payment Processing Strategies - 74% of CFOs plan to handle vendor and supplier payments primarily in-house, while 22% will outsource this process to third-party providers [6] Group 6: Check Fraud Trends - Check fraud incidents have significantly declined, with only 22% of surveyed companies reporting attacks, down from 63% in 2024, attributed to the U.S. government's shift away from paper checks for federal payments [7]