I've wondered for a long time if one could "hack" (or more like "exploit" or "cheat") the "Return To Sender" feature of the USPS to get free postage. Suppose I want to send a letter to John Doe without paying postage. I address the envelope to my own address and use John's address as the from address. I don't put a stamp on it. Without postage, the USPS should not deliver it to me and should return it to the sender for proper postage. BAM! John gets my letter.
This would only work if you were in the same delivery zone as John Doe. For instance, if you sent a letter "from" NYC while in the Bay Area, I'd suspect that they'd simply discard the mail.
If one sends a letter while traveling, they certainly expect to be able to put their home return address on it and have it function properly.
I suspect like most non-Internet things, it's just not worth being dishonest. And if you implemented it to the point where it became lucrative, they would get wise and come after you.
I have a FasTrak transponder (a box that goes in my car and lets me pay bridge tolls automatically). Last year it died and I called up the agency to get it replaced. CS told me when I received the replacement, to put the old one back in the envelope, mark it "return to sender" and put it back in the mail. I'm surprised USPS hasn't called them on it.
Comments
I've wondered for a long time if one could "hack" (or more like "exploit" or "cheat") the "Return To Sender" feature of the USPS to get free postage. Suppose I want to send a letter to John Doe without paying postage. I address the envelope to my own address and use John's address as the from address. I don't put a stamp on it. Without postage, the USPS should not deliver it to me and should return it to the sender for proper postage. BAM! John gets my letter.
I believe that's referred to as "mail fraud".
LOL... you are probably right.
This would only work if you were in the same delivery zone as John Doe. For instance, if you sent a letter "from" NYC while in the Bay Area, I'd suspect that they'd simply discard the mail.
If one sends a letter while traveling, they certainly expect to be able to put their home return address on it and have it function properly.
I suspect like most non-Internet things, it's just not worth being dishonest. And if you implemented it to the point where it became lucrative, they would get wise and come after you.
I have a FasTrak transponder (a box that goes in my car and lets me pay bridge tolls automatically). Last year it died and I called up the agency to get it replaced. CS told me when I received the replacement, to put the old one back in the envelope, mark it "return to sender" and put it back in the mail. I'm surprised USPS hasn't called them on it.
You and every grade schooler have come up with this "hack".