Recently Portland Rescue Mission reached out to donors with an advisory to double-check their financial statements in response to the Mission’s mail having apparently been picked up from the Post Office by an unknown person posing as a mail carrier. In our experience, this has never before happened. We’ve been told by the USPS that security measures have been addressed and that this should never happen again. If your question is not answered below, or if there is anything we can do to address your concerns, we invite you to reach out to us directly here. And, as always, we thank you for your partnership as we provide desperately needed access to shelter, meals, and life-restoring care to our neighbors in need.
On December 12, 2022, Portland Rescue Mission’s mail that was ready for pickup at the Post Office, including donation mail, appears to have been stolen by an imposter posing as a representative for the Mission. The mail was never received by Portland Rescue Mission. Upon discovering the incident, the Mission immediately notified the post office and law enforcement and launched an investigation into the scope and impact of the very unfortunate event.
We are still investigating how the unauthorized person was able to collect the mail from the post office. Upon discovering the incident, Portland Rescue Mission immediately notified the post office and law enforcement and launched an investigation into the scope and impact of the very unfortunate event. There is an ongoing law enforcement investigation into the incident.
Upon learning of the incident, we immediately took steps to notify the post office and law enforcement. The Mission is working diligently to identify potentially impacted donors and their donations. This process is challenging, and we’re working with the post office to attempt to identify impacted donors.
The incident is incredibly disappointing on many levels. It saddens the Mission to know that someone would steal from the homeless and those in need during the most important period of giving and service to those in need of the entire year.
Upon discovering the incident, Portland Rescue Mission immediately launched an investigation into the scope of the incident and notified both the post office and law enforcement. The Mission is working diligently to identify potentially impacted donors and their donations. We are working to identify donors whose donations were stolen. Given the difficulty in identifying which donors’ mail items were stolen, we decided to issue a press release and alert the public to the incident.
Our investigation into the full scope of the incident is ongoing. The Mission is working diligently to identify potentially impacted donors and their donations. If you donated to the Mission between December 7 and December 10, it is possible your donation was stolen.
In an abundance of caution, the Mission recommends that any person who made a donation between December 7 and December 10 should remain vigilant and review their financial account statements associated with their donations for any unauthorized activity. If you see any charges or activity that was not authorized, please contact the relevant financial institution immediately. Portland Rescue Mission takes this incident very seriously and sincerely regrets any concern this may cause. The Mission is grateful for the ongoing generosity of its donors and will continue to uphold its mission of providing relief to Portland’s hungry and homeless populations.
The Mission is still accepting donations via mail, on our website, give.portlandrescuemission.org, and over the phone. We hope and pray that this incident doesn’t affect the Mission’s ability to serve the populations that rely on us during this difficult time of year for so many.
The first step is to alert the institution where the fraud occurred or where the fraudulent account was opened. You should contact the Federal Trade Commission and the Office of the Attorney General in your state. You can obtain information from these sources about steps an individual can take to avoid identity theft, as well as information about fraud alerts and security freezes. You should also contact your local law enforcement authorities and file a police report. Obtain a copy of the police report in case you are asked to provide copies to creditors to correct your records. Contact information for the Federal Trade Commission is as follows:
Federal Trade Commission
Consumer Response Center
600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20580
1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338)
www.ftc.gov/idtheft
We do not have any evidence that any individual has experienced identity theft because of this incident. However, if you ever believe you have been the victim of identity theft or have reason to believe your information is being misused, we urge you to contact the police and file a police report immediately. Obtain a copy of the police report, as you may need to provide copies of the report to creditors to clear up your records. You may also contact the Federal Trade Commission and the Office of the Attorney General in your state. You may obtain a copy of your credit report, free of charge, directly from each of the three nationwide credit reporting companies. To order your annual free report, please visit www.annualcreditreport.com, call toll-free at 1-877-322-8228, or directly contact the three nationwide credit reporting companies:
Experian
PO Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013
www.experian.com
1-888-397-3742
TransUnion
PO Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016
www.transunion.com
1-800-916-8800
Equifax
PO Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
www.equifax.com
1-800-685-1111
That is up to you. You have the right to put a “security freeze,” also known as a credit freeze, free of charge, on your credit report, which will prohibit a consumer reporting agency from releasing information in your credit report without your express authorization. The security freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name without your consent. However, you should be aware that using a security freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in your credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application you make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit.
Pursuant to federal law, you have the right to freeze and unfreeze your credit report free of charge with the three credit reporting agencies. Unlike a fraud alert, you must separately place a credit freeze on your credit file at each credit reporting company. To find out more information, contact the three major credit reporting companies as specified below.
For more information, visit the FTC’s identity theft website at www.identitytheft.gov. To place a security freeze on your credit report, you can submit a request on the websites of the three major reporting agencies or send a written request to each by regular, certified, or overnight mail at the following addresses:
As an alternative to a security freeze, you have the right to place an initial or extended fraud alert on your credit file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a 1-year alert placed on a consumer’s credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer’s credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer’s identity before extending new credit. If you are a victim of identity theft, you are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting 7 years.
For more information, visit the FTC’s identity theft website at www.identitytheft.gov. You can place a fraud alert on your credit report, free of charge, by contacting any of the three national credit reporting agencies as follows:
Yes, it is still safe to send mail to the Mission. Upon discovering the incident, Portland Rescue Mission immediately launched an investigation into the scope of the incident and notified both the post office and law enforcement. Portland Rescue Mission continues to receive mail as usual.
The Mission is still accepting donations via mail, on our website, give.portlandrescuemission.org, and over the phone. We hope and pray that this incident doesn’t affect the Mission’s ability to serve the populations that rely on us during this difficult time of year for so many.
Thank you for your inquiry. Please Fill out the form below, and we will reach out as soon as possible:
Thank you so much.