A 45-year-old man allegedly caught with a counterfeit U.S. Postal Service master key, stolen mail, drugs, and dozens of credit cards in other people’s names has been released pending trial after Chicago police arrested him in Logan Square last week.
Officers took Andrew Trotter into custody around 4 p.m. on July 3 in the 2200 block of North Milwaukee Avenue. His arrest stems from two residential burglaries in March, during which he allegedly used a counterfeit USPS master key to access apartment buildings and mailboxes.
According to a police arrest report, Trotter is accused of stealing mail and packages on March 20 in the 2300 block of North Damen and again on March 21 in the 2400 block of West Fullerton. In both cases, he reportedly used the same type of counterfeit key, which a U.S. Postal Inspector later confirmed was designed to provide “universal access” to secured buildings and mailbox panels throughout the Chicagoland area.
When officers arrested Trotter, he was allegedly holding the counterfeit key in his left hand and carrying a handbag containing four screwdrivers and two Allen wrenches—tools police say are commonly used in burglaries. Investigators also reported recovering a small amount of suspected acid and approximately $2,640 worth of suspected methamphetamine.
CPD inventory records list a trove of items recovered during the arrest: mail addressed to three different individuals, four U-Haul storage keys, 31 debit and credit cards in other people’s names, 10 stolen or fraudulent IDs, five credit cards issued to another man, a Mexican ID, a state ID, 11 rewards cards, and a CTA employee ID that did not belong to Trotter.
Trotter is not charged with a detainable offense, so Judge James Murphy III sent him home to await trial.
Mail theft has become increasingly prevalent in recent years due to a combination of systemic vulnerabilities, low enforcement risk, and high financial reward. Here’s a breakdown of why it’s on the rise:
One of the biggest drivers is the black-market circulation of counterfeit or stolen USPS master keys, commonly known as arrow keys. These keys can unlock entire banks of mailboxes in apartment buildings, commercial complexes, and even street-side collection boxes. Once a thief has one, they can hit dozens of addresses at once, often without forcing entry.
Mail is an easy source of sensitive personal and financial information. Thieves look for bank documents, credit cards, government IDs, tax and insurance records, and checks that they can alter for larger sums.
Some mail thieves operate as front-line personnel in much larger, sophisticated operations that launder money, steal identities, and sell personal information on the dark web.
While mail theft is technically a federal crime, prosecutions are almost always handled at the state level.
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