Fla. seeks to stop thieves, mailed jewelry
TALLAHASSEE (AP) – The TV commercials make it sound easy: Gather your unwanted gold jewelry, mail it away and get cash in return. But police say thieves also see the ads and are exploiting mail-in jewelry businesses as an easy way to sell stolen goods.
Now Florida lawmakers are considering regulations that would require mail-in companies in the state to photograph all jewelry they buy and get ID information from customers who send in valuables.
“If I was a professional burglar, thief … I’d just put this stuff in the mail and send it to Florida,” said Bill Streator, a retired Florida detective who helped write the first-of-its-kind law that legislators are reviewing. “Basically, right now, there’s no regulation.”
Without the law, the mail-in jewelry business is at risk of becoming a “mainstream fencing operation,” police detective Jack Gee said.
Florida pawn brokers are already required to get fingerprints and photo IDs from people selling jewelry. The new law would impose similar requirements on mail-in companies, which are harder to regulate because customers do not sell their items in person.
In most cases, customers get mailing packages from companies and send in their items for free. They are paid based on the jewelry’s weight and material, such as whether the gold is 14- or 24-karat. Some companies melt down the jewelry while others sell the valuables to retailers or wholesalers. Most packages net a customer about $50.
One large Florida company, Cash4Gold, supports the proposed law, but the company and similar businesses insist thieves account for only a fraction of their business.
Cash4Gold says it has handled 800,000 transactions since it started in 2007.