Open your mail

Since I made a decent living using direct mail, it may seem paradoxical that I am averse to some of the tactics. That would include the pseudo-check that shows through the envelope window and its cousin, the brown craft envelope that arrives shortly after the income tax deadline. Or, the “Important information about your mortgage loan #........” that appears to be an official communication from your bank but is a promotion from another lender. Why would I deal with an entity whose overture for the relationship is deceit? Why would anyone?

So, I went through a period where I simply chucked anything with a whiff of impropriety without opening it. The first indication of the flaw in this involved rebate checks. I suspected they intentionally made them look like junk mail so they wouldn’t get cashed. Then, electronic banking created a sea change. I run some events for a club and began to get complaints that I had not registered some applicants. I responded that I hadn’t received payment, only to then find out that the sender had their banks issue their checks, which had arrived looking like some kind of promotion.

So now I open everything. It’s a pain wading through all the crap, but occasionally pays off. Today was such a day.

The envelope truly looked like junk mail. The return address was some “distribution fund” which reeks of a come-on if I ever heard one. However, following my policy, I opened it.

Surprise, surprise. It was a real check. It seems some mutual fund I used to hold got nailed for some infraction and was compelled to pay out a penalty to investors. Surprise, again. The system works. Sometimes.

It seemed to be karma because the amount was almost exactly what I had just paid for a new kayak. However, karma cuts both ways and I can be a wary character. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

So where’s the potential hook? Maybe it’s a bogus check with the intent being to learn my bank account number. I did a web search on the distribution fund and the sanctions against the mutual fund and it all came up golden.

My policy remains in force.