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Is Amazon Bankrupting the United States Postal Service?

From rumors about mail-in election ballots to alleged scams, various claims have involved the Postal Service over the years. Here's a sample.

by Nur Ibrahim, April 4, 2018

Image courtesy of Kevin Carter/Getty Images

For several years, Snopes has covered numerous claims involving the U.S. Postal Service, a government-run agency that delivers mail to millions of Americans.

The Postal Service has been the subject of election-related conspiracy theories, especially in the lead up to the 2020 presidential election, when U.S. President Donald Trump attempted to sow doubt in the integrity of mail-in voting.

Beyond election rumors, we have covered scams involving the Postal Service, including warnings about fraudulent emails and "smishing" attacks (a term the agency uses for text message fraud, combining SMS and phishing.)

We've also published explanatory pieces about the agency's operations, such as its Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP), and postmarking procedures.

Below is a collection of rumors involving the Postal Service in some manner.

By Nur Ibrahim

Nur Nasreen Ibrahim is a reporter with experience working in television, international news coverage, fact checking, and creative writing.

US Postal Service sent essential services letter to employees. Here's what to know

Jan. 14, 2026

The letter was real and sent to postal workers, but it didn't signal a new policy or departure f ...

USPS updated its postmark rules. Here's what that means for your mail

Dec. 30, 2025

Users shared concern about what the changes could mean for voting by mail during elections.

No, Biden Did Not Spend $3B on 93 Electric Mail Trucks

Dec. 19, 2024

However, the U.S. Postal Service does have a $2.98 billion contract with a company reportedly fa ...

A rumor said that USPS would be temporarily suspending mail services in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

USPS Did Not Suspend All Services in Pennsylvania and Ohio in November 2023

Nov. 30, 2023

A curious headline about the U.S. Postal Service led some users to believe that mail service had ...

USPS text message scams claimed that there was a problem with delivery and that the package cannot be delivered and that payment of $3.00 was needed to make the delivery or that personal information needed to be updated.

'USPS' Text Message Scam Claims Delivery Problem, Asks for Personal Financial Info

May 31, 2022

Here's the lowdown on how to figure out if a text message claiming to come from the U.S. Postal ...

The Internet Covert Operations Program is known as iCOP and is run by the US Postal Inspection Service or USPIS or USPS.

What Is USPS's Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP)?

Feb. 7, 2022

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service might be more than two centuries old, but that doesn't mean i ...

Is the US Postal Service's 'Operation Santa' Real?

Nov. 22, 2021

The U.S. Postal Service may be answering your letters to Santa Claus.

Avoid 'USPS' Email Scam Offering Contest Rewards

June 30, 2021

The scam emails are not official correspondence from the United States Postal Service.

Is This the New USPS Mail Truck?

Feb. 24, 2021

These Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDV) won't hit the road until 2023.

Is It Illegal for USPS Deliverers To Use Personal Vehicles?

Dec. 4, 2020

A now-viral photo purportedly shows a service deliverer illegally transporting election mail in ...

Postal Worker Charged in Ballot Dumpster Incident, No Evidence of Political Motivation

Oct. 27, 2020

The ballots, en route to the residents of a single Kentucky zip code, were discovered unopened i ...

Were Trays of Mail, Including Mail-In Ballots, Found in a Ditch?

Sept. 29, 2020

The U.S. Postal Service has been under fire for several problems concerning mail-in ballots in 2020.

Is USPS Locking Mailboxes To Undermine 2020 Election?

Aug. 20, 2020

Mailbox rumors swirled in 2020, as did real concern about the U.S. Postal Service's ability to m ...

Did the Obama Administration Remove USPS Mailboxes?

Aug. 20, 2020

The removal of U.S. Postal Service mailboxes under the previous administration did not indicate ...

Were USPS Mailboxes Removed in Oregon?

Aug. 14, 2020

The number of U.S. Postal Service collection boxes overall has fallen by at least 60% since the ...

Did Trump Call USPS 'Most Corrupt and Anti-American Way of Voting'?

Aug. 10, 2020

The U.S. president has expressed many (and varied) feelings about mail-in voting.

Is USPS Purposefully Slowing Mail To Help Reelect Trump?

Aug. 6, 2020

U.S. Postal Service workers nationwide reported backlogs of letters and packages in summer 2020. ...

Did USPS Tell Americans to Send Mail-In Ballots 2 Weeks in Advance?

July 29, 2020

The USPS does recommend requesting ballots at least 15 days in advance and mailing them at least ...

Is USPS Closing Soon Because of COVID-19?

April 29, 2020

For many Americans who fear leaving their homes during the pandemic, the Postal Service is a lif ...

Do Mail-In Ballots Increase Risk of Voter Fraud?

May 26, 2020

U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly made the claim as states scrambled to establish new elect ...

Do Uncancelled Stamps Prove Mail Bombs Were Not Sent Through the USPS?

Oct. 27, 2018

Not every standard procedure is an absolute, especially when it comes to the U.S. Postal Service.

Does USPS Never Deliver Mail Directly to People Under Secret Service Protection?

Oct. 26, 2018

The Secret Service appears to have a policy of screening packages intended for its protectees, b ...

Is Amazon Bankrupting the United States Postal Service?

April 4, 2018

President Donald Trump has claimed the giant online retailing company is jeopardizing USPS's fin ...

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