Weak regulatory oversight is their accomplice. A guard keeps watch at a Guadalajara exchange office. But those figures don't tell the whole story. Postal money orders are only 30 percent of all money orders sent to Mexico. The remaining 70 percent are handled by about 100 commercial issuers who serve the Mexico market.
Most thefts are never even reported, authorities say.
The vast majority of it arrived safely. But the millions that are lost or stolen each year are meant to help entire villages stay afloat and assure survival for rural and urban families alike. The money sent home buys everything from food and medicine to new homes, schools and paved roads. And that's not fair,'' said Kathleen MacDonough, a U.S. Postal Service official. Thieves cash the stolen money orders using false identification or with the complicity of exchange houses.