The whole of the UK was divided into postal districts for the first time after a trial run in Norwich in 1959.

BBC: Modern postcodes are 50 years old

As a result, the USPS is hopelessly hamstrung by parochial-minded politicians who, for example, fight attempts to close postal facilities in their districts.

FORBES: Toward A Solvent U.S. Postal System

Some fake firms were no more than postal addresses, but others went as far as to open physical premises, with the result that some districts in northern parts of Los Angeles County, such as Burbank, Glendale and North Hollywood, have suddenly sprouted half a dozen shopfronts displaying bandages and prosthetic limbs where there might have been one before.

ECONOMIST: Medicaid fraud